point of sale ..... point of sale .. WORCESTER:


TAXI PENALTY SYSTEM STALLS AT LAST MOMENT


The roll-out of a penal- ty points scheme aimed at raising stan- dards among Wor- cester’s taxi drivers has been delayed over the design and word- ing on the tickets. A council chief said he was not convinced the original wording would have stood up in court and so decided to send the tickets back and make some changes.


That has resulted in a delay – but it had been hoped the scheme, which could see driv- ers penalised for offences ranging from overcharging cus- tomers, having too many taxis in a rank, or even failing to wear a driver’s badge, could have gone live by now. Martin Gillies, environ- mental health man-


ager at the council, said the delay has not cost any money, just time. “We had a problem getting the tickets printed and when they came back we had to redesign them for legal reasons,” he said. “You have got to be very clear with these things. The whole scheme is intended to put less pressure on the courts.


“But if a taxi driver has got the chance to appeal against a deci- sion to revoke their licence then they are going to, so we have got to be 100 per cent sure from a legal point of view these things are robust.”


According to the Worcester News, the penalty points scheme would not fine drivers


YORK: CALL FOR RETHINK OVER TRADE


Fresh rules governing York’s taxi trade could be drawn up after a leading councillor called for a rethink about how it operates in the city.


Councillor Ian Gillies, who leads the Conser- vative group on City of York Council, is asking for “more clari- ty” to be provided to drivers on issues such as the potential for new licences being issued and whether all hackney carriages should be black.


The scrutiny review he has suggested could also cover possible deregulation of the taxi trade, whether the city has enough taxis suitable for disabled use and whether it has sufficient ranks.


Councillor Gillies believes a new analy- sis of the authority’s taxi policies would avoid rules being introduced “on the


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hoof” and allow driv- ers to plan for the future, as well as pro- viding a better service for customers. He told the York Press: “We need to have strong, robust rules in place so that both the taxi trade and the council can go for- ward and any little idiosyncracies in the present policy can be removed,” he said. “We cannot ask the trade to invest money in cars and facilities when they don’t have security of tenure. Drivers need to know whether or not we may deregulate the trade, put in more taxi ranks, demand all hackney carriages are black and other issues, because these are all important questions for them.


“There is also the mat- ter of whether we open up the trade to new licences, because there is a waiting list


but, at the same time, drivers are saying there is not enough trade for those who are already licensed. “But the main issue is that we must have rules in place so taxi drivers can move for- ward without being concerned that what they do may be open to any threat or chal- lenge at some point in the future.”


Councillor Gillies, who was formerly involved in the taxi trade, said he would not sit on any scrutiny panel set up to look at the issue if the review is ap- proved, but recommended it should seek input from the police and the council’s high- ways officials, as well as taxi firms.


The issue was to be discussed at a meet- ing of the authority’s community safety overview and scrutiny committee.


PLEA FOR OLDER TAXIS EXPECTED TO FAIL


but instead see them issued with between two and eight points for each offence or breach of licence, depending on its nature.


If a taxi driver notches up 20 or more points within a year, the coun- cil will have the power to bring that person before its licensing sub-committee for a review that could result in a suspension or removal of licence. Any driver caught committing a serious offence such as drink- driving would also be brought before the committee.


The system, which has the support of Worces- ter Taxi Drivers’ Association and West Mercia Police, will be used in addition to existing powers.


Calls to allow older taxis on Ripon’s roads face rejection because council bosses fear it could lead to lower standards.


At present, private hire drivers can renew their licences with Harro- gate Council provided that their vehicles are no more than nine years old.


But now Ripon City Taxi Proprietors’ Asso- ciation is calling for an


extension for saloon, hatchback and estate cars to stay in service for ten years.


But council officials say maximum age lim- its have been set to ensure that the condi- tion and appearance of licensed vehicles is maintained at a high standard.


Licensing manager Gareth Bentley told the Yorkshire Post: “This has been a successful


policy demonstrated by the standard of licensed vehicles in the Harrogate district.” The response by the Taxi Liaison Group to the suggestion was mixed.


Councillors were to consider the request but research suggests that granting the extension would put Harrogate out of step with other local authorities.


AYLESBURY VALE:


Taxi drivers could soon be forced to undertake compulsory medical tests in order to be granted a licence. If the plans go ahead, insulin-dependent dia- betic and epileptic drivers will be told they cannot drive a taxi on the Vale’s roads. District council chiefs are mulling over plans to make every driver applying for or renew- ing a licence to have a medical report from


CABBIES TOLD TO PROVE THEY ARE HEALTHY their GP.


According to the Bucks Herald, a report sent to members of the coun- cil’s licensing committee said that their response had been mixed.


Anonymous forms were sent out to operators asking for their opin- ions. One respondent dubbed it ‘bureaucracy gone mad’, and added: “Why not stop every- body driving in case they have a heart attack at the wheel?”


Companies also voiced fears about the cost of getting medicals for each of their drivers. Another operator wrote: “A licence for drivers is already very expensive, and a lot of drivers sim- ply will not do it.” Wycombe, South Bucks and Chiltern dis- trict councils have already introduced similar measures. The matter was to be dis- cussed by the council’s licensing committee.


GUILDFORD: GUIDELINES ON TAXI USE WILL HELP TRADE


A review of licensing for cabs in Guildford could see more taxi ranks in the town centre.


The borough council licensing committee was asked to approve a new policy docu- ment for hackney carriage and PHVs. The main purpose of the paper is to have a joined-up policy for taxi licensing across Guildford, but it also seeks to implement some changes to help cab drivers make it through the recession and to iron out some previous misunder- standings.


Cllr Sheridan Westlake, chairman of the licens- ing committee, told the Surrey Advertiser:


“This updating of taxi licensing policy will make it easier for the trade and the public to understand the stan- dards that taxis and PHVs need to follow and what the trade can expect in return from their council.


“I am keen that we avoid overloading the trade with unnecessary or excessive regulation - such as not being over-prescriptive on the loading doors for WAVs.”


He added: “The coun- cil needs to do its bit to support small firms and the self-employed. “We will shortly be moving ahead with new taxi ranks at the top of the town and I


am keen to highlight that the public can flag down official hackney carriages in the street, without having to wait at a rank.”


The document also sets out guidance in a number of areas, including vehicle accessibility for dis- abled people, the maximum age of vehi- cles, maintenance and condition of the vehi- cle and application procedures.


In terms of drivers, the document looks into stipulations for age and experience, driv- ing proficiency and qualifications, general medical issues and relevance of convic- tions and cautions.


PHTM OCTOBER 2010


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