A Hackney councillor has criticised the recent protests by black cab drivers in London over proposals from many London borough councils and TfL to restrict where black cabs can operate in the capital.
Feryal Clark, a Labour councillor for Hoxton East and Shoreditch, posted a tweet on Wednesday which said that, although she “loves” using black cabs, unrestricted access to black cabs is “not a human right”.
Ms Clark’s tweet added that she “[does not] understand why cabs think they should be allowed to polute our lungs and be allowed to cause danger to the most voulnerable on our roads [sic].”
Her comments come amid a wave of protests in recent weeks from black cabbies. Their outrage was in response to proposed restrictions by many London councils and TfL on where black cabs can operate in the capital.
The proposals, which were announced in November 2018, would make key streets around London available to buses and bicycles only, banning taxis from using them.
Since November 2018, cabbies have grouped together to deliberately block roads in key parts of inner London such as Tottenham Court Road, Bank Junction and Tooley Street – roads which Hackney-based cabbies often need to use and which are managed by borough councils.
One black cab driver based in Hackney, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Hackney Post that his job would “be made much harder” as a result of the proposal. “I respectfully disagree with Ms Clark,” he added. “Quite simply, our job relies on the ability to operate without restrictions on where we can drive.”
The proposals tie in with London mayor Sadiq Khan’s wider plan to introduce an ultra-low emissions zone across much of London in the next several years. TfL has said that all new taxis must be emissions-free, but existing ones can run for up to fifteen years without incurring charges.
Last month, he said an extra £24m of funding would go towards helping London’s black cab drivers switch to electric vehicles.
