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Black Country taxi drivers call to keep cars longer

Taxi drivers say they are struggling to make ends meet due to rules stating they must replace their vehicles every 10 years.

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They are asking to be allowed to keep their cars for 15 years to cut costs – and insist it will have no impact on safety.

The issue has gone before a Walsall Council taxi committee, but no decision was made as members wanted to get more information.

Drivers say it has been rumbling on for five years and needs to be resolved.

Walsall Private Hire Association chairman Zulfqar Ali said: "This could go on for months yet and it has already been dragging on for years.

"There would be financial benefits for the drivers as this is a difficult time for us and things like this make it even harder.

"There would be no compromise in safety for the people of Walsall," he added.

"The cars have to be checked twice a year to see if they are roadworthy and it isn't fair to stop us using a car when it is still in good condition.

"There are different standards for black cabs and it is very frustrating."

Licensing committee chairman Councillor Keith Sears said: "We have asked officers to draw up a report and it will come back before the next committee.

The extension could be pursued, but my own personal view is that if we are not careful we will have a fleet of private hire vehicles that are old and out of date.

"If we do extend the lifetime of the vehicles there could be a need for an extra test to be carried out on them, so they would be checked three times a year.

"As a vehicle gets older parts get worn and things start to go wrong. But we will look at the report and take it from there."

The association has put forward a series of proposals for the council to consider and Mr Ali says he hopes they will come to an agreement soon. It comes after a string of long-running disputes between taxi drivers and council bosses in Wolverhampton over licensing of older vehicles.

Drivers there were opposed to new council rules allowing older cars – saying there are already too many taxis in the city.

New Hackney Carriage drivers could buy taxis up to four years old – with that increasing to six years in 2015.

But Parminder Sekhon, chairman of Wolverhampton Taxi Owners' Association, said any such move would lessen the quality of taxis in the city.

Figures released last summer showed 1,000 fewer taxi drivers are on the streets of the West Midlands and Staffordshire since the recession – the first drop in eight years.

It comes despite repeated calls by cabbies for a cap on the number of licences issued as they complain there is not enough work to go around.

The figures were similar all over the country as the Department For Transport said the recession had resulted in a drop in the number of Hackney carriages and private hire licences since 2011.

In the West Midlands the overall number of licences of all types dropped from 15,866 to 15,076. However, there were increases in Walsall from 1,388 in 2011 to 1,445 in 2013.

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