Cabbie wants high court fight

Source: Norwich Evening News

A Norwich taxi driver is preparing to take his fight to introduce a new style
of black cab into Norwich to the High Court.

Norwich taxi driver Patrick Keenaghan first put in an application to Norwich
City Council for the Peugeot E7 hackney carriage to be introduced in the
city in 2006. He claims it is more environmentally friendly, cheaper and
has better disabled access.

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, but Mr Keenaghan launched an appeal against the
move, which was also unsuccessful.

He has written to the council saying he is now preparing to argue his case
at the High Court to try and overturn the decision.

He said: “I am prepared to fight this decision all the way, because 93pc of
other councils in the country have this type of cab. Other people have took
councils to the High Court over this matter and won, so I am confident this
will be the same. The council is wasting taxpayers money with taking
something like this to court.”

In the past, Mr Keenaghan has argued the Peugeot E7, which costs around
£23,000 to buy, is cheaper then a current cab which cost £43,000.

The E7, which has five, six and seven-seat versions, is licensed to operate
in Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Sheffield, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne,
Sunderland, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh and
Glasgow. In Paisley near Glasgow, the E7 is the main type of hackney cab used.

The moves to introduce the new cab have been dogged by controversy.
Drivers against the licensing of the E7 as a hackney carriage say the
vehicles cannot turn around in a confined space and could create
confusion among the public, as they look like private hire cabs. They also
fear it would lead to a devaluation of the black cab.

A spokeswoman for Norwich City Council said: "We have responded to Mr
Keenaghan's letter. We stand by our decision. It was made after taking all
relevant matters and guidance into account, and after significant
discussion the decision was made to retain the existing vehicle specification."