MAY 2009
PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY 95
...CABBIES COUNCIL QUERIES LINCOLN CABBIES’ £1 SCHEME
Black cab drivers in Lin- coln have welcomed the proposalto allowthemto charge just £1 when hailed on the way back to their base. The pro- posal
would see
pedestrians able to flag down one of the 30 par- ticipating
hackney
carriages, so long as it has its light on and is within the city boundary, andbe taken to StMary’s Street for £1 per person. Dave Smalley of High- way Taxis said the drivers he’d spoken to saw it as doing their bit for the credit crunch. “We are all feeling the pinch,” he told the Lin- colnshire Echo, “but this helps everybody and we’re doing our bit. I’d be happy to have £1 per person back into town - it’s better than getting nothing.” Several other hackney drivers spoke up in agreement;
Terry
Grace, about to start a career in cab driving
with Terry’s Taxis, sug- gested that one group that could see a major benefit is patients at Lincoln County Hospi- tal. “If you’re stuck up at the hospital and just wanted to go down into town, then this would be great,” he said. It was proposed that all the cabs involved in the scheme would display a sticker with informa- tion for passengers. However, a decision on finalising the design of these
promotional
signs will not be made by the council’s licens- ing committee until it meets in June. The offer is only set to apply to journeys to St Mary’s Street rank; any other journey to other parts of the city centre will be charged at the standard meter rate. In a subsequent report in the Echo, it was reported that the City of Lincoln Council has raised concerns that
the scheme could lead to a breach of existing legislation governing the maximum fare a cab can charge. According to the cur- rent tariff sheet, it would only be when a group of four or more people hailed a cab that any danger of exceeding the maximum fare exists. But even with seven people in one of the larger black cabs, they would have to trav- el just 1,575m - less than a mile - to comply with the law. The trade expressed their disgust with the council’s attitude and lack of cooperation , saying they were trying to do something really simple and positive, emailing a council liai- son officer with the proposal and asking advice, and getting no response. However, in a state- ment the council said: “The legislation is clear,
the maximum charge payable by a hirer is the amount indica ted on the meter. If they want- ed to advertise a £1 fare into town scheme, provided they comply with the legislation and get Licensing Commit- tee approval for the advertisement to be placed in or on the vehicle, all they need to do is submit details of the scheme together with the artwork and we will do the rest.” Kevin Barron, licensing manager for the coun- cil, said they are not stopping hackney car- riages from introducing a “pound into town” scheme. “As the regula- tory body, the council has a duty tomake sure hackney
carriages
operating within the city are adhering to the leg- islation, policies and conditions of
their
licence,” he said. “We are not here to prevent owners from introduc-
ing innovative
schemes, but any scheme must be within the relevant legislation.” Mmmm... What’s the problem then? The £1 per head scheme is fea- sible within two distinct parts of the legislation. Under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 any variance of the metered tariff, such as excess luggage
charges,
soilage charge, charg- ing for extra passengers etc., can be charged as long as the charge is stated on the tariff. That’s all the council is saying
here, we
believe; just get Com- mittee approval. Also, section 10 of the Trans- port Act 1985 covers immediate hiring of taxis at separate fares, as follows:- “(1) In the circumsta nces men- tioned in subsection (2) below, a licensed taxi may be hired for use for the carriage of passen- gers for hire or reward
at separate fares with- out.... becoming a public service vehicle; or ceasing... to be sub- ject to the taxi code. (2) The circumstances are that - (a) the taxi is hired in an area where a scheme made under this section is in opera- tion; (b) the taxi is licensed by the licens- ing authority for that area; and (c) the hiring falls within the terms of the scheme....(4) For the purpos es of this section, a licensing authority may make a scheme for their area and shall make such a scheme if the holders of at least ten per cent of the current taxi licences issued by the authority request the authority in writing to do so.” The rest of the section goes on about “designated areas”; no problem there as you’re talking about St Mary’s Street back to the rank. So get on with it! - Ed.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
