London taxi-cab drivers are waiting for the decision by the Mayor of London and chair of TFL regarding the age limit of taxi-cabs.
The RMT stated clearly in its response to the consultation that we firmly believed no age limit was or is required. The Dep't for Transport agrees with this position has the average life span of a taxi-cab is 12 years.
The united trade group led by the LTDA and followed by Unite the union and LCDC offered an age limit of 15 years and in doing so accepted the principle of an age limit. Any limit will reduce the residual value of your taxi-cab and hurt the taxi trade at a time of recovery whilst we await the affects of the proposed cuts to be announced by the government.
The RMT London taxi branch believes issues of this importance should be subject to a ballot of all license holders. No one organisation or union commands a majority of drivers and therefore does not have the sole right to speak on behalf of the 22,000 plus taxi-cab drivers.
"One badge One Vote" is the answer and let the taxi-cab drivers decide their fate and not others sitting behind closed doors making the wrong decisions with no mandate from their own membership.
If the Mayor of London introduces a ten year age limit what good will it actually do other than reduce resale/residual values and force taxi-cab drivers to hang on to taxi-cabs for longer and maybe up to the maximum ten year period.
The UTG have proved yet again they are unable to speak on behalf of the hard working taxi-cab driver, it's time for you to join the RMT and its London taxi branch and have a real voice, a real vote at regularly held branch meetings.
The RMT London taxi branch will be emailing/contacting city hall/ the Mayor and asking once again that no age limit is introduced. Let natural wastage and a decent scrapage scheme assist the London taxi trade...
Join the RMT online at http://www.rmt.org.uk/
PS we mustn't forget that partitions are now starting to appear in a number of mini-cabs/phv's, we would like the trade to note that this issue was discussed at TFL board meetings and the surface transport panel where the general secretary of the LTDA sits has the TAXI trade representative.
