Taxi industry secures vital meeting to discuss future taxi vehicle payment holidays

Image credit: Mark Twyman

Taxi industry representatives have secured a meeting to discuss plans to extend taxi vehicle payment holidays and further support for drivers at risk of having their vehicles repossessed.

The latest update comes after a letter was sent to Chancellor Rishi Sunak before this month’s Budget announcement on 3 March urging the Chancellor to support the struggling taxi and private hire industry.

In the letter sent by the Mayor of London, Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), GMB, Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) and other trade bodies, it detailed concerns for thousands of drivers who are now at risk of losing their cars after a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ban on repossessions ended on 31 January.

Since 2018 taxi drivers in London have invested over £200million in nearly 4,000 Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) black cabs. Monthly payments for the ZEC taxi and insurance can cost cabbies around £1,200 each month, at a time when work levels are at a record low due to COVID restrictions.

According to LTDA sources, a meeting with the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) and HM Treasury civil servants has now been arranged.

Steve McNamara, LTDA General Secretary, said in Taxi Newspaper: “There is one area where we are making progress. As we all know, our Mayor, Sadiq Khan hasn’t been particularly vocal about the need to help taxi drivers. However, last week, thanks to the LTDA’s lobbying, he wrote to the Chancellor asking him to work with the finance companies to find a way to extend payment holidays and support drivers at risk of having their vehicles repossessed.

“As I have mentioned before, we’ve been lobbying the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), which represents the finance companies, for months to try to get them to extend payment holidays for our members. This has finally resulted in them contacting the Treasury with a proposal on how they could do it, with help from the Government.

“I am attending a meeting we have now secured with the FLA and Treasury civil servants shortly to discuss this and try to get this proposal over the line.”