...COUNCILS DERBY:
COUNCIL SAYSNOTOADVERTSONPHVS
Private hire vehicles in Derby should not be allowed to advertise on their vehicles, say city council officers. According to the Derby
Telegraph,
Western Cars asked the council if it could
advertise on the out- side of its cabs. Previously the council has refused permis- sion, saying adverts may cause a safety hazard for passengers as people may get into unlicensed
private
cars with such adverts on, believing them to be licensed vehicles. Western Cars’ applica- tion was also recom- mended for refusal by the taxi licensing com- mittee when it met on July 5.
BRIGHTON: COUNCIL BLAMESTAXI SHOCKON ERROR
Council bosses have blamed an “adminis- trative
error” publishing for wrong
nighttime taxi prices. According to the Brighton
Argus,
Brighton and Hove City Council’s licens- ing committee recently discussed a twenty pence increase on the flat rate for hackney carriages. Drivers asked for the rise to combat rising fuel and insurance costs.
But papers presented to the committee wrongly hiked prices by £10, saying trips of one mile between 9pm and 6am currently cost £15 and will rise to £15.20. It listed a two-mile journey as £17.20 and three miles as £19.40. The Argus printed these prices in their article about taxi fares recently. However the council has since corrected this to the current
fares of £5 for a mile, £7.20 for two and £9.40 for three miles. These would increase by 20p each under the plans. The proposed increas- es will now be advertised. The local authority spokeswoman apolo- gised and put
this
down to an “adminis- trative error”. The correct prices have now been posted on Brighton and Hove City Council’s website.
WAKEFIELD: ‘NEGLECTED’CABBIES DEMONSTRATE INCITY
Around 200 drivers gathered
outside
County Hall last month to protest against increasing licence fees, retest fees and criteria which make it easy to fail their vehicles on tests. They claim Wakefield has some of the highest fees in the country for cabbies. The costs of renewing a licence have gone up by around £20, and drivers said they are made to pay around £45 to have their vehi- cles re-tested even for minor failures such as faulty bulbs. They said they some- times had licence plates confiscated on a Friday for minor faults, and would not get them back until Monday, missing the busy weekend period and costing them most of their week’s income.
Javed Iqbal, chairman of the Wakefield Pri- vate Hire Association, said drivers had had concerns for about four years. He told the Wakefield Express: “This peaceful protest was a culmination of frustrations that have built over a number of years. “We hope that elected members have seen the level of feeling, unrest and tension over this and that we can work together to resolve the outstand- ing issues.” Cllr Nadeem Ahmed said taxi drivers were being
“messed
around”. He said: “Taxi drivers work incredibly hard and do not have an easy job. They take drunk people home on a weekly basis, people give them abuse and spit in their faces, and
AUGUST 2012 PHTM
it is all considered a normal part of the job.” Cabinet members said test
fees had in-
creased for the first time in three years and that they would review re-test costs and crite- ria. They were to meet with Wakefield Private Hire Association on August 2 to try and resolve their issues. Cllr Graham Stokes said: “We remain open and willing to work with the taxi and pri- vate hire community but we cannot and will not compromise the safety of the public when they use taxis.” Cllr Maureen Cum- mings said: “Enforce- ment action is only taken when necessary and is only done to protect the public. If a vehicle isn’t fit to be on the road, it shouldn’t be on the road.”
COLCHESTER: TAXPAYERS FOOT BILL FOR £200K BLUNDER
Taxpayers will foot the bill for an administra- tive blunder that will see cabbies paid more than £200,000. Colchester Council has agreed to pay drivers the year-on- year
licence fees it charged in error for the last six years. The figure is likely to be more than £200,000,
between the bor- ough’s 1,390 licensed drivers. Each is set to receive at least £150. A spokeswoman said: “The increases in fees charged in respect of hackney carriage and PHV licences, and operators’
licences
have not been correct- ly advertised. “This was an oversight
increases in shared
on the part of the council and we have been working closely with representatives of the Colchester Hack- ney Carriage Asso- ciation and the private hire vehicle trade to agree the process by which the refunds due will be repaid. “Having taken legal advice, we are com- mitted to refunding the increases that have been made since 2006.” Refunds will be issued from next month. The issue was first raised in September 2010 by Christie Wettasinghe, who runs Colchester cab firm Hawaii Five-O. Mrs Wettasinghe told the Chelmsford Week- ly News: “The council
has known about this for nearly two years. If it was the other way around, it would have been taking me to court. It is one rule for them and one rule for the rest.” The council was caught out because the Local Government Act 1976 says any fee rise of more than £25 must be advertised in a local paper. The increases were only advertised on the council’s website. Mrs Wettasinghe made the inquiry after local
watchdog, the Audit Commission,
government found
Guildford Borough Council had unlawfully increased its licence fees.
TEIGNBRIDGE: CRACKDOWNONILLEGALTAXI SERVICES
Teignbridge Council has launched a crack- down on unlicensed taxis in Newton Abbot. Recent reports of ille- gal unlicensed taxis suggest that drivers are offering cut-price taxi services through social media net- works. Areas of particular concern are Newton Road and Market Street
in Newton
Abbot, and the council will soon be working alongside establish- ments to help high- light the risks of travel- ling in an unlicensed taxi. According to This is South Devon,
a
spokesman for the council said: “While it’s perfectly legal for friends or family mem- bers to offer late night lifts, those who oper- ate for profit and advertise themselves are breaking the law and leaving them- selves
and their
passengers open to all sorts of risks.
“The most obvious issue is that passen- gers may not know the drivers and when they seek lifts, often while drunk, they could put themselves in a dan- gerous position.” Cllr. Mike Walters, Teignbridge Executive Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services, said: “This is a very disturbing trend we are seeing, and we want to put a stop to it straight away before anybody gets hurt. We are urging people to think about how they and their loved ones are getting home after a night out and we want to make them aware of the dangers. “These drivers are often not aware of the laws they are breaking and may quite inno- cently be thinking they are just earning a bit of extra cash, but it’s important
that they
realise how serious this issue is. New driv- ers can face especially severe consequences,
as six points means they’ll
lose their
licence. “We know people are openly posting on Facebook and we have passed several people’s details on to the police, who will be taking targeted action to put a stop to this practice.” People who are earn- ing cash in hand by offering unlicensed services may also be at risk of action for not declaring the income, and if they are claim- ing benefits while bringing in undeclared earnings there can be severe repercussions including prosecution. The council is working with local taxi drivers and the police to make sure that any unli- censed taxis are reported, and are hop- ing to clamp down on a dangerous practice which is reported to be costing licensed driv- ers
approximately
£30-50 a week in earn- ings.
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