'Meter men' are keeping the wheels turning for historic Hackney trade

Taxi drivers have been an important part of life in Leeds for longer than you may think.

- by Charles Gray

From the days of horse-drawn carriages to today, when hybrid-powered vehicles transport users to their destination, drivers have developed a special relationship with and knowledge of the city.

The development of new technologies, changing habits and the abundance of private-hire vehicles from the likes of Uber have created problems for those in the taxi trade, but the people who are licensed to get their passengers from A to B are not going down without a fight.

The Leeds Hackney Carriage Drivers Association (LHCDA) was established just over a year ago as a way of representing some of the 537 licensed taxi drivers in the city and making sure their voices are heard.