Taxi Driver Online

Reading through the questions and rationale behind some of the LC's conclusions I can only come to the conclusion the document is deliberately misleading and a trap many in the taxi trade will fall into.

The National Standards for Vehicles are one obvious example;

There are no concrete standards mentioned in the document, people are being led to believe there will be a standard and they are seemingly agreeing to this without actually knowing what the standards are!

The coveted national standard is used as a sound rationale to allow cross border hirings.

The cross border hirings are explained away in a scenario where a private hire car is on a job and out of its area; the operator cannot due to the current law obtain the services of another operator to get the passenger to their destination.........this is a perfectly innocent scenario.

However, the explains in the document states;

We suggest that operators should no longer have to use drivers and vehicles all licensed with the same authority.

There is a distinct difference between phoning a operator up in the event of a breakdown on a ad hoc basis, and being permitted to use vehicles from other areas on a full time basis. Again the rationale explains this shouldnt be must of an issue because of the national standard.....which isnt actually covered in the document.

Additionally, later in the document the following question is posed;

Provisional proposal 68

Enforcement officers should have the powers to enforce against vehicles, drivers and operators licensed in other licensing areas. (Page 225)

Again this is a perfectly innocent looking question. And one I suspect many of you would agree with.

However the rationale behind the question states in 19.19 (and I am only partially quoting due to the length of the paragraph) ;

Our proposals would enable private hire operators to use drivers and vehicles licensed in another district to fulfil a booking, and it is important to ensure that enforcement mechanisms sit properly with this greater flexibility.

Obviously whilst many of us agree with LO's being permitted greater enforcement powers - the LC's belief in them isnt for the same reasons many of you have - its to underpin the cross border goal which would permit a vehicle licensed in Manchester to work for an operator in Liverpool.

Again, to underline my point, this indirectly leads to the secret national standards they regularly mention - they rationalise the national standard by explaining that cross border doesnt matter because the standard of driver and vehicle will be the same countrywide......in other words if you agree we should have national standards, it follows that we should have cross border.

Ironically, those agreeing to national standards are actually saying locals are not best placed to decide what standards they should have in place for PH vehicles and drivers - but the same locals should be best placed to determine taxi numbers........again this is an obvious contradiction as locals are either best placed or they are not.

If you are going to answer the LC document I would suggest you think hard about your answers because many of the questions are not as innocent as they would first appear.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Interesting points you raised and I agree any counter arguments need to analize the whole picture.

I get the impression that you see a conspiracy?

I think it is merely a well thought out argument.
To enable an argument to stand up to scrutiny, one seeks to close loop holes and underpin one point to justify another.

For too long, central government has hoarded and concentrated power.

Trying to improve people’s lives by imposing decisions, setting targets and demanding inspections from Whitehall simply doesn’t work. It creates bureaucracy. It leaves no room for adaptation to reflect local circumstances or innovation to deliver services more effectively and at lower cost. And it leaves people feeling ‘done to’ and imposed upon - the very opposite of the sense of participation and involvement on which a healthy democracy thrives.

Foreword to the Localism Bill June 2011

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I can't argue with that.

Fabulous, so the LC proposals effectivly taking local decision making away from local authorities?

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

In a word 'Yes'

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Yes but this is working on the assumption that all or indeed most of this will go through. I suspect there is plenty around the edges that will not. What needs to be ascertained is what they consider the key or meat of the document.
This can only really be judged in a face to face imho.

Face to face with whom? The LC have had face to face with trade reps

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

With who ever is trying to ascertain the meat of the document!!!!

I certainly don't agree with licensing officers having greater powers..... we have laws now which they still don't understand, even the basics, I would much prefer that licensing offices where trained to a standard.... new laws would only confuse them even more.. and give them more powers. would simply mean they would justify their existence in the easiest possible manner....... probably putting tickets for over parking on vehicles waiting to go on to the rank in a delimited area...... in Sefton three licensing officers had their cars set on fire... one of right outside of the Hackney Office... in Liverpool one hackney officer had his car turned up side down and placed in his front garden...... imagine what would happen next.....

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

No toots Face to Face with some reps not all reps.

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C. Oakes


The Hackney Association Ltd
bbha@btinternet.com

I have to ask, was he in it?

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

If the LC 'cant' be bothered' determining how licensing is going to fund the cross border policing of vehicles by local authorities......does that not throw into question the impact assessment?

Bearing in mind it will be national government determining standards for private hire vehicles and drivers.....will they be the one determining the fee?

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Here's a peek at the probable standard for PHV;

http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/main.cfm?T ... bject=3341

Smart Car Taxi Granted Licence

Uttlesford District Council has amended its licensing conditions to enable a two-seater Smart car to be used by a private hire company.

Appreciating the environmental benefits a Smart car could bring when just one passenger requires transport, the council’s licensing committee approved changes which cleared the way for the use of Smart cars by other companies in future.

Previously, cars used as private hire vehicles had to have room for at least four passengers (barring some exceptions for specialist vehicles) and a minimum engine size of 1400cc.

With seating for just one passenger and an 800cc diesel engine, the Smart ForTwo CDi would have been some way shy of satisfying the council’s taxi and private hire vehicle licensing policy.

However, thanks to the licensing committee’s pragmatism, Uttlesford has become one of a small number of local authority areas where Smart cars are now able to be used as private hire vehicles.

The applicant who requested the amendment to the policy conducted research that suggested that between six and eight out of every 10 journeys undertaken by private hire vehicles carried just one passenger.

With a fuel efficiency of up to 80 miles per gallon, and carbon dioxide emissions of only 89 grams per kilometre, the Smart ForTwo is significantly more environmentally friendly for single-passenger trips than a conventional, five-seater vehicle.

Chairman of the licensing committee, Cllr Eric Hicks, said: “Uttlesford District Council is always open to suggestions that would enable the reduction of carbon emissions in the district, so the licensing committee was willing to approve the use of Smart ForTwo cars as private hire vehicles.

“Although by their nature they are not suitable for groups of people, when just one passenger requires transport these small cars are perfectly adequate.

“By approving their use we are once again demonstrating our commitment to taking steps wherever we can to reduce our impact on the environment.”

http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blo ... taxi-firm/

Oxford commuters save with smart car taxi firm

Oxford commuters are enjoying a ‘fare deal’ with the arrival of innovative smart private hire cars to the city of the dreaming spires.

Solocar, founded by George Raithby, operates a fleet of striking, fully licensed smart fortwo private hire cars in and around Oxford; the cars’ frugal running costs meaning that customers are benefiting from fares that are, on average, 20 per cent cheaper than those of a ‘normal’ taxi or other private hire vehicles.

George, who has been in the industry for over 10 years, first thought of using a smart as a private hire car over three years ago when he experienced the iconic model’s nippy performance and manoeuvrability in Italy.

After researching the idea and winning the backing of local councillors, he established Solocar in May with four, 71bhp mhd smart passion coupés. All of the smarts were purchased from smart of Oxford and utilise a clever, automatic stop/start function that is activated during the engine idling phases to optimise economy and lower emissions.

“Sixty per cent of the trips our existing taxis took into Oxford were for a single passenger with little or no luggage, so there was definitely potential for using a smart,” said George, who is hoping to expand his smart fleet to 20 by April next year.

“Customer feedback is excellent and passengers love how different the service is, the surprising amount of space and the fact that the efficiency of the smarts is not only reducing the impact on the environment but also providing them with a more affordable service.”

George continued: “The smart fits perfectly with Oxford’s motor vehicle philosophy and, because our fuel bills are 15 per cent lower with these cars, our passengers are finding that, for once, the environmentally compatible option isn’t more expensive.”

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Here's a peek at the probable standard for PHV;
Oxford commuters save with smart car taxi firm

Will the standard include the larger battery to power the film studio and sound recording engineering?

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related