LONDON TAXI REP: Why won’t the Mayor of London meet us like all previous Mayors?
A London taxi drivers' representative has asked the question ‘why won’t the Mayor of London meet us like all the previous Mayors’ after having little interaction with Sadiq Khan since his arrival in May 2016.
Grant Davis, Chairman of the London Cab Drivers Club (LCDC), said in The Badge that the direct interaction with previous Mayors, including Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, was ‘enjoyable’ and fruitful when explaining issues within the industry.
Davis said: “Ever since becoming Chairman of the LCDC 14 years ago, one of the most enjoyable meetings I attended was the meeting every quarter with our Mayor.
“Whatever your view of Boris Johnson, the meetings were eventful most of the time and I still remember Boris calling taxi garages at the meetings pretending to be a taxi driver when we had the TX4 fires and a shortage of taxis.
“But once Sadiq got in as Mayor, he made it perfectly clear that he would NOT be meeting the taxi trade groups and we would only meet with the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander. Why did Sadiq not follow Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson who met with us?”
There are also ongoing engagement issues with a further taxi representative, the United Cabbies Group (UCG), who earlier this year pulled out of future meetings between the London taxi regulators Transport for London (TfL) after a row over a new Engagement Policy erupted.
At least two other taxi driver representative groups had also warned they will no longer attend future Senior Representatives meetings with TfL when the new Engagement Policy arrives.
The UCG and others that include the RMT, are calling for minutes to be taken during the meetings between taxi and regulator officials. It is hoped that the process could help with transparency and accountability between both parties.
The UCG have also raised further concerns over the new policy which includes a lack of two-way negotiation, a newly created taxi bookings tier and the absence of minutes taken.
