WOLVERHAMPTON WORRIES


Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing best practice guidance for licensing authorities in England - GOV.UK


SPECIFICALLY, THIS SECTION:


8.12 Vehicle identification and signage “Members of the public can often confuse private hire vehicles with taxis, failing to realise that they are not available for immediate hire and that a private hire vehicle driver can only fulfil pre- booked requests. Greater different-iation in signage will help the public to distinguish between the two elements of the trade. To achieve this, licensing authorities should seek to differentiate the profile of private hire vehicles as these can only be legally engaged through a booking with a licensed operator.”


“Licensing authorities’ private hire vehicle signage requirements should be limited to the authority licence plate or disc and a “pre-booked only” door sign.”


“Where an exclusive relationship exists between the vehicle proprietor, driver and operator, a licensing authority should consider permitting the display of operator details in a discreet manner to not undermine the overall objective of enabling the public to


differentiate easily


between taxis and private hire vehicles. This might, for example, be through small branding on the rear of the vehicle.”


Of course, I have only quoted certain elements of the best practice guidance here, since there is a lot more to this section that you can read yourself by following the above link.


The NPHTA responded to this consultation and our stance was clear: in our opinion making it mandatory to remove all vehicle signage completely from all private hire vehicles in this way was a mistake and could have dire consequences.


Although we do appreciate the drivers’ point of view and agree that they should not need to display permanent signage for one operator, when in truth as self-employed people, they may be and should be able to accept bookings from more than one operator, provided of course that the triple lock rule is observed.


PHTM AUGUST 2024


We also accept that the presence of conflicting signage can indeed lead to confusion, false advertising and conflict.


However, we also see the operators’ point of view, that branding is an important part of a private hire firm’s identity and their passengers have always been able to verify that they are being collected by the correct vehicle that has been despatched by the firm displaying clear company branded signage on their vehicles.


The main justification for removing signage states that: “It is no longer required due to modern advanced technology”.


However, there are genuine concerns including:


School contracts: • All children but especially those with special education needs (SEN) need to be able to identify the vehicle is actually for them.


• Schools need to be able to recognise from a distance that vehicles are genuinely licensed.


Late night lone persons:


• Passengers do not necessarily pre-book journeys or may not book the trip themselves, so would not receive the text confirmation of vehicle, registration number, driver, or any other details that would be sent via apps from operators


Despite these concerns this new guidance and the resulting changes in local licencing conditions has now been sanctioned.


Whilst we appreciate that drivers now have the freedom they have demanded and deserve in reality, there is now little to stop unlicensed drivers in unlicensed vehicles praying on vulnerable children, lone passengers and irresponsible alcohol and drug fuelled party goers.


When you see ten unbranded vehicles waiting for their booked fares outside a nightclub at 3am on a Sunday morning.... we hope and pray that technology prevails as how can we can guarantee they are indeed waiting for pre-booked fares!


Watch this space as the saying goes. 17


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