Hundreds of taxi drivers have taken to the streets of Rochdale in protest against plans for Clean Air Zone charges across Manchester today (January 24).
At the start of a working week, the usual bustle of taxis jostling for a fare outside the town's train station had disappeared.
Instead, private hire drivers were out on foot - with all taxi firms in the borough carrying out 24-hour strike action instead.
The first few weeks of 2022 in Greater Manchester have been dominated by complaints over the CAZ, which would see some commercial vehicles charged daily to enter the zone.
The firms, representing roughly around 1,200 drivers in Rochdale, were protesting against changes to the minimum standards required.
It will mean hackney carriages and private hire vehicles must be less than five years old, and vehicles older than ten years must be scrapped.
Hundreds of taxi drivers gathered outside One Riverside - the main civic centre for the town.
The strike action began at 6am Monday and will continue until 6am on Tuesday morning (January 25).
Placards saying 'Save Our Trade' and 'Unjust and Unfair Minimum Standard' could be seen as speakers addressed the crowds outside the Rochdale Council offices.
While the Clean Air 'minimum standards' aim to create a greener environment by introducing new requirements around emissions, testing and accessibility, taxi drivers in Rochdale say they will come at a cost.
Mohammed Nabeel, co-owner of Streamline Taxis Rochdale, attended the protest today and said he hoped the strike action would highlight a need for the proposals to be looked at again.
"We’ve come to strike for a reason and demonstrate how we feel,” Mohammed, who has co-owned the family business since 2016, told the M.E.N.
“We’ve taken time off work today to do this.
“The council needs to realise we’re not asleep - we are aware of what’s going on and what they’re trying to implement on us. It’s not right."
Mohammed, whose family has run Streamline Taxis since the 1980s, said he feared the Clean Air minimum standards will force people out of the industry.
He explained: “It’s going to scare people away from the industry, for sure.
"It’s also going to cause a lot of damage to people’s livelihood and careers.
“I think it could get to the point where drivers will have no choice but to walk away from the trade.
“We know ourselves, without doing any research, a car less than five years old now is anything between £15-20,000 - that’s a lot of money.
"With fuel, MOT costs, licence fees and badge fees on top of that, it's absolutely ridiculous.
“Manchester is a city yet the price to licence a vehicle in the city centre is much less than us, and we're a town.
“That’s something that’s always been in place. We’ve always faced high prices and that’s only going to continue."
Mohammed said that he believes taxi firms in Rochdale already offer some of the lowest rates in the country, but fears that won't change should the proposals go ahead as currently stated.
“Prices would have to go up," he says.
“The prices in Rochdale are probably one of the lowest in all of the UK - they’re very low rates as it is - but there’s no way it will stay affordable for people with these changes.
"We have customers who have loyalty to us and the local firms here. You can’t forget where you are - we are in a small town - so we can’t be charging anything other than comfortable rates."
He mentioned one example today which already demonstrated what could happen should drivers be forced out of the area.
He said he logged onto one of the leading car ride apps this morning to find the cost of a two-mile trip that would originally cost around £3.50 had risen to £16.
Mohammed said: "I fear, as an owner and a driver as well as a customer, that when these drivers are forced out of their jobs, these companies are going to start adding surcharges to everything.
"This is a working class area - prices can't just go up.
"Most people in Rochdale are getting a taxi to go to a hospital appointment or work, and have no alternative choice.
"To me it just doesn't feel right."
A statement from the Rochdale Association for Private Hire Drivers said that all licensed private hire drivers and their customers would be affected by the proposed changes.
The association said: "If the proposals go ahead, many drivers will be forced out of the trade and those that do continue will be hit with huge costs.
“As a result of this, the prices paid for taxis by customers will be significantly increased at a time where the global pandemic has already caused severe hardship.”
In a joint statement issued on behalf of all private hire drivers and operators in Rochdale, the protest was described as being the result of ‘poor consultation and ongoing unwillingness to engage in consultation talks’ between the firms and Rochdale Council.
The statement read: “Firstly, we would like to sincerely apologise to the local community for the disruption caused by the taxi trade strike.
“After many years of talks and meetings with RMBC, no mutual resolution has been met.
“To avoid strike action, we have made three further attempts to meet with RMBC representatives, but unfortunately, they refused to meet with us.
“After over 3 years of mostly remote consultations, RMBC has not taken any of our concerns on board and the proposals we put forward have been given zero consideration.
“As a result of poor consultation and ongoing unwillingness to engage in consultation talks, the private hire drivers across Rochdale and the neighbouring Boroughs have no option but to take action in order for their voices to be heard.
“RMBC has pushed the Clean Air & Minimum Licensing Standards through without thought to the financial impact on both the drivers and the general public, at a time when we're all going to struggle to recover from the results of the pandemic.
"It seems RMBC has little consideration for this.”
The joint statement said while the firms and drivers collectively are ‘not against clean air’, they say the changes will burden drivers with ‘crippling finance costs’.
The statement explained: “These changes come at a time when the whole community is already under severe financial strain.
“We are not against Clean Air. However, daily charges will not improve air quality.
“We have since learnt that the daily charges have been temporarily paused.
“Clearly, this has not been well thought out. Originally, it was the Clean Air regulations that provided funding for taxi drivers to upgrade their vehicles.”
The statement said that the costs of meeting the regulations were ‘quite ridiculous and completely wasteful’.
It went on to warn that the restrictions could impose further disruptions to taxi services.
The statement concluded: “Public safety may be compromised as a result of no longer being able to afford to travel. Ensuring vulnerable people get home safely may no longer be an option. Ringing an ambulance instead of taking a taxi. These are scenarios we want to avoid.
“Taxi drivers are key workers and provide an essential service to the community. Taxi drivers transport people to work, school, medical appointments, to see vulnerable family members etc.
“Taxi drivers keep Rochdale moving.
“Please bear with us and support the taxi drivers so they can support you.”
Rochdale Council said the minimum licensing standards (MLS) for taxis and private hire services aim to ensure public safety and public protection, while also taking note of emission standards and decarbonisation agendas.
Councillor Sarah Rowbotham, Rochdale's portfolio holder for climate change and sustainability, said: "We have met drivers a number of times to listen to their concerns and we are still listening very carefully to what drivers are telling us in the hope that further assistance and reassurance can be provided.
"It is unfortunate that the strike action is taking place across several Greater Manchester districts.
"However, we strongly believe that the MLS will benefit both drivers as well as customers, installing public confidence in a well-regulated taxi and private hire sector service, to deliver safe and high-quality services to residents and visitors in Rochdale and Greater Manchester, plus contributing to better air quality."
