Drivers on strike again as students are left stranded

A further taxi strike in Coventry ended last Thursday, 10 February after a duration of two weeks.

It was called off following councillor Lindsley Howard’s rubber-stamp of a three-month review into demand for cabs in Coventry. Approximately 500 striking taxi drivers are believed to have voted unanimously in favour of ending the strike.

The reasons for the strike were varied, with a surplus of cabs in Coventry and a shortage of parking spaces among the factors blamed. Coventry City Council have also been attributed some of the blame, who are responsible for issuing the licences for black cabs.

Partly a reaction to the inaction of Coventry City Council over licensing, action taken included cabbies blocking taxi ranks to prevent other drivers from using them. The city of Coventry has a population of approximately 375,000 with a total of 903 cabs, a figure seen by some as excessive.

The strike resulted in great inconvenience for some Warwick students who use such a service regularly.

Third-year Erasmus undergraduate Alan Coadou spoke of the strike: “It was really annoying. We had to walk late at night in Coventry city centre, which is not safe and going out was limited. It was a great inconvenience to be stuck at the station with lots of luggage. Moreover, the number 12 bus is slow and rarely on time, which made the taxi drivers’ action even more exasperating.”

However, a second-year German and Business student who wished to remain anonymous stated: “As a resident of Canley, it was not that inconvenient having to walk the 500 metres to Uni every day. Taxis are expensive enough already and taxi firms should pay their drivers more.”

Taxi driver Michael Richard Moore revealed that many drivers did not wish to join the strike but did so out of a wish to show solidarity with their co-workers. “I personally do not believe in striking, but felt a pressure to join as so many of us were involved. Recently, cab drivers from Nuneaton and Bedrock have been taking the business of what is rightfully the drivers of Coventry.

“Although totally unacceptable, the Council is yet to take action against this. I believe that the taxi firms which operate in this area should take a writ against the Council. We realise how inconvenient the strike was but nevertheless attempted to help vulnerable citizens such as the elderly or those who needed to go to hospital. We felt the strike was necessary,” he added.

The strike resulted in considerable loss of income for some taxi drivers, most of whom are self-employed, earned nothing during the strike and were not compensated for lost wages.

Not all cabbies were happy about the strike. One driver who spoke to the Boar complained of the effect it had on his family, as he was the sole earner. “Essentially most drivers operate alone and work for themselves, and my family suffered during that time.”

The strike did not seem to have affected the decisions students made in going out to Coventry, Leamington or on campus. The effect on attendance figures at Students’ Union events was negligible. Chris Luck, Democracy and Communications Officer at the SU, stated there was no noticeable change in attendance levels, which are subject to many different factors, during the strike.

The leader of the strike, Imran Zaman, Chairman of Coventry Taxi Association, said: “After nine days, we’ve achieved recognition that we’ve got problems which need to be sorted out. Our problems haven’t been recognised for years. We’ve also achieved unity throughout the trade.

“We’re calling off the strike in the interests of the public, and there is no further action we can take while striking,” he remarked.

The Council’s refusal to issue a temporary cap on licences while a three-month review is carried out means that court proceedings are likely, but it remains to be seen whether further taxi strikes will ensue.