Give cabbies a break – they keep us moving

How many of us rely on taxis to get us from A to B? Whether we use them daily for work, or the school-run, or it’s to get us to the pub downtown for a night out, rare is the person who doesn’t call on their services at least occasionally.

However, it is a far from glamorous job – the hours are long and driving on the roads around here are likely to tax the blood pressure of even the calmest souls. 

Rising petrol prices and the increased cost of keeping a car on the road have squeezed margins, while on the other hand, any rises in price of a fare are met with howls from the public. And then there’s the impact of the rise of Uber. While many probably think it’s good for the customer and competition, your average taxi driver is likely to disagree.

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These much-stereotyped men and women help keep the city moving. Plus, as we’re encouraged to drive less as individuals and use more public transport, they provide a valuable service.

So cabbies will understandably blanche at any kind of moves to restrict their practice.

Obviously safety comes first – and as these are some of the hardest working vehicles on our roads it is only right that they should be subject to more stringent tests than your average car.

As Portsmouth City Council’s licensing committee members said in their latest meeting, vehicle safety has come on in leaps and bounds over the years, and vehicles are thankfully much more reliable. The committee needs to tread that line between keeping us all safe, and not stifling the taxi drivers’ ability to work – if their vehicles are off the road, that is their livelihood gone.

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If vehicles are only failing on aesthetic grounds, is it really too much to ask a short period of grace instead, to allow the driver to rectify the matter at hand?

These are workers who are literally the lifeblood of the city – moving constantly along the veins and arteries of our road system.