..point of sale ..... point of sale .. SHROPSHIRE:
COUNCILS BASILDON:
MORE CHECKSONCABBIES
Cabbies who spend six months outside the country will face more stringent checks if they want to work in the dis- trict on their return. The Southend Evening
Echo reports that any cabbies who return to work in Basildon from this month will have to undergo full criminal records bureau checks in the UK and
produce a certificate of good conduct from the country they have returned from to show they received no crim- inal convictions during their stay.
ABERDEEN: OVER65sTAXI RULE COULD BE ‘AGEIST’
Licensing bosses could scrap taxi regu- lations for older drivers over claims they are “ageist”. Hackney and private hire drivers currently have to provide a med- ical certificate every year once they reach 65. But officers have rec- ommended that the practice be scrapped
after fears were raised that it was age dis- crimination.
Aberdeen City Coun- cil’s licensing com- mittee is due to vote on the issue later this month. Billy Larkins, of Aberdeen’s Rosehill area, is still driving a private hire car part- time at 67.
He told the Aberdeen
Evening Express: “I have been a taxi driver for 11 years and before that I was a lorry driver. “I have a lot of driving experience but I had to get a certificate every year to prove that I am fit to drive. I think it is age discrimination. “I can still do the job and it is my choice to carry on after I am 65.”
NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE: CABBIES WILL BE MADE TO SHARPENUP
Hackney carriage driv- ers in North East Lincolnshire will have to prove they are smart - in more ways than one - if they, are to keep their licence. North East Lincolnshire Council’s (NELC) Com- munity Protection Committee has given the go-ahead to new compulsory qualifica- tions and a dress code for taxi drivers.
The proposals were in a report drawn up for the committee by a working party, set up to look specifically at taxi services following protests from drivers about the number of new hackney carriage licences being handed out in the borough. As of November, there were 513 private hire drivers and 272 hack- ney carriage drivers in North East Lincolnshire. Although the group set out to check the num- ber of hackney drivers was not getting out of hand, it also pledged to look at other meas- ures to improve taxi services in North East Lincolnshire.
The committee has
agreed from January, all new applicants will be required to have a Level Two BTEC Award in Transporting Passengers by Taxi and Private Hire. And from April 1, 2012, all existing drivers will have to have the quali- fication when they apply to renew their licences.
The course includes segments on cus- tomer service, equality and diversity, disability awareness, safe trans- portation, safe carriage of luggage and also map reading and route planning. The course costs between £100 and £300, and takes about 10 weeks to complete. The nearest provider is Hull College.
Meanwhile, a dress code banning items such as T-shirts with logos, baseball caps and track suits will be put in place.
Chairing the meeting, Councillor John Fenty said: “I am delighted to say they are going to be implemented and that should improve the service.”
FEBRUARY 2010 PHTM
He also thanked the Hackney Carriage Association for its financial help on an ongoing survey. As reported, cab driv- ers are paying for the unmet demand survey to see if there are too many taxis in the area. Chair of the Hackney Carriage Association, Dave Atkin, told the Grimsby Telegraph: “I think the measures are reasonable - they are not over the top, and will undoubtedly go some way to improv- ing standards.”
He added he did not think drivers would, generally, be upset at the new education stan- dard because it would slow down the number of new applicants. He also praised the BTEC qualification, having taken it himself: “Because it is class- room-based, drivers will be able to look at a lot of the theory, includ- ing law, for example.” In the new year, the committee will look at proposed age restric- tions on cabs, and what facilities should have.
they CONCERNSOVER PROPOSED NEW STAR RANKING
Oswestry taxi and pri- vate hire drivers have criticised a new, five- star system being brought in for compa- nies and individual drivers.
Shropshire Council says the new scheme will mean a higher standard of service than merely meeting the requirements of the current licensing con- ditions. But members of Oswestry Taxi Driv- ers’ Association say that it is simply putting to much pressure on small businesses. Driver Henry Pugh, who is one of those involved in the associ- ation, said that drivers were fed up with bureaucracy from the local authority.
He told the Shropshire
Star: “It is simply mak- ing our lives even more difficult. The council says it is fac- ing a huge financial gap and is talking about putting up charges, yet it is going to all this expense of wanting to bring in this new system.
“They haven’t been sending night enforce- ment officers to Oswestry since April and we have had reports of people driv- ing without plates or badges, but they want to impose all these new conditions on us.” The five-star system would rate drivers and both taxi and private hire companies on a scale from nought to four for the skills that they have.
Four stars would be awarded to those who for instance, had under- gone advanced driver training, had basic first aid skills and had a cus- tomer service charter. “It also says drivers should be a member of a recognised trade forum, but the council will not recognise our taxi drivers’ associa- tion although we have about 60 members,” Mr Pugh said. Carol Foster, licensing team leader for Shrop- shire Council, said: “The consultation peri- od has run for 12 weeks and has now ended. “All representations will then be considered by the council’s strategic licensing committee prior to any decision that it makes.”
CHICHESTER:
Rules covering med- ical checks for taxi drivers in the Chich- ester district look set to be tightened up - after a warning that in some cases ‘essential medical facts’ had not been disclosed to the district council.
MEDICAL CHECKS SET TO BE TIGHTENED say he was fit.
licences to obtain a medical certificate from any GP, with no requirement for the doctor to be their own GP, or to have access to records.
Under new proposals, the council would insist that medical cer- tificates needed by new applicants seek- ing hackney carriage and private hire vehi- cle drivers’ licences should be obtained only from the appli- cant’s own GP practice, which would have full access to per- sonal health records. The proposal is one of a series of changes being recommended by the council’s licens- ing and enforcement committee for full con- sultation with the taxi trade and the public before final decisions are made.
Senior technical officer Ian Smith said current practice allowed appli- cants for drivers’
There were a number of examples where officers caused further inquiries to be made with the driver’s own GP, having received a medical form signify- ing that in the first doctor’s view they were fit to drive. “We have challenged this, and our reasons for challenging were found to be correct,” Mr Smith told the com- mittee.
There had only been a small number of cases where officers had occasion to question what was being said, but they could not afford to take a risk. One applicant who was checked was subse- quently found to have been convicted of an offence which involved an addictive drug. He had produced a certifi- cate from a doctor to
Principal licensing offi- cer Laurence Foord said the majority of drivers tended to go to an impartial GP, but that doctor had no per- sonal knowledge of medical records. “The vast majority of applicants go to one GP in the Chichester dis- trict,” Mr Foord told the West Sussex Gazette. Other proposals approved for consulta- tion include:
•Introducing the Driv- ing Standards Agency test for all new appli- cants.
•Making a knowledge test of the local area part of the application process for both hack- ney carriage and private hire drivers. It currently applies only to hackney carriage drivers.
•A new points-based system as a ‘modern, transparent and effec- tive method’ to enforce taxi legislation, licence conditions and by-laws. •Increased frequency for vehicle testing.
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