Plans to rebrand Newcastle’s taxis in black and white have been put on hold for now.
Council bosses have pressed pause on their proposals to require the city’s hackney carriage drivers to deck out their vehicles in the famous colours of Newcastle United. The idea was unveiled last month and was designed to give officially-licensed taxis a “distinctive” look that could help to cut crime, amid concerns that criminals have been posing as cab drivers to target vulnerable victims in the city centre.
But the scheme sparked anger among drivers, who staged a protest outside Newcastle Civic Centre in June and claimed that the cost of fitting white vinyl wraps around their bonnets would become a “huge burden”. The controversial new taxi policy was due to get the final seal of approval at a Newcastle City Council meeting on Wednesday night, but was pulled from the agenda just a few hours before.
Read More: Taxi drivers claim plans for black and white cabs in Newcastle will be 'huge burden'
A council spokesperson confirmed that the delay was to allow for further talks with the GMB union and drivers. They said: “Taxis play an important role in keeping our city moving and many people in our communities rely upon them. Everyone who uses a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle in Newcastle should feel safe doing so and that’s exactly what these new measures set out to achieve.
“It’s clear there has been some misunderstanding about the purpose of the policy and the positive impact this will have for public safety. We have held productive conversations with the GMB and these will continue. The GMB are clear they are not asking their members to object to the policy.
"Over the summer we’d like to continue that engagement with GMB and the trade to clarify the purpose of the policy. The item for discussion will be deferred until the next council meeting to allow these conversations to take place.”
Dozens of hackney carriage drivers demonstrated outside the civic centre when the taxi policy was discussed by the council’s cabinet last month. While the council is planning to give a £100 grant to each of the 597 licensed hackney carriage drivers in Newcastle to help with the cost of fitting the white wrapping, it was feared that drivers would be forced to pay for them to be replaced regularly once they get dirty or damaged.
Drivers also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service about concerns that criminals would still be able to easily copy the new taxi design, passengers could mistakenly think that drivers had been forced to replace their bonnet after being involved in a crash, and that the black and white livery would deter non-Newcastle fans. A total 96% of drivers who responded to a council consultation on the plan expressed their opposition to the white bonnets.
But the new design had been praised by the city’s street pastors, nightclub door supervisors, and organisations trying to prevent violence against women.
The black and white branding would only be required on hackney carriages, like those that rank outside Central Station and are licensed to ply for hire, and not for private hire companies that can only pick up pre-arranged bookings. Under the proposed new policy, private hire vehicles would have to be adorned with a green council plate and display the operator’s details on the back passenger doors.
