To receive a presentation from Andrew James, the Transport Strategy Officer at Essex County Council about Quality Taxi Partnerships.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation from Andrew James, the Transport Strategy Officer at Essex County Council on Quality Taxi Partnerships (QTP). The QTP works with various agencies including the fire and rescue services who endorsed the partnership aims. The QTP also works with a resources consultant, marketing (publicising the work of the Quality Taxi Partnership), the Essex Police, the local councils and of course the Taxi firms and drivers.
The QTP works to the government’s National Indicators of NI 7 relating to an ‘Environment for a Thriving Third Sector’ and NI 141 on ‘Number of People attaining independent living’.
The Committee noted that the aims of the QTP were to promote accessibility to everyday facilities for all; to meet the needs of people without access to a car; to reduce crime and the fear of crime on the transport system; to improve the quality and quantity of transport services for all; to support services for people who cannot use conventional services and to reduce road traffic collisions that cause death and serious injury.
The QTP also wanted to improve working relationships and understanding between partners; to provide priority access where possible through the districts; to make taxi journeys as safe as they could be; to improve the customer care skills of drivers and controllers; the improvement of on-street waiting facilities for customers and to assist in the development of locally deliverable training packages.
The QTP were not asking for any money from this council to participate in the partnership as they had access to their own funding. They were looking for our agreement and would help this council with any problems such as environmental issues or putting in taxi waiting shelters. They could ask that all drivers undertake training up to NVQ standards giving a common knowledge background to all drivers. Currently, in Essex, there are over a thousand drivers undertaking this type of training. The Partnership had recently put in a taxi lay-by and shelter for Basildon council at no expense to them. The Partnership has now got about £40,000 left to spend from an initial £50,000 budget at the beginning of the year.
The Chairman then opened the meeting up to questions from the members.
Q: What was the difference between a black taxi cab and a mini cab under QTP?
A: The Council could use the QTP to apply minimum standards if they so wished. They could improve the standard of driving for new or existing drivers if they so wished.
Q: Is the customer of the QTP the taxi driver?
A: The Council is the customer along with the Taxi driver as well as the members of the public who use them. QTP is part of trying to improve public transport. They were also there to reduce crime and the fear of crime. At present they were helping Basildon to install CCTV cameras into taxis; this would help the driver and the customer.
Q: How will this scheme help the person in the street and how will they know it’s a QTP cab?
A: The partnership could do marketing on behalf of the taxis that are part of the agreement; they could put information on the website or produce posters. They could produce certificates and put adverts in the papers promoting QTP’s taxis. They would also like to put in a “passenger charter” into each vehicle.
Q: Is the QTP for every taxi or is it voluntary?
A: The scheme is voluntary at present. It will help taxis in the long run when QTP is widely publicised. The QTP badge can go onto the taxis to identify them.
Q: Would QTP membership be required for applicants of new licences.
A: It could be made a condition; this could be discussed with the trade bodies. Other authorities have done this.
Q: What about existing taxi drivers?
A: Other authorities have given existing drivers two years to get their NVQs.
Q: Can officers put the number of complaints received about taxi cabs into some sort of context.
A: There are on average about five complaints received per week.
Councillor Cohen said that this duplicates the item further on in the agenda about taxi licensing consultation. Should not the Committee consider this item before it decides about the QTP. This was agreed.
RESOLVED:
To consider the taxi licensing consultation paper in conjunction with the Quality Taxi Partnership paper.