By Brian Allison, local government reporter

DUNDEE TAXI drivers are threatening peak-time strike action or clogging up of city centre commuter car parking spaces.

Simmering discontent within the taxi trade has resulted in a mass meeting of taxi owners and drivers being called for Tuesday.

The aim is to address concerns about the operation of city council licensing polices, in particular a claimed failure to properly enforce restrictions on the private hire car sector.

The meeting has been called by representatives of three organisations in the city—the Dundee Taxi Association, the Dundee Wheelchair Taxi Association and the Transport and General Workers’ Union.

Notices being distributed to owners and drivers call for a large turnout and claim the future of the taxi trade in Dundee is at stake.

Dundee Taxi Association chairman Graeme Stephen said there was widespread unrest within the taxi trade and fears for people’s livelihoods because of the way the private hire sector was being allowed to operate.

He cited use of an unauthorised rank, touting for fares and taking verbal bookings among the main concerns.

Mr Stephen said it was known a lot of people were worried about the future of the taxi trade and the meeting was an attempt to find out the strength of feeling and what the members of the trade wanted done about it.

Depending on the outcome of the meeting, he said strike action at one of the busiest times of the weekend was a possibility, as was taxis taking up long-stay car parking spaces in the city centre as a way of highlighting their concerns.

Strike action could involve taxis refusing to work from midnight or 1am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, leaving thousands of revellers stranded in the city centre.

The meeting is scheduled to be held in the Dee Club on Tuesday, starting at 7.15pm.

A spokesman for the city council said they would await the outcome of the meeting before making any comment.