Wow – wow – wow! So as I see it, every three years you’d have to do an unmet demand survey for taxi-ing, and every three years you’d have to do an unmet demand survey for private hire cars – got to be cheaper, got to be quicker, got to be easier!
I seriously can’t believe that anybody would want to go down this road, but there it is in black and white. Read it for yourself on line.
So apart from this wonderful unmet demand situation, what else is there? We dive out of this complex and distressing survey-controlled disaster, into something that we went through ourselves several years ago, and that is contract hire. Do you remember contract hire? We were exempt from licensing if the contract was for longer than seven days. In Scotland it’s not less than 24 hours. It says, “Concerns have been raised that the contract exemption has been used to circumvent appropriate scrutiny of those offering driving services and undercut licensed companies.”
The suggestion appears to be that if the vehicle is used for profit, it would be required to be licensed. But if it were for other transport arrangements such as those carrying disabled persons, and voluntary groups where they are transporting mainly elderly people or children – this is exactly what we are suffering in this country already. We have one group in this country that is already in Europe, suggesting that these volunteer groups that are being part-funded by a local authority should not be legally able to be used by that authority for commercial purpos- es. And when we say commercial purposes, we mean work that has to be put out to tender – like school and hospital contracts.
Historically the trade has always been able to bid, and they still can; but at all levels from bus and taxi, the volunteers are under-bidding. And somehow or other they appear to be making profits. The legality of this is being examined at this moment. On the other hand, so many drivers in the volunteer scheme are doing well over 10,000 miles a year by tak- ing part in these tendered contracts, suggested prosecutions should take place very shortly to prove clearly and unequivocally that these people are not insured.
It strikes me, folks, that the Scottish consultation is seeking to put their licence holders in a far worse position than they are at the moment. And as the National Association is amongst the list of consultees, you can rest assured that this is the response that we will be making.
In the meantime, I have a feeling that 2013 may be a very significant year: not only with regard to volunteers, but by the end of the year we should know the Law Commission’s targets on deregulation, the licens- ing of vehicles, cross-border issues, hopefully councils’ accounts and whether they can charge for enforcement or not – and with a bit of luck, and input from the Minister, maybe we can get rid of taking seats out of MPVs and the banning of tinted windows and other lunatic licensing conditions.
However, the Association has reached a conclusion: that at this moment in time, the trade is virtually hide-bound from challenging lunatic council decisions and actions. And we need to do something about it. Therefore from January, all licence holders joining the NPHA will now have an additional benefit of membership: licence protection, which will be backed up by our expert legal team and underwritten by Arag (specialists in legal expenses insurance) and Park Insurance of Bristol.
No, don’t get me wrong: we’re not going to cover you if you’re caught doing a hundred miles an hour through town, or you have been clearly caught illegally plying for hire, and other such silly activities and unrep- resentable misdemeanours. But if your licence has been suspended because you were wearing a green top hat on Wednesday, or they try to close your operator base down instantly on a Friday afternoon because the wind was blowing from the north, or they take the plates off your vehicle because although your vehicle is a taxi, there are too many taxi signs on it... then yes, certainly a high assessment of winability will ensure that all members have a safety net to protect them.
So you’d better join the Association, hadn’t you? Give us a ring – go on the website after the holiday break
www.npha.org.uk and we’ll tell you all the particulars. We’ve told you over the years that 98 per cent of our phone calls and emails start with the same intro: “I wonder if you can help me... I’m having a bit of trouble with my licensing authority...” Now, in addition to guidance and education, the Association will provide members with the financial protection to be able to challenge the law- fully challengeable.
On that note, have the best possible New Year. And until next time, sayonara.
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taxifleet@bluedropservices.co.uk JANUARY 2013 PHTM PAGE 9
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