Taxi drivers' leaders are claiming a victory in their fight against new standards for drivers and what they claim will be crippling clean air zone charges after their protest brought traffic to a standstill in the heart of Bolton town centre.
Traffic - including as many as 1,000 taxis - around Le Mans Crescent and Bolton Town Hall was halted for several hours today (Monday, January 10) and drivers sounded horns in a mass protest timed to coincide with a key council meeting.
The protest was good humoured apart from when one traffic warden attempted to get stationary taxis moving by threatening to issued tickets to taxi drivers.
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She backed away when her actions threatened to cause uproar among crowds packed in outside the town hall.
Yasir Amir, chairman of Bolton Private Hire Association, said: "The council is proposing that all private hire taxis in Greater Manchester that are five years old can only be used for another five years.
"That means when a car is 10 years old we have to buy another car, which is five years old again.
"A five-year-old car would cost about £15,000 to £20,000. No taxi driver could afford that. It's unfair to impose that burden on us. It will put us in debt.
"We want the council to rethink these proposals, especially at this moment in time because of ongoing Covid situation. There's lot of uncertainty. The whole proposal should be postponed until we are clear of Covid.
"The financial package which has been put in front of us is no way near enough to help us to replace our cars."
Nick Astley, owner of Metro Taxis, the largest private hire firm in Greater Manchester, was part of the protest and said that no taxi driver during the pandemic had made any money and that the minimum licence standard (MLS) proposals - including rules on dress codes and police checks for drivers - were 'badly timed' under the circumstances.
However, he was invited into the town hall towards the end of the protest and emerged late in the afternoon with good news for the protesters.
He said: "The council invited us in to inform us that they've deferred the MLS standards until February so that they can have more time to talk to the drivers and the unions representing the drivers and the operators.
"So I'm very pleased with the result. I also said that we were not here to cause trouble. We are here because we are all concerned for our livelihoods. I'm delighted that so far they seem to have listened.
"I think our protest has had a positive effect. I think it's been a fantastic turnout, nearly enough a thousand people.
"I hope we've not caused too much disruption. Hopefully, with a bit of negotiation, we might be able to get somewhere now."
Discussions around Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone, which could create a new charge for drivers, are ongoing across the region.
