Norwich Council throws out new taxi bid

Council throws out new taxi bid

DAVID BALE


Norwich will not be getting a new-style black cab after city councillors threw out the proposals.

Taxi drivers had been divided over plans to allow the new Peugeot E7 as a hackney carriage that people could flag down.

The driver behind the bid claimed it would be more environmentally friendly, cheaper, and have better disabled access.

However, those against did not believe the change was necessary and were worried a new vehicle would prove confusing to people wanting a ride home.

However, the regulatory committee of the city council, which has strict rules on what can be licensed and currently only allows the conventional Metrocab, rejected the proposals.

Brenda Ferris, deputy leader of the city council and a member of the committee, said: “It was felt that, in the interest of public safety, it was better to keep the highly identifiable format that we already have.”

But Norwich taxi driver Patrick Keenaghan, 42, who put in the application, said today he had not given up and would seek to overturn the decision.

He said: “Hopefully this has just delayed when this will happen, not stopped it. I was very disappointed with the decision because I thought we had a green council. The E7s were tested by a wheelchair access group and they were very much in favour of them, which the council overlooked.

“The council has condemned Norwich hackney drivers to only use one supplier for the foreseeable future, because there's no other supplier that makes the vehicles to their criteria.

“The taxi I have applied to use is 95pc identifiable in all other UK councils. If they're saying it's not, then all the other 95pc must be wrong.”

Mr Keenaghan put in the original proposal to allow the E7s last year, but it was turned down because it did not meet the correct specifications.

...............................And we thought Sheffield was tight?

Maybe the lads down there could have used arguments used to persuade Sheffield council when they allowed the plumbers vans as taxis here