Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, helped launch a new electric taxi for London last week as part of an event in Westminster hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Taxis on 13th December.
Ms Villiers has been standing up for local cabbies living in Barnet, campaigning on a number of issues of concern to her constituents who are licensed taxi drivers. For example, she called on the Chancellor to remove electric taxis from the luxury vehicle bracket of Vehicle Excise Duty. In the recent Budget he agreed that this will happen from April 2019. She is Vice Chair of the APPG on Taxis which was set up to highlight matters of concern relating to the taxi sector.
Following the event, Ms Villiers said “London’s black cabs are iconic and the introduction of a new electric model will allow this classic vehicle to play an important part in improving air quality in the capital. I warmly welcome the launch of this new cleaner greener taxi and I am pleased that the Chancellor has accepted that taxis should not be taxed like luxury cars.”
Theresa Villiers is also backing the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) campaign against abusive cross border hiring. This occurs where a minicab operator who has been prevented by a local authority from gaining a Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) licence gets one from a different local authority and continues to operate in their original location.
Commenting on the issue, Villiers said “The cross-border hiring loophole has allowed people who have been deemed unsuitable to operate as taxi drivers to obtain PHV licences and carry on regardless. I’m backing the campaign by cabbies in Barnet and across London for national minimum licencing standards and more effective regulation of cross border hiring. For example, it is important that all PHV drivers have appropriate training in relation to disabled passengers.”
Members of the APPG on Taxis have written to Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, calling for new national minimum standards for PHV licences and new regulations to crack down on abusive cross border hiring.