A NEW YEAR, A NEW BEGINNING OR MORE OF THE SAME?
In December a Streamline Brighton & Hove hackney carriage driver was viciously attacked by an ignorant thug because the driver couldn’t drive up an icy hill near to the final drop-off after a three-mile journey.
The drivers’ nose was broken and he was smashed over the head with a bottle, causing a deep cut to the back of his head needing stiches. What a great time for the father of one with Christmas just around the corner!
However, the trade pulled together and within a few days Streamline had collected over £500 and a ‘Go Fund Me’ page raised over £800 - this will run for a couple more weeks during January at:
gofundme.com/f/brighton-hove-taxi-driver-attack-appeal
At the time of writing no arrest has been made but the police have the CCTV video and full details of the thug, including his mobile number from the booking, so hopefully this barbarian will face the consequences.
(Full details of the story can be found in Terror Times on page 59.)
TIME AND TIME AGAIN
What is it with the police when they are called to an incident where someone has run off without paying and they turn up and tell the driver: “it’s a civil matter”?
Even when police attend our Trade Forums and promise to have ‘Bilking’ known to its officers as a criminal offence, it still goes over the heads of some officers.
This was told to me by a driver who picked up four people at a rank and was told he was not getting paid and was even threated with his throat being slashed!
The driver noted the house they went into and called the police. However, the driver was told that the passengers had denied ever taking a taxi and unless the CCTV video could be immediately seen there was no proof.
They were clueless to the fact that the CCTV is council controlled and there is a procedure to get the data. The driver was also told that the non-payment of the fare was a ‘civil matter’.
This happened only a week after the driver attack.
Fortunately, the driver took the details of the officers and we will certainly be raising this at the Trade Forum meeting in January.
48
WHEN IS A TAXI NOT A TAXI?
Well, as far as Lewes District Council licensing is concerned it prefers to let the public guess!
The 1976 Miscellaneous Provisions Act clearly states: “48 Licensing of private hire vehicles.
ii) not of such design and appearance as to lead any person to believe that the vehicle is a hackney carriage.”
This could not be much clearer.
However, Lewes licensing makes an exception to the 76 Act and states this in its conditions of licensing:
“Any signage or advertising on a private hire vehicle must not include the words ‘taxi’, ‘cab’, hackney carriage or ‘for hire’ save for the word ‘taxi’ or ‘cab’ being part of the company name.”
So, lets all be clear on this. The 76 Act makes it clear that a private hire vehicle cannot have the appearance of a hackney carriage, and as we all know a hackney carriage carries a sign stating ‘Taxi’.
But if you are a Lewes operator and your company name includes the word ‘Taxi’ or ‘Cab’ then that is perfectly fine with Lewes licensing, and in the example shown this private hire vehicle works not only under Uber but also for a company called ‘Smart Taxi’ and the signage is not a problem.
I did have this out with the Lewes solicitor about three years ago, when at that time the word taxi was on a private hire vehicle because it worked under another company with ‘Taxi’ in the company name. I tried in vain to explain how illogical it was for someone who is a legal professional to consider allowing ‘Taxi’ in any shape or form to be on a private hire vehicle.
So, under the logic of Lewes licensing if you have a company called ‘THIS IS A TAXI’ then this is perfectly acceptable to the council.
This now been taken up by a Lewes hackney carriage driver so best of luck that!
Andy Peters Brighton & Hove Cab Trade Association
info@bhcta.co.uk
JANUARY 2023 PHTM
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