Members of the RMT London taxi branch attended a meeting at the Department of Transport last Monday and had it confirmed that the DoT do not have a policy for age limits for Taxis. In fact they believe a well maintained fleet of taxis is the the right way to deal with emissions issues along with the development of new technologies that will allow the London taxi to carry up to 6/7 passengers with luggage and maybe one in a wheelchair.
We must therefore ask why is the Mayor and Transport for London not adopting this sensible policy from the Department of Transport? We all understand and know of the emissions issue here in the capital but we must remind the Mayor that the present Transport commissioner Peter Hendy and the director of surface transport David Brown have both been in post for a reasonable number of years and surely they should have been examining ways of ensuring that the makers of taxi-cabs develop cleaner/greener taxi-cabs slightly quicker than they are at present.
Our policy and position is simple at the RMT London taxi branch we oppose the introduction of any age limit to London taxis.If a taxi passes its annual rigorous test then that taxi is fit to be on the road. Natural wastage will deal with older vehicles and this was confirmed at the Department of Transport last week where a senior civil servant confirmed you see very few taxis over the 12 year age limit on the roads of the capital.
Time for the Mayor to see sense and realise that the London taxi-cab driver needs open free roads to operate within the capital and the policies of Westminster and other councils just creates congestion and therefore pollution.
Time for TFL to wake up and introduce a sensible road policy...
Join the RMT London taxi branch and get a voice and a vote but not an air freshener, join online at www.rmt.org.uk
