r/Glasgow Tools

It's not just domestic services. The licencing department (or in particular the taxi and private hire enforcement and licencing department) have been taking the utter cunt (but I imagine all departments are coming the cunt).

Everything went on pause because of lockdown. So, there's a lot of drivers out there with expired taxi driving licences and expired vehicle plates (fair enough they granted us extensions), but now we are opening back up they have sent out the first round of catch up letters to get cars in for their missed inspections and they've went and hiked the price up by 10% for the sheer pleasure (bear in mind this fee needs paid every 6 months). Basically, ripping the arse out of it to make up for the lost revenue from the past 5 or so months of lockdown when they know we have all struggled just to stay afloat.

Not to mention the fiasco over the fight to get PPE screens fitted to private hire cars. They finally said we can have them after a 4 month legal battle between the ADCU union and the council, but they have set the rules in such a way that the hurdles are impossible to overcome (car manufacturer has to write a letter to the council confirming the car is road worthy + a certificate from Mira + confirmation from the insurance company + a whole load of other barriers). But, because they appeared to do a u-turn it will take a fresh legal battle to challenge the impossible rules. Nobody has the money to challenge them on it.

Then, we all still need to enrol ourselves on the £400 "professional driver and customer service course" within 6 of our next licence renewal dates.

They have suspended accepting licence renewals from anybody whose licence that didn't fall into their arbitrary window for an extension is about to run out and are leaving the window razor thin for getting things back up and running. Under normal circumstances it takes about 8 weeks for a renewal to go through, but they are starting back up "sometime in September" but all the licences due at the end of September have not been granted the extension. Unless they pull a magic rabbit out of a hat and play a blinder in such a way as we've never seen GCC play ever before, these guys are going to be fucked silly (their operators (Uber, Network, etc.) will have no choice but to suspend them without a valid licence not extension). And did I mention the car inspections and licence fees are being hiked by 10% for the pleasure?

They are taking the absolute cunt and ripping the arse out of it. Because Covid, so they'll get away with it.