Self-employed taxi driver Daniel Thompson has never known it quite as bad as it is now.
Brexit has hiked wages elsewhere in the driving industry meaning many ex-cabbies have turned their hand to HGVs. Meanwhile, taxi drivers were one of the first to be hit by the pandemic and they are still feeling the effects.
In quiet Caldicot in Monmouthshire there are a handful of drivers who serve more than 30,000 people - stretching through nearby Magor, Rogiet and Chepstow. They have shared their stories because they say they are now at breaking point.
Read more: To read more about issues resulting from coronavirus in Wales click here
Daniel was so fed up with abuse and people not understanding the pressures facing taxi drivers that he decided to go public on social media, explaining the day-to-day challenges of a cabbie who feels disrespected and let down.
“It’s been an awful time,” he said, reflecting on the past 20 months. “When lockdown hit there was suddenly no need for us and we folded overnight. It’s bumped on its a***.
“I’m one of the few who operated all the way through. I had a couple of drivers with me, but they’ve gone now. One of my old colleagues went to work in a warehouse, and I don’t blame him. It’s [taxi driving] not guaranteed work anymore because it is so up and down.
“I am now back to being as busy as before Covid. Does that mean I can bring my mate back? I would love to but how can I bring him back if I can’t promise him work? We don’t know what the government will do from week to week.”
It isn’t just that Covid restrictions and Brexit has led to drivers leaving the trade. Those who spoke to WalesOnline said potential drivers are being put off by costs of licencing.
“It’s £600 for a taxi licence badge and if you’re self-employed and coming off the back of this pandemic, or you’re unemployed and looking to get into work, that’s a lot of money," said Daniel.
“If you’re an operator like I am you're looking at a lot more. And that’s before you even get started.
“The problem with this industry is that no-one wants to do it. Everyone wants us there at the snap of a finger but no-one wants to come and work with us. People look at the life and the costs and it scares them. I don’t blame them, it scared me when I started. We are at breaking point.
"In and around Cardiff you probably still can snap a finger and get a taxi at your door, but it’s not like that here. We are facing an impossible situation.
“Everyone expects you to be in ten places at once. I’ve been halfway to Gatwick and had people ringing me pleading with me to come back.”
Stories of taxis not waiting for customers, or not turning up in the first place, have escalated in recent weeks, and Daniel said he felt compelled to go public to highlight the issues he is still facing.
He said: “It’s horrible when you read the criticism and the bad press. The driver is late because the customer before was late, it’s not because we’re sat at home twiddling our thumbs. There might be some bad apples, but the vast majority of us are just doing our best.”
Last month it was revealed that more than half of licensed taxi drivers across the UK have left the industry since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Licensed Private Car Hire Association, which represents the industry, estimates that the UK is short of 160,000 of the previously 300,000 workforce.
Daniel added while he has stuck it out so far, he thinks about why he is still doing the job most days.
“There are many occasions where I wake up of a morning and wonder why I do it,” he explained. “But I try to remind myself that I do it for pride and self-respect, and for my community.
“It is an essential service for people here. One lady I picked up today can’t drive and relies on me. Many are like her. They rely on a very small group of us.
“If I stop, what are those people going to do? They’ll stay at home every day. They won’t go to church, or out for lunch."
Ian Crawford, who has worked for himself as a taxi driver for six years, described his financial support during the pandemic as “woefully inadequate”.
“Right through I’ve had next to no support,” he said. “I am ex-forces and I have a pension and because of that I did not get any self-employment income support. I was getting £200 a year too much to be eligible.
“I had to put my mortgage on hold and could easily have lost the house.
“Eventually, a year on after losing almost everything, I was able to apply for discretionary grants. They aren’t even enough to pay the mortgage every month.
“I’m not the only one in this position. I was one of many one-man bands who have had almost nothing.”
With almost no financial support and losing nearly all of his work, it begs the question how he was able to cope.
“I’ve had to do little bits on the side,” he explained. “This winter I am a Santa in the local community. I’m studying a degree in IT and computing. I’m practising the piano to do weddings.
“I’m 61 - I shouldn’t be doing a degree to try and earn more money. But I feel I need to do it.
“All of the work went. There were no airport runs which was 40% of my work. There were no nights out which usually made up the rest. And it’s still not back as it was.
“I was optimistic a month ago [that it would pick up again and more people would become drivers] but now Omicron is here and it’s depressing. I worry about another lockdown.” You can read the latest on Omicron here.
“I don’t blame people [for not becoming drivers]. If you are in a job not paying very much you tend to find something else and you might not be prepared to come back into the industry. Something needs to change.”
Simon Lewis owned his own taxi firm for 14 years before returning to the industry to go it alone in May this year.
“We’re in a really strange situation where demand is down during the week but it’s then through the roof on a weekend and it’s impossible,” he said. “I am losing work and money in the week and then I have to try and recoup it of a weekend, but it’s too much to cope. I’ve never known it like this - it’s just a nightmare. I’ve never known people struggling to get a taxi like this.
“When I had drivers with me it wasn’t so bad, but three of my old drivers have gone into HGV driving.
“The abuse doesn’t surprise me. But we haven’t got time to be waiting around for customers. It’s an awful trade to be in at the moment."
The Welsh Government insisted it "recognised" the challenge coronavirus has caused for taxi drivers.
A spokesman said: "We have made funding available, both through the local authority discretionary grant and through non-domestic relief, and regularly meet with the sector to review support that can be made available.
“We also continue to provide up to date, industry specific advice through our website as we have done throughout the pandemic.”
Monmouthshire Council said it has tried to help taxi drivers by freezing licence renewal fees.
A spokesman said: "We understand that the pandemic has presented many challenges for people like taxi drivers who were impacted by lockdowns. Monmouthshire County Council administers the licensing for taxi drivers in the county and as part of the licence, tests and checks are carried out such as knowledge and safeguarding tests, medical checks, DVLA checks as well as DBS checks, and form part of all standard licensing for taxi drivers in Wales.
"Licences issued by Monmouthshire also allow taxi drivers to operate across the whole of the county and not exclusively to one area of that county. Monmouthshire County Council charges £224 for a three year licence for new drivers and £185 for a three year licence for renewals, which is in line with the average costings for licences across other local authorities.
"A decision was made by the Licensing and Regulatory Committee to freeze fees for the period of April 2021/2022 due to the impact caused by the pandemic. These licence fees can be paid on a monthly basis to help spread the cost.
"Monmouthshire County Council has also assisted in issuing all applicable Welsh Government Covid grants to taxi drivers during the lockdown periods. Unfortunately Monmouthshire is unable to offer support with the other costings associated with running a taxi such as insurances and MOTs as this falls to the driver or the taxi firm to arrange. ”
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