ROUND THE COUNCILS HULL:
HYNDBURN: ANGER AT PROPOSED CHANGES TO TAXI POLICY
Hyndburn Council is proposing several changes to its taxi pol- icy, and is consulting with taxi companies across the borough. Private hire vehicles older than seven years would be taken off the road, all hackney car- riages would be required to fit a swivel seat for disabled pas- sengers, cars would have to meet emis- sions targets, and adverts on glasswork would be prohibited, if the council goes ahead with its plans. But a spokesman for Max Cabs, in Accring- ton, said the move would ‘kill or cripple an already struggling trade’, and questioned the motive of the coun- cil.
Deputy leader of Hyn- dburn Council, Clare Pritchard, denied the
council was trying to reduce the number of taxis on the road to encourage residents to use the upcoming £40m Pennine Reach bus services, or that it was retaliating after a blunder left the coun- cil facing a £200,000 bill because it failed to advertise increases in taxi licensing fees for nine years.
Cll Pritchard said: “There is nothing to retaliate against. It was a simple administra- tive mistake and we are paying the money back.
“This is about provid- ing a comprehensive plan. We have several policies hanging around and this will bring it into one com- plete policy. I would hope it would improve standards.”
Leader of the opposi-
tion, Peter Britcliffe, called the consultation ‘bureaucracy gone mad’.
He said: “This is vic- timising the taxi drivers. The consulta- tion should end now and the policy should not change.
“In terms of advertis- ing, we know it’s a very competitive market. Taxis are extremely cheap in Hyndburn so why prevent drivers from getting extra from adverts?”
Meanwhile, fewer than 50 taxi drivers have actually applied for money back after the licensing fees blunder by the council.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Lancashire Telegraph showed just 41 of 536 licensed drivers had requested a refund.
WEST SOMERSET:
Rules restricting the type of vehicles West Somerset’s taxi drivers can use look set to be reviewed after the cur- rent regulations were branded “unnecessar- ily onerous”.
MOVE TO REVIEW DISTRICT TAXI RULES row.
Equally, the rules state that passengers must be able to exit a vehi- cle without the need to move or adjust any seating.
According to the West Somerset Free Press, members of West Somerset Council’s licensing committee agreed to review the legislation after receiv- ing a complaint from Watchet-based taxi driver Andy Virgin. He had accused the authority of bias after another private hire operator was given permission to use a vehicle - which was in breach of the council’s policies.
Under the rules, vehi- cles with three rows of seats are not sup- posed to be licensed for use as taxis if the only exit from the rear seats is via the middle
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Several years ago Mr Virgin took on the dis- trict council after he was forced to remove a seat from his seven- seater vehicle.
He was later granted an exemption from the rules and given per- mission to use his Ford Tourneo with all seven seats in place. But the breakthrough only came after Mr Vir- gin complained to the Local Government Ombudsman about his treatment by the authority - which found the council guilty of maladministration. At the most recent licensing committee, councillors were told another taxi operator had been given a
licence, apparently in error, to use a Mit- subishi Grandis vehicle as a taxi in April this year.
They were told the vehicle did not comply with the regulations and the issue of the licence had been “unfortunate”. However, they were advised to grant the operator an exemption from the rules and to consider overhauling the regulations in the future.
Councillors agreed and granted an exemption, subject to a number of condi- tions, for the Grandis. They also agreed a separate exemption, again subject to condi- tions, for Mr Virgin to allow him to buy an eight-seater Hyundai i-800 to use as a taxi. They also backed plans to review the rules and regulations.
DRIVER’S CALL FOR LESS RED TAPE
A driver says he has won a concession from the city council over an age limit for PHVs. Tony Chester, who has been a private hire driver for more than 12 years, met with coun- cil officials recently after criticising the red tape surrounding taxi licensing rules.
He claimed some
should be relaxed to help drivers who were struggling to meet the costs of various licens- ing conditions. In particular, he called for a review of a ruling that all PHVs should be less than eight years old. Now, he said the eight- year rule is set to be made more flexible. He told the Hull Daily
Mail: “They told me they were prepared to look again at whether cars over eight years old could continue being used for private hire work, as long as their condition is reviewed every year beyond that. It is a small step forward, but it needs to actually be put into practice.”
EASTBOURNE: NEW LOOK FOR TOWN’S CABS
Eastbourne’s cabs have had a makeover in a move to help cus- tomers and improve public safety. From last month licensed hackney car- riage and private hire vehicles have a new livery on the doors. The new design was brought in after exten- sive talks between Eastbourne Borough Council and the major taxi firms as well as
independent drivers. The council’s portfolio holder for licensing Steve Wallis told the Eastbourne Herald: “The new livery will ensure that the public can easily identify licensed hackney car- riage and private hire vehicles in East- bourne.
“The scheme, which is the result of very extensive consultation with local taxi opera-
tors, will help present a good image and improve public safety by ensuring people only used properly licensed taxis.”
The hackney carriage signs will be blue colour and indicate they can be hailed in the street by cus- tomers. The private hire signs will be yel- low in colour indicating they must be pre-booked.
BATH AND N E SOMERSET: CABBIES BACK BID TO BAN SAT NAVS
An association of Bath taxi drivers has sup- ported council prop- osals to restrict the use of sat navs.
As reported in last month’s PHTM, Bath and North East Som- erset Council has proposed a ban to improve the know- ledge of drivers as well as the safety of passengers. However, drivers would still be able to use them outside B&NES, and in special circumstances, for instance when they don’t recognise an address or are just given a postcode. Chairman of Bath Taxi Association Rob Hollingdale said driv- ers had a good relationship with the council, and support-
ed the proposals. He told the Bath Chronicle: “A Bath taxi driver doesn’t need a sat nav to cross Bath. The majority of drivers agree with this deci- sion.”
Council cabinet mem- ber Cllr David Dixon said drivers should know their way around their local area.
However he said coun- cil officials would be flexible, with drivers found using a sat nav asked to explain why. Members of another group, region eight of the National Taxi Asso- ciation, say it is important that the council’s policy is flex- ible. A spokesman said: “The overview of the regional committee is that B&NES is sup-
ported in its efforts in so far as safety is con- cerned, windscreens must not be obscured, but the total prohibi- tion of modern sat nav equipment is, however, strongly objected to.” He added: “On occa- sions passengers ask for a postcode as a destination and in this scenario, a sat nav is a necessity, not a nicety. “Minor roads may be visited by drivers rarely or even never, passengers often ask for their destination and add that it is off a more major thorough- fare which will be known by the driver. “On approach the sat nav simply shows whether it is the eighth, ninth or tenth turning for example.”
PHTM JANUARY 2014
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