WIGAN:
Cabbies are threaten- ing court action after the council blocked their suggestion to pri- vatise taxi testing. Currently the borough’s 863 hackney and PHVs face six montly re-test- ing to show that they are in suitable mechan- ical condition to carry passengers. All vehicles must report at the council’s vehicle testing centre at Hindley Transport Depot. But councillors on the Regulation Committee have now turned down a plea to allow greater “flexibili- ty and freedom” by offering the work to six private existing MoT
ROUNDTHE... FENLAND:
FURYOVER REFUSALTOALLOWMORETESTCENTRES
stations spread across the borough instead. Taxi driver and Unite union branch secre- tary Ronnie Melling said that they were “disgusted” by the councillors’ decision. He said they would now be taking advice from the union’s lawyers about appeal options. Mr Melling told the Wigan Observer: “We believe we put a very strong case to the council and we are frankly mystified by their decision. “Wigan is one of the largest Metropolitan boroughs in England and an insinuation that
LUTON: TAXIDRIVEROBJECTSTO24/7 RULING
A taxi driver was stunned to be told he must wear his name badge and display a sign on his car at all times, even on his days off. According to Luton Today, Mohammed Iqbal Khan, 41, was sent a letter informing him that investigations were being conducted after
a licensing
enforcement officer saw him driving his car on Tuesday, December 20 without a roof sign. Mr Khan said it was his day off and he was driving home from the shops, so did not realise he was doing anything wrong. Mr Khan said: “This is a very unfair matter. They are interfering in my private life. I was not working so why should I have to dis- play a sign or wear my badge? I went to see the enforcement offi- cer and he said I must wear my badge and have a roof sign on my car 24 hours a day, even if it’s my day off.” If he is caught breaking these conditions three
PAGE 62
more times in the next six months, Mr Khan will lose his private hire vehicle licence. Mr Khan said: “It feels like mental harass- ment. Why can’t I have a day off and not have to be a taxi driver every so often?” A Luton Borough Coun- cil spokesman said that once a vehicle is licensed with a local authority, it remains a private hire or hackney carriage until
the
licence expires or is sur- rendered and can only be driven by a Luton licensed driver, even if it is for private use. He said: “Drivers must fully comply with this legislation and other local authority condi- tions while the vehicle is being driven within its boundaries, even when being driven for private
purposes.
Therefore, the driver should wear and dis- play the badge in a prominent position and have the correct livery (roof sign) fitted at all times.” Mmmm… It is upheld in case law that a
licensed vehicle is always a licensed vehi- cle, and must be driven by a licensed driver. It’s down to local licensing conditions
as to
whether vehicle ID must be kept on at all times; the council is therefore imposing a singularly expensive burden on the vehicle proprietor if they live in a dodgy area, and the licensed vehicle at- tracts thieves like a magnet because its magnetic roof sign is still displayed in the driveway. However, to insist on the driver to wear his/her badge at all times, even when off duty, is outwith the powers of section 54(2)(a) LGMPA: “A driver shall at all times when acting in accor- dance with the driver’s licence… wear such badge…” etc. To our way of thinking, this sig- nifies when the driver is actually working. The licensing
authority
should have a record of whether the driver is licensed, and indeed whether the vehicle is licensed.
Struggling taxi drivers are calling on their local council to make it harder to get a licence in the face of growing competition. Cabbies claim the hackney carriage the- ory test in Sandwell is easier than in neigh- bouring areas such as Wolverhampton. And that means there are more drivers in the borough than ever, making it hard for peo- ple to collect enough fares to make a living. Taxi driver Stephen Baker, aged 48, told the Express and Star: “At the moment the test is so easy that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and seeing it as an easy way to make a quick buck. If they did make the test harder it would get a better quality of driver - peo- ple who actually care about the profession.” Mr Baker said tests
elsewhere required drivers to know the quickest and most effi- cient way to get to a location but said this is not the case in Sandwell. He said the Sandwell knowledge test focused on how to speak to cus- tomers and where they can and cannot be picked up. “I could sit you down and it would take me about 20 minutes to teach you what you need to know in Sandwell,” he added. As well as the knowl- edge test, drivers also have to pass the DSA taxi test. Onkar Basra, who acts as a local spokesman for hackney carriage drivers, said: “At the moment we are get- ting
a lot of
substandard drivers in Sandwell. “We have spoken to the council and they have said they are
considering making it harder but we don’t know when this will be.” Cllr Derek Rowley, Sandwell’s member
for neigh-
bourhood services, said: “To obtain a licence to become a hackney carriage driv- er in Sandwell
the
applicant must meet several requirements. “A criminal records check is carried out and the applicant must pass a driving test in addition to a practical test where an ability has to be shown to a tester that they can safely deal with wheel- chair users. “A DVLA driver history check is also carried out and the knowledge test must be passed within three attempts.” He could not say if Sandwell’s test was easier but added that 25 people had failed it in the past year.
PHTM FEBRUARY 2012
VOSA approved MoT test centres here are inconsistent is ludi- crous as they all work to a UK standard. “The council’s Hindley test centre is just a test centre and the 82-page manual that they work to is basically an MoT plus extras like appear- ance of the vehicle. “Other testing centres can comply with the council’s manual and ensure that vehicles are still tested twice a year to the same standard, plus still have spot checks by the Licensing Departments. We just want the best available centres to be able to access this work.”
ILLEGALTAXI FIRMSOPERATING INWISBECH
Five years after Fen- land District Council promised a clamp- down on illegal taxis operating out of Wis- bech, little has been done to close them down. In fact evidence shows there are a growing number of ‘firms’ culti- vating the Eastern European population of Wisbech and offer- ing cut price deals for airport trips. Dozens of adverts are littered across the town
displaying
adverts for the illegal firms and no effort is being made to close them down. Cllr Dave Patrick, chair- man of Wisbech and District Hackney Car- riage
Drivers’
Association, told the Cambs Times: “They
have operated for years but when we complained the council says it is not prepared to jeopardise their offi- cers’ safety and take enforcement action. “The council is well aware of these adverts but has done nothing. You see them hovering around outside Asda as well as taking peo- ple to airports. Adverts in Wisbech are offering taxi servic- es which are un- licensed. “It seems the council is more interested in alleged overcharging of people by 19p rather
than people
being carried in unin- sured vehicles where no driver has under- gone a CRB check. “If they had an acci- dent they would not be
able to claim.” A council spokesman said: “To combat any problem of unlicensed taxi drivers we rely on evidence being pro- duced. So we are grateful
that these
notices have been brought to our atten- tion. “We will now seek to contact those respon- sible for posting the notices so that we can investigate fully. We will explain to them that any taxi driver has to be properly licensed and help them with any paperwork. “We will also make it clear to them what the penalties are if they are caught operating without a licence. If necessary, we will take the appropriate en- forcement action.”
SANDWELL: DRIVERSCALL FORHARDERTAXITEST cabinet
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