DISGRUNTLED CABBIES


ELMBRIDGE HACKNEY DRIVERS’ PLEA - WILL ANYBODY HELP US?


Dear PHTM


My name is Miroslav Podlecki and I am an independent Elmbridge Borough Council hackney carriage driver. My fellow hackney carriage colleagues and myself each pay South Western Railway £808 a year for a permit to operate at Weybridge station taxi rank – which is a London commuter station.


The problem we are facing is that cross-border TfL licensed Uber PHVs are parking on our rank, 20-30 minutes before the train is due, blocking us from getting on, (we have many videos of this as evidence) and blatantly plying for hire, which as we all know is illegal and puts passengers at risk as they are not insured.


At very busy times when there is nowhere to park, they also circle on both sides of the train station car park, making themselves visible as available on the Uber app even though Uber does not have an operator licence in this borough.


We contacted TfL about this issue who responded:


“Unfortunately, we’re unable to investigate your complaint as the incident happened outside of London. Therefore, I advise contacting your local authority Elmbridge Council, about this matter.”


We then approached Sarah Meeton, Senior Licensing manager at Elmbridge BC to take enforcement action, but she responded:


“In the case of the train station to which you are currently experiencing issues, this is not Elmbridge land. I do not have any powers over the land or vehicles on the rank there. If the same situation was occurring over a rank which was designated by the Council, then we would be able to deal with it.”


Meanwhile South Western Railway’s response was:


“Colleagues and I have been in contact with several of the taxi drivers who have purchased permits to operate from Weybridge station over recent


60


months and have provided information on the actions being taken and challenges in doing so.


“Whilst we are aware of the complaints raised, the enforcement of access to the taxi rank is not something we would explicitly share detailed information regarding specific drivers or vehicles with other parties for privacy and commercial reasons, although I can confirm any driver who has not paid for access to the rank is risking an enforcement notice and associated fee at any time.


“I would also advise that the fee paid by your clients does not offer any form of exclusive access to our property and no such exclusivity has been advised or implied.


“If your clients believe any breach of licensing conditions by other drivers may have occurred on our premises, we suggest they contact the relevant licensing authority - if requested to do so, we will provide such authority with relevant information to support their investigation.”


We then instructed a solicitor to write to Uber London and this was their response:


“We note that Uber is not licensed by Elmbridge Borough Council. Nonetheless, we can confirm that we have been in contact with Elmbridge Borough Council in relation to these matters raised. Whether or not we impose geofences on particular areas is a matter for us and private hire vehicle licensing authorities, however, we can confirm that a geofence is active to mitigate the risks of an Uber driver using a hackney rank.


We are happy to meet with the council at their invitation in relation to the set up. We are com- mitted to working constructively with all private hire vehicle licensing authorities across the UK.”


Elmbridge Borough Council responded as follows: “I have no issues with talking to someone from


NOVEMBER 2024 PHTM


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