Details of Eastbourne taxi gripes revealed by council

The crackdown came after the Herald was told by Eastbourne Borough Council, the licensing authority for taxi and private hire vehicles, that 44 taxi related complaints – and not 34 as previously thought – had been “investigated robustly” by officers in the last 12 months.

A spokesperson said officers checked nine taxis on Friday, November 11, and eight in the early hours of Sunday, November 13.

All vehicles inspected were displaying plate, door signs and interior plates.

Of the complaints received in the last year, 31 were for bad driving, one for queue jumping, two over drivers’ attitude, one complaint about a driver taking the wrong route, seven cases of harassment, one over problems with an assistance dog and finally, one over property.

A council spokesperson said, “Eastbourne has more than 500 licensed drivers, demonstrating that the number of complaints received is relatively small.

“However, each complaint is robustly investigated to ensure the high standards the council demands are maintained.”

Last week the Herald reported a rise in complaints about some drivers not having a basic knowledge of Eastbourne and using sat navs to find destinations and photographic identity badges not being displayed inside licensed vehicles.

The problem was raised at a meeting of Eastbourne Borough Council on Wednesday night with councillors asking questions as to why there had not been a licensing committee meeting for three years.

People have also taken to Facebook to voice their concerns.

Clair Roberts said, “One driver actually got a map out and I had to navigate where I wanted to go.”

Nigel Alexander said, “We visit Eastbourne several times a year and earlier this year in March, I hailed a taxi at the station and asked to be taken to Wilmington. The driver did not know where Wilmington was and I had to give him directions.”

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