Andy Peters
Brighton & Hove Cab Trade Association
info@bhcta.co.uk www.bhcta.co.uk
Sometimes it’s very easy to be critical of others, but then again sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
Drivers in various online groups have been advocating signing a petition that’s doing the rounds and building up supporters. I’d actually previously seen it myself as it had been posted on a number of trade Facebook groups over the last month or so. And having read it, along with all the clapping and whooping, sat back with a sigh.
The trouble is that there are so many in the trade who really don’t have a clue and have to be educated. Now, don’t get me wrong, even though I have been in the trade for forty years I would certainly not say that I am an expert by any means, as I consider learning to be a life-long path. I’m also happy to say that I don’t always get everything right and I am very open to being corrected by those who know better than me.
However, this petition, which has been set up in good faith and is well-intended was doomed from the moment it was uploaded and unfortunately gives hope to those who’ve supported it.
I’m not going to give the petition a link as it would look like I am advocating it. But this is what it’s all about:
“Require taxis and private hire vehicles be licensed in the areas they operate.
“We want the Government to require taxi and PHV drivers to be licensed in all areas they operate in. The Deregulation Act 2015 has created loopholes that allow big companies to monopolise this trade, which has affected rates.
“Some councils are reducing the rates for taxi and private hire vehicle licences and making it easier to get a licence, eg. not needing to prove knowledge of local areas. This has resulted in a huge increase in licences being granted by some councils. “People who are being banned from holding a licence with one council are going to other councils where they can easily obtain licences.
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The law has to change. Drivers should only be allowed to work in areas they have a licence for.
Waleed Hussain”
Mr Hussain, I really do admire your effort and I really do hope that you don’t take offence. But unfortunately, the contents of the petition are totally inaccurate and if it did gain enough support to be presented to Parliament it would be rebuked within a few seconds.
The Deregulation Act 2015 certainly did not create “loopholes”. It has always been very clear that what the Act did was to clarify what should be in place when operators sub-contract out work, either locally or nationally. This is known as the ‘Triple-Lock’ which ensures that all the required three licences are in place, those being for the vehicle, driver and operator. Without all three the booking would be illegal.
This means that the operator in ‘Area A’ can pass on a booking to another operator in ‘Area A’ or indeed another operator in ‘Area B’. But the responsibility is there to ensure that the ‘Triple Lock’ is in place, meaning that an operator cannot issue the job to any vehicle/driver that is not licensed by the same licensing authority as the operator, such as a vehicle/driver licensed in ‘Area-C’.
Additionally, natural cross-border hiring has been going on for years and is perfectly legal and would be extremely difficult to not justify this happening.
However, the real issue is where there are literally thousands of ‘out-of-town’ drivers predominantly working many miles away from their respective licensing authority, and out-of-sight and out-of-mind of respective local enforcement. I think this is what the petition is trying to put across but has failed.
It was stated: “Some councils are reducing the rates for taxi and private hire vehicle licences and making it easier to get a licence, eg. not needing to prove knowledge of local areas.”
Well, we all know where this has come from, don’t we. Yes, the magnificently ultra streamlined Wolver- hampton Licensing Department that has turned licensing into an art where the proof is in the pudding having fantastically licensed in excess of 40,000 drivers/vehicles. With a population of 226,000 that
SEPTEMBER 2023 PHTM
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