Hundreds sign Glasgow Keep the Cap taxi campaign

Glasgow taxi drivers will hold a rally and hand-in a petition today (Wednesday 30 July) signed by over 500 people against the proposal to consider lifting the cap on private hire vehicles across the city.

 

A petition launched by Unite’s Glasgow Cab Section has gained 545 signatures so far protesting against the prospect of the number of taxis and private hire cabs cap being lifted by the city’s authority. 

 

Unite Glasgow taxi demonstration

WHEN: Wednesday 30 July Time: 12:30 to 13:30 

WHERE: Cochrane Street by John Street with Keep the Cap Petition to be handed to Council officials.

 

A public consultation held by Glasgow City Council on the private hire cap finished on May 28. The current private hire vehicle limit is 3,450 but companies including Uber are pushing for the cap to be lifted.

 

Sharon Graham Unite general secretary said: “The cap in place for private hire vehicles is about protecting a fair, safe, and accessible transport system. The demonstration and petition being handed in by Unite’s  taxi membership raises really important issues not just for the drivers but for everyone in Glasgow. The drivers will have their union’s full support in the fight to Keep the Cap.” 

Unite’s Glasgow Cab section claim that any move to remove the cap would cause serious harm to taxi accessibility for passengers with mobility problems, reduce vehicle standards, increase pollution, and create a ‘race to the bottom’ in the city’s transport system. 

The union added that Glasgow's transport system could be ‘overwhelmed’ by unregulated operators if the cap is lifted, and this could raise wider safety concerns as private cab firms and operators may not hold the same rigorous safety checks and procedures. 

Andy Brown Unite industrial officer said: “The fact is that there is no shred of evidence to support Glasgow City Council lifting the current cap on private hire vehicles. The opposite is true because the cap in place helps to protect vehicle standards, the environment, and, critically for our members, it guards against a race to the bottom. The only people to benefit from any cap being lifted is multi-national firms such as Uber whose exclusive motive is profit.”

 

ENDS

 

Notes to Editor

For media enquiries please contact Andrew Brady on 07810157922.

Email andrew.brady@unitetheunion.org

 

Unite Scotland is the country’s biggest and most diverse trade union with around 150,000 members. The union is led in Scotland by Derek Thomson.