Agenda item

Gary Brickwood addressed the Committee and asked that the meeting be adjourned due to aggravation to drivers having to get rid of their cars.

Members were informed that adjournment would be a matter for consideration at the end of the meeting.

Kevin Willsher addressed the Committee and commented that the cap on Hackney carriages proved that drivers were struggling and questioned why those findings were not part of the report. He noted that there were only 2 options for the Committee to take and stated that the conditions imposed on drivers would be very harsh. Mr Willsher commented that Hackney carriage drivers had been made scapegoats for Northampton’s air quality issues.

In response to questions, Mr Willsher stated that drivers would need longer to implement changes.

Simon Willsher addressed the Committee and commented that due to the restrictions on timeframes within the proposal, many drivers would have to sell their vehicles before they had finished paying for them. He further commented that some drivers would not be able to get finance for new vehicles. He stated that the Council seemed to be removing peoples’ options to choose the vehicles that they drove.

In response to questions, Mr Willsher commented that there was a lack of infrastructure for low emission and electric vehicles and that the changes would happen too fast as they stood.

Steve Evans addressed the Committee and commented that to have a Euro 6 vehicle by January 2018, many drivers would need to get car finance. He proposed extending the time limit from 2021 to 2028 for drivers to upgrade their cars to make it less financially strenuous on them.

Mohamed Conteh addressed the Committee and commented that should the proposal go through, the impact would be too great for many drivers. He urged the Committee to find a way to extend the time period for drivers’ ease.

Abu Basar addressed the Committee and voiced his concern regarding the cost of an E6 vehicle over 6 or 7 years. He stated that Private Hire drivers’ flagging and a general decrease in the amount of work available meant it was harder for a Hackney Carriage driver to make a living.

In response to questions, Mr Basar informed the Committee that school runs were often taken by Private Hire drivers or the County Council’s school transport services as their prices were more competitive.

Steve Ward addressed the Committee and commented that Phase 3 seemed unclear. He stated that as the report contained proposals, these would be likely to change. He commented that the figures referred to in paragraph 3.24 of the report were taken from the EQUA website they were likely to be very optimistic. Mr Ward stated that an age restriction on vehicles would be better and asked that this be looked into, rather than emissions.

Shahid Basir addressed the Committee and commented that most of the drivers shared the same concern. He stated that many drivers would be affected by the proposals and that buying new vehicles in such a small space of time would not be viable for most.