Cabbies meet council one last time over licence row

Coventry’s taxi drivers are meeting councillors one last time today before they consider taking legal action over the number of new licences being issued.



t follows two lengthy strikes this year by cabbies angry at officials’ refusal to impose a temporary cap on the number of licences.

Councillors have repeatedly said this would be illegal without conducting a survey first, which they’ve agreed to pay for, with drivers reimbursing them through their own licence fees.

Councillor Lindsley Harvard, Cabinet Member for City Services, said: “(If we were taken to court), the only damage it would do would be to the time the survey would take and the cost of it.”

“We only have a certain amount of money – so we wouldn’t want to jeopardise that happening.”

“We’ve got a £36 million cut coming from central government, so we’re ill-advised to spend money on things like lawsuits.”

Imran Zaman, chairman of Coventry’s Taxi Association, ruled out further strike action, saying:

“There’s no point drivers staying at home annoying the public when the only people who can decide this are the courts.”

The drivers’ first walkout in January – which lasted five days – was prompted when two cabbies were fined by police for driving over pavements in the city centre.

However, a Mercia survey has found only 52% of people in Coventry felt ‘affected’ by the strikes, with a significant proportion making alternative travel arrangements.

Some 13% weren’t aware industrial action was taking place at all.

However, business leaders have accused taxi drivers of ruining the city’s reputation for international commerce, having held Coventry ‘to ransom’ for long periods of time.