LICENSING RULES REFORMS
Thank you to those councils that are now supporting our trade! The news of some councils changing their licensing policy is very much welcomed and we hope to see more follow suit. For many years NPHTA has been campaigning for change to conditions, relating to both driver and public safety; vehicle emissions, affordability and availability; and some which are just plain common sense. Regarding tinted windows: we ran a campaign on this issue in 2021, highlighting that many vehicles are now manufactured with tinted windows as standard. So we welcome the turnaround and applaud those councils involved. Operator signage: whilst we see the purpose of signage for passengers to verify the correct vehicle has arrived, we also see the risks to public safety where vehicles are attacked by vandals, simply because they are identifiable as such. We suggested to Sheffield last year, a tax disc type idea as a replacement or “middle ground” covering all bases, so we welcome that move in Oldham too. These changes are a huge move in the right direction, showing the benefit of the working partnerships between regulators and licensees.
David Lawrie, Director NPHTA - 0161 280 2800,
dave@nphta.co.uk SIGNIFICANT CHANGES MADE TO OLDHAM’S TAXI LICENSING POLICY
Oldham Council’s Licensing Committee met on 6 June, to consider proposals on the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy. The proposals, put forward by licensing officers and agreed by the committee, were
positively
received by the committee and several changes have therefore been made to the policy. The new policy document can be found at:
www.oldham.gov.uk/taxis
THE CHANGES ARE:
Removal of fire extinguishers/first aid kits:
It is no longer a mandatory requirement to carry these items in licensed vehicles. The discretion of the driver can be used, and any items carried should be in date and maintained in accordance with manufacturer instructions. Rear ID plate: Oldham licensed vehicles will display a rear identification plate which will provide the licence number, vehicle registration, expiry date, number of passengers and the vehicle make and model.
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Removal of front ID plates: Front plates are no longer required on licensed vehicles. In place of these, the council will be issuing a windscreen disc to display their plate number. Door signs: Operator door signs will no longer be required on PHVs. Instead they will display smaller yellow signs on the rear passenger doors with the words – “Private Hire Vehicle – Not insured unless booked with the operator”. As well as the new door sign, vehicle owners will be provided with a holder for the windscreen. Operators will provide their logo to put in this holder and drivers will need to change it for whichever operator they’re working for at any one time. Removal of vehicle coming on age: Lower age limit for vehicles is removed, there is now only maximum age limit of 10 years for regular vehicles and 15 years for WAVs and purpose-built hackneys. Vehicle tests: Number of tests /year will change to:
0 – 3 years old (1 test per year) 3 – 10 years old (2 tests per year) Over 10 years old (3 tests per year) Vehicle testing changes will only take place on the next renewal. Removal of VRQ & NVQ: Applicants will no longer need to undertake the VRQ or NVQ courses. Removal of Driving Standards Assessment: Applicants are not required to undertake this assessment, but can do so voluntarily if they wish. Removal of location section in the knowledge test: Our knowledge test has been updated and will no longer include locations. It is now one paper with 20 questions on licensing conditions, customer care, basic numeracy, CSE, highway code and road signs. Breaks in licence: If you fail to renew your licence, you will no longer need to do another knowledge test if the break is under 5 years. If the break is 5 years or more, you will need to sit the training and knowledge before a licence will be granted.
JULY 2023 PHTM
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