...ROUND THE COUNCILS IPSWICH:


DRESS CODE INTRODUCED FOR DRIVERS


Ipswich Borough Council’s licensing and regulatory com- mittee has approved a series of updates to its licensing of taxis and PHVs. Among them was a proposal to intro- duce a dress code to ensure acceptable and consistent cloth- ing across the trade. According to the Ipswich Star, the report said: “The purpose of a driver’s dress code is to seek a standard of dress that provides a posi- tive image of the HC and PH trade in Ipswich to enhance


a professional image and ensure that pub- lic and driver safety is not compro- mised.” The council said that most drivers already dressed appropri- ately, but acknow- ledged there had been “varying stan- dards” until now. The code requires drivers to wear clean clothes, with men wearing trousers or knee length shorts and shirt, while women are required to wear trousers, knee-length skirt or dress and a shirt or blouse.


It bans HALTON: APPLICATIONS FOR MORE HCs BLOCKED


Aspiring hackney carriage drivers in Halton are em- broiled in a bitter long-standing row with their


local


authority over limit- ing the number of cabs in the borough. The row came to a head at Runcorn Town Hall on a recent Wednesday night when an appli- cation to grant 15 hackney


carriage


licences was refused by the Regulatory Committee. According to the Liv- erpool Echo, many drivers operating in nearby areas such as Frodsham are des- perate to operate as hackney cab drivers in Halton - but have been refused permis- sion to do so on a number of occa- sions. The authority say


only 267 black cabs are allowed in the area, however it is unclear on what pol- icy the hackney carriage limit


is


based - and where the 267 figure has come from. Mystery surrounds the source of the fig- ure which the council say it is based on an unmet demand sur- vey from decades ago - although no record of this could be produced at Com- mittee. The meeting saw cab drivers argue fiercely that more black cabs were needed to meet the growing population of the borough, which has increased by over 30,000 since 1985, when the last unmet demand survey was thought


to have been carried out. JANUARY 2019


Drivers also argued that a limited num- ber of wheelchair accessible vehicles in the borough had led to cases of disabled people being strand- ed, and said granting more


hackney


licences would allevi- ate this problem. The council’s legal advisor John Tully said that while the Department


for


Transport advised doing a new unmet demand


survey


every three to five years, there was no legal requirement to do so. Although no evidence of the his- toric survey was produced, he asked committee members to take its results to be true. Cab drivers are now hoping to take their appeal to the Crown Court.


drivers from wearing clothes that are ripped,


contain


offensive graphics, sportswear, sandals, flip-flops or hoodies. Other measures passed included all drivers being regis- tered with the DBS update service for updated checks, a certificate of good conduct being re- quired for drivers not born in the UK who moved to the country after the age of ten, a code of conduct and new drivers being issued a dual HC and PH hire licence.


Nottingham City Council has been carrying out an undercover opera- tion over Christmas to make sure taxi drivers do not flout the law after receiv- ing 190 complaints from passengers. Complaints include not using the meter for journeys, rude behaviour and poor driving.


Sixteen


licences were re- voked last year. The majority of offences


were connected to plying for hire; some were also revoked when the driver was caught drink driv- ing. Councillor


Toby


Neal, portfolio hold- er for community protection for the city council, told the Nottingham Post: “There is a very small minority of drivers who give others a bad name. The council is com- mitted to taking


YORK: LEGAL ADVICE SOUGHT OVER UBER CONCERNS


Taxi bosses in York say they have re- ceived an “incred- ibly positive” res- ponse from council chiefs who are deal- ing with their con- cerns over Uber’s operations in the city. York Private Hire Association com- missioned a report from Gerald Gouriet QC - a barrister who specialises in licens- ing issues in Eng- land and Wales - fol- lowing years of complaints by local drivers against Uber and its drivers. In December 2017, the council refused to renew the opera- tor’s licence held by Uber in the city, but the report said “the refusal appears to have made little or no difference”. In his legal opinion, Mr Gouriet QC wrote: “I am strong- ly of the opinion that Uber and Uber drivers are acting as


unlicensed opera- tors. “Uber vehicles and drivers continue to present themselves in York and invite potential customers to book their ser- vices


on


smartphones. Uber encourages


their and


incentivises drivers to do so. The result is that out-of-town private hire drivers and vehicles not meeting


York’s


licensing require- ments, are under- taking PHV book- ings on the city’s streets.” Wendy


Loveday,


chair of the York Pri- vate Hire Asso- ciation, was among local


Council’s representa-


tives who met with members of City of York


licensing team to discuss the report, and said she was pleased with the response. She told the York Press: “The council


is dealing with it in an incredibly posi- tive manner and I feel they are 100 per cent behind the York trade. I didn’t come out of that meeting with the slightest doubt that they were not acting in a professional manner for us. “We’re looking for- ward to what the council will do. We’re completely optimistic on the council’s attitude towards


it [the


report].” A York council spokesman


con-


firmed the authority met with represen- tatives from York’s taxi trade “to dis- cuss the recent QC report”, and the council would “now consider this infor- mation with our legal advisors”. The spokesman said further details on this would be released in the com- ing weeks.


37


NOTTINGHAM: STING TO STOP DRIVERS BREAKING THE LAW


action, sending the clear message that it is not acceptable. We want everyone to get home safely and to be given a good quality ser- vice


by taxi


drivers.” Chander Sood of Unite Union for hackney taxis in Nottingham, said: “The council should take strict action against people that are ripping cus- tomers off.”


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