Oxford Street taxi protest: London gridlocked as black cab drivers hold 'go slow' demonstration

 
Hundreds of taxis took to Oxford Street today in protest
Tom Marshall21 April 2015

Taxi drivers brought Oxford Street to a standstill today as they accused TfL of ‘trying to wipe them out’ in an ongoing industrial row.

Hundreds staged a "go slow" demonstration through Oxford Street this afternoon in an effort to send a message to TfL and raise awareness of their struggles.

The high street ground to a halt at 2pm as black cabs arrived in their droves.

Drivers claim TfL has caused a 'steady erosion' of their business by failing to tackle unlicensed minicab touts or properly regulate the industry, with some saying trade has dropped by 30 per cent in recent years.

Harry Candler, 60, who has been a black cab driver for eight years, said: "TfL wants to get rid of the last iconic thing in London, which is the black cabs. They just want to fill it with minicabs, they just want to get rid of us because we're too much trouble and probably not making them enough money."

'TfL wants to get rid of us' says cab driver Harry Candler, 60

The United Cabbies Group, which called the demo, insisted it was not about minicab apps like Uber, laying the blame for dwindling takings squarely at the door of London's transport bosses.

UGC chairman Len Martin told the Standard: "TfL are desperately trying to deflect attention but this is about their woeful performance.

"Times are very hard for taxi drivers, it's causing health problems because they are having to work such long hours, and affecting their family life.

"If TfL enforced the law, there would be plenty of work on the streets."

The street was jam-packed with hundreds of black cabs

Mr Martin said the public was being put at risk by the fact there are fewer than 40 officers tackling unlicensed cabs.

Sarah Smith, 48, who has 14 years behind the wheel, said: "TfL are letting us down in lots of ways.

"I think they see us as a bit antiquated but at the end of the day we're an important part of London."

Fellow driver John Grant, 45, said: "They're not enforcing their own regulations and it means we're down 30 per cent. I know drivers can have a moan and a whinge, but this is serious."

Mr Grant said tensions between taxi drivers and illegal touts can be so high they have even spilled out into violence, with one colleague being threatened with a knife.

Last year a mass protest took place in Trafalgar Square as around 5,000 cab drivers ground traffic to a halt on a similar 'go slow' demo over Uber.

Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s chief operating officer for surface transport, insisted the capital’s taxi regulation is “the envy of the world”.

He said: “This protest is about Uber and has been organised by a small group of taxi drivers outside of the main, recognised taxi trade bodies and associations.

“As the regulator of taxi and private hire services, TfL welcomes the introduction of new technology that benefits taxi passengers, as long as it meets licensing and regulatory requirements.

“TfL applies the relevant regulations equally and any suggestion that Uber has been treated any differently to any other private hire operator is a nonsense.

“As the GLA's Transport Committee recently heard - the capital’s taxi licensing and regulatory process is the envy of the world.

“Customer satisfaction rates are high and our robust enforcement work with police colleagues continues to bear down on touting and bogus cabs."

He added that the proportion of people being approached by touts at night time in London has fallen from 66 per cent in 2003 to 15 per cent today, while the number of cab-related sexual offences has reduced by 38 per cent over the same period.

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