WOLVERHAMPTON: CHANGES SET FOR PHV DRIVERS
Private hire vehicles in Wolverhampton are set to undergo a number of changes in the way in which they operate, the city council’s licens- ing bosses have announced. The Birmingham Mail reports that the city council has recently been in consultation with the local private hire trade group over the proposed alter- ations. Licensing chiefs say the amendments are necessary be- cause of new tech- nology which has been introduced as well as cross-border hiring taking place with neighbouring
counties. In a report to the council, Chris How- ell,
the city’s
Licensing Services Manager, said: “Base operators will now need to provide drivers with each customer’s contact details to enable them to have imme- diate access
to
satellite offices and systems, as well as being able to use interactive
voice
response. “Also, the system will now include the taking and storage of digital
images
rather than paper records. All drivers must now tell the licensing services of any changes in their
ROUND THE COUNCILS GLASGOW:
PHC LICENCES REJECTED TO REDUCE CABS
circumstances or work undertaken on their vehicles. “There is also a requirement
for
drivers to undergo drug and alcohol testing at any re- quested time, and also to inform the council if they are ever arrested for anything,” he ad- ded. “A number of other minor amendments are still being dis- cussed with bosses from the city’s pri- vate hire firms.” The council’s Non- Statutory Licensing Committee was due to discuss the proposals at a meeting in mid- September.
The first applica- tions for new PHC licences have been rejected after a poli- cy to reduce the number of cabs in Glasgow was intro- duced. Dan Cars of Clyde- bank had its four applications to li- cense PHCs refused by Glasgow City Council’s licensing committee
last
month. Members said the applications did not comply with the terms and condi- tions of the new over-provision rules and
regulations
which state there are too many PHCs operating in the city. The council said the company failed to demonstrate that there was no longer
a need for an over provision policy and that the targets had already been met. Glasgow City Coun- cil was the first in Scotland to intro- duce a cap on PHC and taxi licences in April this year. There is now a limit on the number of licensed vehicles on the road but not the number of drivers.
HARTLEPOOL: PLANS TO LOSE TAXIS’ TRADEMARK YELLOW
Hartlepool’s trade- mark yellow taxis could be no more under plans
to
change the colour of the town’s cabs. According to the Hartlepool Mail, council chiefs are holding a consulta- tion on scrapping the colour require- ment rule. The proposal came as part of amend- ments to Hartlepool Borough Council’s taxi licensing policy which were given the go-ahead by the authority’s licensing committee to go before a consultation. The change has been formally re- quested by the owners of 60 hack- ney carriages, around 45 per cent of the entire hackney fleet. Drivers have asked for the uniform yel- low to be replaced by a ‘standard man- ufacturer’s colour’ such as white, black or silver. Ian Harrison, the council’s licensing manager, noted cur-
6
rently cars must be resprayed to the appropriate shade of yellow which could cost
from
£500 to £1,500. He also recommended white as the re- placement colour to be included as part of the consultation. He said: “There are a number of pros and cons as to what a change of colour might mean. Cost is an issue, but some others might say yellow is an iconic colour for Hartle- pool,
it has an
importance and it’s been around for a long time.” Council bosses said a change to the yel- low-only rule would not require existing hackney carriages to be resprayed and there would be a transition period of up to eight years. PHVs would also no longer be allowed to be the new selected colour, but again they would be sub- ject to the transition period.
A period of consul- tation will now take place, with council bosses stating all interested parties will be contacted, and the matter will return to councillors for consideration and potential ap- proval in December. The updated taxi licensing policy also includes changes to vehicle age restric- tions
and the
process for carrying out driver criminal record checks. The council previ- ously had a policy where drivers must provide an en- hanced
criminal
record check every three years, but the new policy proposes provision of an en- hanced DBS certifi- cate every 12 months. The council is also proposing that cars must no longer be licensed after eight years on the road, in a bid to improve air quality, although the policy would not apply until April 2023,.
OCTOBER 2019
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