Taxi driver protest highlights safety concerns

Drivers wanted to take part in the protest to raise awareness of safety issues

Private hire drivers in the West Midlands have staged a protest in Wolverhampton because they say more needs to be done to protect their safety.

The Private Hire Drivers Alliance (PHDA) organised the rally in St Peter's Square to raise awareness, particularly since rioting and disorder broke out across the country earlier this month.

At a recent meeting with West Midlands Police, some drivers said they would avoid certain areas, with one stating a passenger had pulled a knife out on him.

The force said it would investigate all reported crimes where people were targeted just because of who they were.

Saj Ahmed, from Birmingham, represents fellow private hire drivers and addressed police at the meeting.

He said drivers were uneasy, but they also had issues with operators over low pay and conditions.

"Since the issue with the riots up and down the country, I think a lot of drivers, most of them, including myself, we're still being very very careful as to which areas we would go into," he said.

"It's just not fair or justified to travel into these areas with a high risk over a few quid and that's another issue we want to improve - the exploitation and the pay that the drivers get as well.

"I would say there are no-go areas because I would not go to those areas."

Saj Ahmed said a recent meeting with the City of Wolverhampton Council was positive

He said drivers had heard of several incidents occurring on the outskirts of Chelmsley Wood with cars being hit with bricks and stones from a bridge.

Drivers want operators like Uber and Bolt to do more vetting of passengers and take more seriously those with low ratings, he said.

"We should be able to make a decent living with the confidence that authorities, licences and the police are on their guard watching out for us," he said.

A recent meeting with the City of Wolverhampton Council was positive, he said, but the group wanted the local authority to cap the number of drivers, because the market was "so saturated".

Driver Peter said he wanted low-rated passengers potentially removed from apps as that indicated they were disruptive

One driver who wanted to be referred to only as Peter said he had previously been punched by a passenger and felt safety was deteriorating.

He said the trade was not respected by councils, app operators and police, and was in favour of lower-rated passengers being removed from apps.

"App operators don't care how abusive passengers are... if they have a regular low rating they should be removed from apps... the council and the app operators have an obligation to protect us."

In a statement, the City of Wolverhampton Council said the protest related to pay, recruitment and safer working conditions.

“These are controlled by private hire operators and government legislation and not by the council - we have made them aware the council has no powers to address any of the demands being made."

Drivers gathered outside Wolverhampton council offices on Wednesday afternoon

An Uber spokesperson said all drivers were guaranteed benefits including holiday pay and the minimum wage set by the government, known as the National Living Wage.

It said the safety of drivers was a top priority and a dedicated safety team investigated complaints, while customers using the app commit to its Community Guidelines and "any rider who violates these could lose access to the platform".

Fellow operator Bolt said it allowed drivers to set their own minimum prices, and they review their prices to ensure that they balance the earning needs of drivers with affordability for passengers.

In regards to safety, it said it had regular engagement with drivers and had held a recent roundtable event with drivers, councils, transport bodies, and unions.

If a driver gives a passenger a one-star rating, Bolt said it ensured the driver did not receive any further trip requests from that account and appropriate action was taken against consistently poor passenger behaviour.

West Midlands Police added: "Policing takes all reports of hate crime seriously, because we know that they have a devastating impact on not only individual victims but also targeted communities."