Quick taxi U-turn

Further to Tuesday's post on councillor, er, inconsistencies regarding things like taxi licensing, it's not just locally elected representatives who are at it. It should be recalled that the taxi trade in Dundee wants a cap on numbers, and although the council has agreed to examine the issue there has been some prevarication on the matter, apparently because of the "enormity" of the task.

But Dundee MSP Joe FitzPatrick has stuck his oar in, issuing a statement supporting the idea in principle, and citing evidence from Glasgow, Perth and Edinburgh. In particular he says: "Edinburgh operates a limit on the number of taxis and frequently reviews the demand for taxis and commissions regular surveys of demand."

However, Jim Taylor, a campaigning taxi driver in Edinburgh, who is embroiled in litigation with the City of Edinburgh Council over the above procedure in relation to an application for a taxi licence has contacted the Courier to express his misgivings about the proposal in Dundee. In today's Courier, a couple of days after Mr FitzPatrick's intervention regarding what happens in other Scottish council areas, the MSP says: "Mr Taylor is a resident of Edinburgh and will be reflecting his experiences as such, which will be different to those in Dundee, and I have suggested that Mr Taylor contact his local MSP in Edinburgh to pass on his views".

Er, hello? Clearly Mr FitzPatrick's problem isn't so much what's happening in Edinburgh as that Mr Taylor's opinion doesn't 'fit the narrative', but why be so obvious about this double standard?

Mr FitzPatrick also suggests that capping taxi numbers could "improve professionalism" in the city's taxi sector, but since these matters normally depend on direct regulation or competition in the market then it would be interesting to know his precise thinking on this, since it seems like a red herring.

For example, it appears generally accepted that taxi vehicle standards in Dundee have improved significantly in recent years, following a quality control crackdown by the council, and indeed this was in spite of a previous cap on numbers being removed.

Mr FitzPatrick's action brings to mind another intervention a handful of years ago by his SNP colleague Stewart Hosie MP, who helped create acres of news coverage over several weeks, culminating in strike meetings and a go-slow by taxi drivers in central Dundee. This seemed to achieve little except stirring up trouble.

There's already been an element of strife in the current dispute without the likes of Mr FitzPatrick's rapid U-turn and ill-informed remarks potentially making things worse.

(A c. 200-word version of the above sent to the Courier as a letter!)