ROUNDTHE COUNCILS NEWCASTLE:


SIGNDEMANDS FORTAXIDRIVERS


The latest Public Pro- tection Committee of Newcastle


under


Lyme Borough Coun- cil has voted to impose a condition of licence on all PHV drivers that they must display permanent stickers on their vehi- cle(s)


telling pas-


sengers that journeys have to be pre- booked. The sign, which must measure 590mm x 220mm, would also feature the name of the


operator under whose licence the vehicle is operated, as well as the firm’s phone number. All 445 licence hold- ers in the borough were consulted about the changes; fifteen replied by saying they did not want


the


change, with most of these objecting to adhesive rather than magnetic signs being used. Evidently this decision was taken on the basis that the Committee felt that if


DERBY: COUNCIL REJECTS INSPECTIONCOMPLAINT


Taxi drivers in Derby claim over-zealous inspectors are losing them business by tak- ing cars off the road for minor issues such as damage to their paintwork. But the city council has rejected the claims, angering the drivers and taxi unions. They raised the issue as a common com- plaint at Derby City Council’s taxi licens- ing committee, which ordered an investiga- tion. The subsequent report concludes the allegations are un- founded. But Javed Khan, of the Derby Area Oper- ators’ Association, told thisisderbyshire: “The officers stop the cars and take them off the road for little bits which wouldn’t be of any danger or risk to the public, things like paintwork being dam- aged. As soon as they do that, the car has to go to the garage so drivers are losing money.” “I’ve known some drivers go to a licensed testing sta- tion and get their car examined only to drive out, be stopped


PAGE 10


by an officer and told the car is not fit. How can that be right?” The council’s re- sponse was that it did not intervene at the approved testing sta- tions, which carry out examinations on its behalf. Other com- plaints raised were that standards were differ- ent across the testing stations in Derby. The report by council officers states: “Sug- gestions that licences are suspended for minor defects are not supported by the evi- dence.” Out of a fleet of about 1,160 taxis, 218 were tested at the roadside over a six-month peri- od this year, with 63 found to be unfit and having their licences suspended. Of the 63, 17 were inspected jointly with the police or VOSA. Cllr Paul Pegg, one of the taxi


committee’s


licensing vice-


chairmen, said: “This allegation of being over-zealous comes up all the time but I don’t believe there is anything untoward and I think the officers are protecting the public.” Mr Pegg said


other councils, such as Liverpool and Chester, were far more “ruthless” in their inspections. The report concludes: “Derby is no more pre- scriptive or zealous than our benchmark- ing partners and in some cases is signifi- cantly less so.” It was to be consid- ered at


the most


recent taxi licensing committee meeting; Mmmm… if you look at our January review of last year’s Swoops, Derby had four entries in the table: the first showed that, accord- ing to press reports, 67 per cent of vehicles pulled in were found faulty; the following swoop faulted 38 per cent, the third found 35 per cent faulty and the fourth found 71 per cent faulty. So how many of these were for small things such as a paintwork chip? Get in touch with the Associ- ation and we can send you the Ombudsman report from Bolton, where the trade suc- cessfully challenged their


over-zealous


testing regime. If you are members, that is… Ed.


CARDIFF:


AGE LIMITS PROPOSALS FORTAXISARETHROWNOUT Cardiff’s


cabbies


enjoyed a victory when


councillors


threw out proposals aimed at improving the standard of the capital’s ageing taxi fleet. Cardiff council officers had recommended the public protection committee set a maxi- mum age limit for the first


licensing of


saloons and multi-pur- pose vehicles (MPVs). They also recom- mended the maximum age that saloons, MPVs and black-and- white cabs can be licensed as taxis in Cardiff be limited to ten years. But councillors on the committee voted by a majority to reject the proposals, with some arguing the ongoing maintenance of vehi- cles was more important than their age. They instead removed the current initial licensing vehicle age restriction of 25 months and extended the maximum age a cab is allowed to be on the road from ten


years to 12 years. The “prestige vehicle” classification, which allowed the owner to extend the life of their vehicle, was deemed defunct as a result of the changes and was scrapped. Some 96 per cent of the taxi fleet were pre- viously either “pres- tige” or purpose built black-and-white cabs. But the frequency of testing for all vehicle types will become annual for the first five years of the vehicle’s life and twice a year thereafter. Cllr Gretta Marshall told walesonline: “Age is a total red herring, the fitness of the vehi- cles is the key thing – age is irrelevant.” Cllr Lyn Hudson added:


“Some-


times the older cars are better maintained, more robust and fit for purpose. In this cur- rent (financial) clim- ate, we should be encouraging better maintenance rather than worry about the age of the car.” But Cllr Joe Boyle


warned: “We will flood the market with cheap- er cars as there is no longer any distinction between prestige or not.” Representatives of the hackney carriage and private hire trade had earlier warned that imposing stricter age limits could put some drivers out of business. Sharyn Donnachie, of Supatax 2000 Ltd, instead called for council officers to bet- ter monitor vehicles for faults, saying stop notices would get unsafe cabs off the road. Cardiff Hackney Driv- ers’ Association chair Mathab Khan said as well as a being an inconvenience,


the


more frequent testing regime will cost cab- bies an extra £114 a year. “I’m happy the prestige status was removed; there was no need for it any more as the vast majority of vehicles that are being built now are high quality,” he said.


PHTM JANUARY 2013


the signs were mag- netic, they would be removed from the vehicles outside pubs and clubs etc. Mmmm… Here we go again with permanent stickers. In reality, how many magnetic signs have been removed around the country? Answers on an email please… we need to understand the com- pulsion of councils to ruin vehicle bodywork with adhesive stickers all over the place. – Ed.


Cheshire West and Chester Council are looking to bring in new rules from April 2013 relating to the age of vehicles used for private hire in the area.


Under the


amended rules, new licences would only be granted to vehicles under 12 months old and no vehicle over ten years old would be granted a re-licence. Reacting to the news, owner of Neston Pri- vate Hire, Caroline Munnerly Howe, told AboutMyArea Neston: “We do not oppose the ten-year age


restriction, but the 12- month limit on new plated vehicles will threaten our ability to remain in business. “In a tough economic climate, most private hire firms cannot afford to only put brand new vehicles on the road. There are plenty of perfectly safe, good-condition vehicles available that are over a year old and are more afford- able for us. If we are forced to purchase new or nearly new cars as our older cars come off the road, the increased overhead


CHESHIREWEST&CHESTER: NESTONPHVDRIVERSCAMPAIGNAGAINST POLICY


will mean that we are no longer able to price our services cost effectively for passengers. “We have been asked to complete a consul- tation form where we are only allowed straight yes or no answers, so we can- not log our objection to one part of the new rules and agree with another. Clearly this is unreasonable.” Neston private hire drivers are carrying copies of a petition with them and asking their customers to show their support.


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