PROLONGING JOURNEYS
Article by Steven Toy, NPHTA Vice Chair and Trade leader of Cannock Chase Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Liaison Group
When we pick up passengers we are reasonably expected to take the shortest possible route, but this is not always easy or straightforward. There may be a number of different routes available without an obvious answer. Choosing the best route is of particular importance if the fare is calculated according to distance and time, as you go rather than by an agreed fixed price.
Even though the dilemma of which route to take is less of an issue, fixed pricing carries its own set of problems when passengers ask you to deviate from the agreed journey for whatever reason (extra pick-ups or drop- offs or calling at a shop along the way etc.) which is why I am firmly against fixed-price journeys. The driver nearly always loses out as a result, but if the fare is calculated according to time and distance, how do you make the right choice?
LGMPA 1976, s.69 PROLONGATION OF JOURNEYS
(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.
“Unnecessarily prolong” is clearly a deliberate act or of mens rea unlike, say, driving without insurance which is a strict liability offence. Otherwise, the offence would be committed each time the driver faced the dilemma of choosing between two routes: one which is the shorter route in distance and the other, the quicker in time.
In this instance, the DfT’s advice in the Best Practice Guidance 2010, is to pick the quicker-in-time option. I would disagree if the time saving was as little as a couple of minutes but the distance increased by several miles. This is entirely possible when there is the option to use a bypass or a motorway.
If prolonging a journey is intended to be of financial benefit to the driver (and of detriment to the
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passenger) then the offence is clearly one of dishonesty which would be grounds not only for prosecution, but would also bring into question the driver’s fitness and propriety, potentially leading to their licence being revoked. The only other motivation would be to keep a passenger in the vehicle for longer than they would otherwise wish, which would potentially be even more serious.
HOW TO AVOID UNNECESSARILY PROLONGING JOURNEYS?
More to the point, you want to avoid accusations from passengers. There is a route near me that reduces the distance by 0.3 miles and the time remains roughly the same as taking the main road. A number of passengers, over the years have perceived this route as a prolongation. The answer, as always, is to communicate. “If we go this way, it works out 40p cheaper for you!”
That said, if your licensing authority wishes to take action over a difference of 20p or 40p, I would suggest that their in-tray is looking a little light and their invaluable time could otherwise be utilised more meaningfully and productively...
If there are road works or heavy traffic which could cause them to miss an appointment, communication is again the key if you propose changing the route accordingly.
If you are unsure between two or more route options, passengers are often helpful if you ask them and any suggestion on their part is your get-out-of-jail-free card. However, you need to be clear about your dilemma of route options rather than give them the impression that you don’t know the area. As well as making you appear incompetent, receiving blow-by- blow directions is tedious.
Finally, there is the ultimate fall-back option of Sally Satnav. Use at your peril and as a guide rather than instruction. Sally has form ‘as long as your arm’ for prolonging journeys in distance and in time. The route she suggests may resemble the line drawn by a toddler on a freshly-painted or papered wall with a new crayon.
This is why local knowledge and map reading are still essential.
DECEMBER 2022 PHTM
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