Andy Peters Brighton & Hove Cab Trade Association
info@bhcta.co.uk www.bhcta.co.uk
Devolution
At the time of writing these ramblings, the government has announced the details of several areas to be merged under devolution. I feel really sorry for the local taxi/PH trades affected by this, not only because of the massive disruption and upheaval this will cause, but also the fear of the unknown. The amalgamation of towns creating unitary authorities will have a massive impact on how those licensed drivers of taxis, PHVs and operators will function, and I really don’t think it will be in a good way.
Brighton and Hove, a city, is already a unitary authority with the amalgamation of the two towns of Brighton and Hove in 1995. I remember this very well because I was a Hove hackney driver at the time and to say there was some resentment from the Brighton hackneys would be putting it mildly!
We went through a transition phase of rules whilst this was being sorted out, whereby it was set that for a certain period if you were a Hove hackney driver you could pick up off the streets in Brighton. However, you could not actually stop on the Brighton ranks, but you could pick up from them. The same was in reverse for Brighton hackney drivers. Although thinking about this now, I do wonder if that was actually legal.
Did this transition period go smoothly, well yes and no? I do remember sitting on a long Hove rank, being the only one, and seeing a Brighton hackney swoop in and pick up someone who had reached the back of the rank who was obviously heading for me but had waved the Brighton taxi down. As the driver passed me he just looked at me and grinned. By all accounts there was a lot of this going on from both sides.
Bear with me on this: at that time all Brighton hackneys as they were then, had already changed from any colour car over to the white and aqua boot and bonnet livery, whilst we in Hove had changed over a couple years previously from any colour to white with the council crest in a deep mauve on the doors. On a historical point, both the then separate Brighton Streamline and Hove Streamline Association cooperatives that were each formed in 1936, all had to
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have black cars with white bonnets being the Streamline trade mark. This trade mark was also replicated in other areas as well with several Streamline Associations being formed on the same basis. In later years this became any colour cars but still with the white bonnet, although still at the time completely different companies. The decision to give up the white bonnet Streamline trade mark for hackneys to change to a single hackney Brighton livery was quite a big step in those days.
Stick with me, I’m nearly getting to my point; so, eventually all the then Hove hackneys had to change over to the established livery of white with aqua boots and bonnets. This wasn’t too bad because we all by then had all white cars, so it was just a question of getting the boots and bonnets painted and I had mine done as soon as I could. There was no rule put in that this had to be done straight away and actually you didn’t have to paint the boots and bonnets until you changed your car, so in fact this took a few years for all the ex-Hove hackney fleet to transit to the full Brighton & Hove livery.
Still with me? One other point on this was the issue of the two separate towns having hackneys with the same number, and my number was Hove hackney 85. Originally a Portslade (next door) hackney plate belonging to my brother in-law number 5 but became 85 when Portslade and Hove amalgamated in 1974.
I’m nearly there; so, when Brighton and Hove amalgamated there were two 85 plated hackneys and I was keen to keep that number because we were and still are known by our plate numbers, me being ‘Andy 85’. The process was that whichever car was to due to be licensed first would keep the original plate number, which was mine, and I ‘ve been known as ‘Andy 85, ever since. Although, I ‘ve been known by various other ‘affectionate names’ within the local trade!
What I’m getting at is that having experienced the transition period here many years ago, and knowing all the issues that arise, including forming a single set of local conditions of licensing (which we call the ‘Blue Book’ here) other areas will now be facing exactly the same hurdles to get through, due to Devolution and the creation of much larger unitary authorities. Although we still do not know if the government is going for ‘Absolute Standards’ meaning no council can add extra local conditions, or just ‘Minimum Standards’ that will still give the new unitary authorities licence to add whatever extra conditions they think fit.
AUGUST 2026 PHTM
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