GMB PERSPECTIVE
I would like to make it very clear that I have never strived to be popular and although there are many people who swear by me I have no doubt that there
are as many who swear at me... if not to my face.
However my principles have always been to speak up when I think something is wrong and if this means treading on someone’s toes then so be it and it appears that there are a few of these people hobbling around at the moment from Lewes District Council (LDC).
If you have read some of my previous editorials in PHTM you will know that for the past two years or so
...along with the South East Unite rep Sean Ridley.. we have been in constant communications with various people at LDC Licensing who have been caught up with the explosion of having to issue PHV/driver licences to drivers flocking there under the ‘You know who app’ . When I say ‘various’ I mean being passed from one person to another.. and then back again. I have to add that I have always expressed my sympathy with the coun- cil having to suddenly cope with this which has resulted in most of these 500+ vehicles/drivers predominantly working in Brighton and Hove under the infamous ‘Disruptive App’.
I am pleased to state that with our persistent interventions we have finally triggered LDC to sit up and take note of its weaknesses which has certainly helped with the 100+ reports of licensing infringements with photographic evidence caused by their drivers who predominantly work here freely without any effective council enforcement.
We have constantly reported LDC PHVs with missing rear licence plates/side repeater licence plates and our involve- ment has finally made LDC Licensing realise that issuing magnetic rear licence plates and door repeater licence plates is extremely dangerous as this is a major risk to the public as these can easily be removed and stuck on another vehicle to be used for unsavoury means. This is especially relevant where any PH driver can work anywhere in the UK under the current free-for-all of cross border hiring. No council should ever use magnetic licence plates (see December PHTM).
Having pushed LDC into taking action we understand that all council licensed vehicles will now have these magnetic licence plates replaced - although we don’t know when. Con- sidering this has been going on for well in excess of a year with LDC being fully aware for the whole of that period.... it is so good to see that the council values public safety so highly (he says with a slow shake of the head).
Ironically there has never been any acknowledgement of thanks from LDC for bringing these terrible safety issues to its attention because without our time and effort this issue would not be known. In fact I consider there to be resentment that Sean and I have stuck our noses in.
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I do have to point out that such continuous infringe- ments of licensing is scorned upon by the old-school (operat- ing locally in their own district) LDC drivers and in my experience this has only taken place by new private hire drivers and operating disruptively through an “app”
We also made the point to LDC that as per their own written operator conditions of licensing... the operator of a private hire vehicle is just as responsible as the proprietor in ensuring that the vehicle meets the vehicle licensing conditions. Oddly enough it seems that LDC Licensing was unaware of this? So we put in a complaint against Uber Lewes, because if it wants to swamp Brighton and Hove with those 500+ ‘out-of-town’ cars, then we will be making damn sure it com- plies with its own conditions of licensing as a responsible operator. There we go.. treading on toes yet again....
For some unknown reason the Licensing Chair claimed that we wanted the Uber operator licence revoked? Goodness knows where that came from (he says with a laugh.. ending with a deep sigh)?
However, whilst progress has been made in some areas I understand that some in the LDC licensing department are now very reluctant to communicate with us, which I’m sad to say also includes the LDC Licensing Chair. I understand that this is because I’ve stated that I consider LDC Licensing is ‘not fit for purpose’. Hey.. not only do I stand by this state- ment, it is backed by copious amounts of credible evidence!
So as we come to the end of the year where LDC has seem- ingly cut off communications - I present to you the last complaint of the year, which I consider to be the pinnacle of all complaints to LDC Licensing and the Chair of Licensing.
Here is one of their private hire vehic- less, which pre- dominantly works in Brighton and Hove, that is dis- playing an illumin- ated roof sign stat- ing “TAXI” and imitating a hackney carriage.
I rest my case Chair of Licensing...
Andy Peters Secretary GMB Brighton & Hove Taxi Section
andy.peters@
gmbtaxis.org.uk
JANUARY 2021
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