London taxi drivers are getting into the habit of bringing the UK’s capital to a standstill. In June it was a protest about Uber – the controversial app that is causing consternation across Europe. This time it’s rickshaws, cycle lanes, and Transport for London’s apparent ineptitude in dealing with illegal mini cabs touting for business.
On Thursday thousands of black cabs blockaded the area around Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, as well as Piccadilly – effectively bringing London’s busy West End to a standstill. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association was also protesting at Mayor Boris Johnson’s planned 15-mile segregated ‘Crossrail for bikes’ through central London. This controversial proposal is set to convert two miles of the A40 Westway into a cycle lane as part of the segregated cycle link. The plan is to convert the westbound “slow lane” between Paddington and Shepherd’s Bush into a two-way protected bike route by 2016, forcing motorists onto the remaining two lanes. Cabbies believe that the plan could cause chaos and effectively gridlock the entire city, preventing them from earning a living.
So it seems that the good old London cabbie has a lot to protest about these days, and that life for the Capital’s taxis is getting harder by the day. However, the LTDA does raise some serious concerns, particularly when it comes to unlicensed, uninsured and illegal mini cabs.
Paying for a quality service
Hackney carriage or licensed cabs have to undergo years of training and the ‘Knowledge’ to earn the right to call themselves a London Cabby, whereas unlicensed mini cabs are simply ‘a bloke with a car’ (and usually a car in quite poor condition too!). While Londoners always want something on the cheap (thanks to the exorbitant cost of living in the Capital), opting for a cheaper, unlicensed cab over a properly licensed Hackney Cab is a gamble that may end up being far more expensive than the cost of a fare.
Most unlicensed and illegal cabs don’t even carry proper taxi insurance, meaning that a passenger is effectively getting into an unlicensed and uninsured vehicle, with a driver who may or may not know what they’re doing. It’s a risk that simply isn’t worth taking, and the London Cabbies are right to draw attention to the issue of unlicensed and illegal minicabs on London’s streets. Now we wait to see if TfL will respond…