Is Transport for London against the London taxi?

Yesterday hundreds of members of the RMT London Taxi Branch took to the streets in their cabs at Stratford in a go-slow protest. The cabbies are concerned that Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor are pursuing policies that are undermining the trade.

In the run-up to the Olympics they are particularly concerned that  illegal cabs are not being taken off the streets, that there has been reduction in the number of official taxi ranks, plus the failure to get agreement for cabs to use the “Games Lanes”.

As the cabs took to the road at rush hour to make their point, other RMT members gave out leaflets to commuters apologising for any delays they might face and explaining their demands.

The organisers estimated that there were around 500 cabs involved, although as the police rerouted and split up the protest it was difficult to independently assess the claim. Certainly the action was well supported.

Is Transport for London against an all-London taxi?

Charlie Miller, a spokesman for the union, told Big Smoke:  “TfL don’t want a London taxi.”

He explained:  “TfL are removing and reducing taxi ranks. We’re not on the Olympic routes. TfL refuse to recognise and negotiate with the RMT. We’re being systematically attacked by TfL. It’s deregulation and privatisation.”

As he listed the taxi ranks that had been moved, reduced or taken away altogether, it was clear that while black cabs are the most regulated and supervised part of London’s taxi sector, there was a clear feeling that TfL wants to move towards private hire cabs (who aren’t subject to the knowledge or environmental checks for example) and was not taking real action against illegal cabs, despite concerns for passenger safety.

Removing the taxi ranks across London means it is more difficult to get a licensed cab. As Miller said “when you come out of the station you want the taxi rank in front of you… with the Olympics there’s going to be an extra million people wanting to travel. Who is going to pick the passengers? They’re making it harder to stay in the trade… [while] private hire has increased by around 60,000 in the last four years.”

Concerns over deregulation

With growing concerns about air pollution, to which the roads are the major contributor, undermining the regulated part of the taxi trade does not make sense. Environmental campaigners have proposals for a “big switch” to help buses, taxis and vans to go electric.

Even the Green Party’s Jenny Jones, who is not often known as the cabbies’ friend, told The Guardian today “As mayor I would do (at least) three things for cabbies – two would give them opportunities to be greener, the other would improve their working life:

“1) Scrap the turning circle requirement, 2) Create a fund to help them clean up their vehicles, either by replacement or by retrofitting and 3) Clamp down in a huge way on illegal minicabs.”

All of these things would be more difficult to enact if the black cab is a thing of the past.