PRIVATE HIRE EXCLUSIONS
all private hire drivers are local, in fact, most are not, being licensed by a local authority many miles away.
Is this really such a problem?
During Covid, we watched as the number of bus and cycle lanes increase massively, in many cases reducing triple lane routes down to two-lane routes, causing far more congestion than there ever was, and therefore having a massive impact on air quality in those areas, which then leads to the introduction of more CAZ charges.
private hire can actually accept their own bookings, until four or more vehicles are being “operated” at which point they must apply for a “booking office” licence, known in England as the operator licence.
Should Private hire be able to make use of bus lanes and bus gates?
The short answer is, yes they should. The reason for this is simply because, once the passenger has been picked up and is en route to their destination, the role is identical; transporting the public along the shortest possible route.
What does the legislation say?
According to the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976, section 69 Prolongation of Journeys states:
(1) No person being the driver of a hackney carriage or of a private hire vehicle licensed by a district council shall without reasonable cause unnecessarily prolong, in distance or in time, the journey for which the hackney carriage or private vehicle has been hired.
(2) If any person contravenes the provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence.
Yet the introduction of such restrictive areas and zones, is forcing drivers to do exactly that! But we will see councils dismiss that by saying: “it is not without reasonable cause, drivers should know the routes” which is a very poor excuse since each area is different, more so now where the reality is that not
PHTM APRIL 2023
In larger cities, we have seen entire areas effectively closed off to private hire vehicles, which means they cannot take the travelling public to their destinations, nor can they collect them from pubs, clubs, shops, health centres, and various other locations due to simply not being allowed in any more.
There may be “alternative routes” but those create huge detours, adding large costs on to the travelling public, effectively removing the private hire sector from being available in those locations.
Why should private hire vehicles be included?
As above, ease of travel, reduction in costs to the travelling public and those less able bodied that simply cannot walk the distances to meet a booked vehicle.
Many less able bodied passengers rely heavily on the use of taxi AND private hire services. In fact, the latest Act of Parliament for accessibility: Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 includes both taxi AND private hire vehicles; the 1976 Act as quoted, includes both taxi AND private hire vehicles, and in the signage adopted by many for EV charging points, the word “taxi” allegedly includes both taxi AND private hire vehicles.
Therefore, in our opinion, the use of bus lanes and bus gates should indeed include both taxi (hackney carriage) AND private hire vehicles.
It is time to realise that taxi AND private hire vehicles are licensed to transport the travelling public in an efficient manner, and must not prolong the journey. It is time to make a change!
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