ALL THINGS LICENSING
• a licensed private hire operator must itself accept bookings from its passengers, rather than anyone else (for example a driver) doing so;
• a licensed private hire operator must itself take responsibility for the journey from point A to point B, rather than anyone else (for example a driver) doing so;
• the booking must be carried out in a licensed private hire vehicle (licensed by the same council as where the operator is licensed) (or taxi) driven by a licensed driver (again licensed by the same authority); known as the ‘triple lock’
• the booking must be carried out for a fare which was either agreed or for which an accurate estimate was provided in advance.
(
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/phv-operator-contracts- guidance-april-2022.pdf)
The obligation applies to operators in the same way regardless of how they operate (e.g. if they take bookings via an app or over the telephone) and whether or not they use written contracts with passengers and/or drivers. A contract will exist even if it is not recorded in writing and the same requirements apply to operators who orally agree arrangements with passengers as they do to those who have written terms.
An operator can still sub-contract a booking to another licensed operator but the contract with the operator who initially accepted the booking must remain in force in the usual way. All operators must comply with the obligation including those without written contracts. Indeed, TfL states that what a written contract says may not be conclusive evidence that an operator is complying with the obligation.
PHTM SEPTEMBER 2023
What happens in practice must also be consistent with the obligation.
Uber and Sefton Judgement – what does it mean for local authorities?
Clearly the concept of private hire operator licensing has changed significantly in the last ten years with advancements in technology meaning that a PHV can be booked and paid for as quickly as hailing a taxi.
There have been many positives for customers, drivers and councils as these new models develop such as access to records, trip information and various safety features and messaging making for an improved experience for many. However some local authorities have struggled with the concept of operator licensing as the model has moved away from the traditional bricks and mortar model towards a more holistic approach of looking at not just any criminality of the individual holding the operator licence and the tidiness of their waiting room, but also their vetting and training of staff, their procedures to safeguard driver and passengers, how complaints are handled, lost property returned and their approach to assisting the council with compliance.
Following the ruling, there is likely to be an expectation on licensing authorities to take steps to ensure that all licensed PH operators under their jurisdiction are aware of and compliant with their obligations. This means councils will expect operators to demonstrate the existence of some form of contract or contractual obligation between themselves and passengers to satisfy the terms of the judgement. From a licensing perspective, failure to do so could mean an unfair playing field for operators who are not compliant, and result in weakened protection for customers.
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