Chamber and committees

Petitioner submission of 26 August 2021

PE1856/C: Support the taxi trade

We are now beyond Level 0 in relation to Covid-19 restriction levels but the significant impact of Covid on the Taxi and Private Hire Trade remains. Our members report business presently at 50% of pre-pandemic levels and that many colleagues have left the trade. Many economic sectors including travel, tourism and hospitality which generate significant revenue for the trade remain significantly below pre-covid levels of activity and fears remain about whether the trade will return to a pre-covid level.

It is clear that continued support is required for this key sector of our public transport network. Monies have been delivered to the trade specifically the ‘Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund’ in January 2021 and ‘Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Driver and Operator Support Fund’ in June 2021. Support allocated to the trade through these funds remains unawarded and we continue to request that all monies promised to the trade are fully distributed to support owners and drivers. The urgent need for increased financial support to assist with the fixed costs of many operators remains. The majority of our members are individual drivers or small business owners and the continued high overheads, especially for those who have invested in newer and greener vehicles, merits continued financial support.

We believe that the Scottish Government should engage and consult with elected Unite representatives and officials as the trade transitions to a greener future. It is crucial that the expertise and experience of our members is fully utilised by government as decisions that will shape the future of the trade are made. We welcome the informal discussions and consultations that have taken place with the newly elected government. Our members bring vast experience and knowledge of the trade to discussions about its future and we need to see formal consultation arrangements to protect the future of the trade for our members and the wider taxi workforce across Scotland.

Unite would require greater clarity on exemptions to the LEZ particularly for passenger carrying vehicles, including taxis. We would wish to see taxi cabs considered in a similar way as other functions of the public transport network and as such exempt from LEZ charges.  Unite has also identified issues for individual taxi owners/drivers that may be unable to compete with the larger taxi fleets in terms of finance for new taxis and again. This may inadvertently reduce numbers and new entrants into the industry and favour the existing major players. Unite understands there is a proposal being considered to exempt wheelchair accessible vehicles for three years from the LEZ introduction or alternatively for the Scottish Government to introduce a scrappage scheme to incentivise transition in recognition that working from home policies over the last 15 months mean that carbon reduction targets have already been delivered and are likely to be sustained.  We also are aware that a £5 million option for reducing licensing fees has also been outlined by the Scottish Government. Unite would welcome these proposals which would assist our members in making the transition.

We are further aware of proposals by Councils to develop LEZ’s which includes introducing a cap on the age of vehicles on the road. Unite would argue that this fails to consider that some taxi drivers finance their vehicle over a longer period of time based on the assumption that the vehicle will eventually become finance free, and at that point they can start to recoup some of the initial investment. However, some proposals would mean that when the taxi is paid in full, it may well be non-compliant with regulations and the driver will once again require to seek expensive finance to buy a new vehicle that meets the required standards. These additional costs may also put some taxi drivers off entering the industry.

Finally, a motion carried at Unite Scotland’s 2019 Scottish Policy Conference called for discussions with local councils in order to reach agreement on relevant exemptions on emission zones and to negotiate an agreed timeframe for any Low Emission Zones to be set up. Unite is keen to work with the Scottish Government to find a way forward that would not impact significantly on our members while delivering a real difference towards reducing emissions across Scotland and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with officials and representatives.