Taxi Driver Online

There are some warning signs in this article about the attitude of some councillors on keeping restrictions in Oxford. Rickshaw licenses may have been put on hold but I doubt these councillors are aware of the law?
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May 7, 2007 Monday

HEADLINE: Red tape holds up rickshaws

BYLINE: Giles Sheldrick

DATELINE: Oxford Mail

Oxford University student Ted Maxwell has been told not to expect his city rickshaw business to be able to run a fully-fledged taxi service any time soon.

To operate as fare-taking taxis, rickshaws have to be licensed as Hackney carriages in the same way as traditional taxis.

But Oxford City Council has set a limit on the number of licences it hands out because of the high level of demand.

Mr Maxwell is keeping his rickshaw riders busy by ferrying goods across the city as couriers for firms - and says he has enough other pre-arranged business from weddings and tourism to see him through the summer.

Last week, Oxford Lord Mayor Jim Campbell took the unprecedented step of drawing the name of this year's lucky Hackney carriage licence winner out of a hat. About 85 people had applied.

Now the council has set up a task force to explore ways of modernising the taxi licensing set-up in Oxford and to find a solution for Mr Maxwell's rickshaw business.

City councillor Jean Fooks, executive member for a cleaner city, warned: "It looks as if rickshaws are not going to be seen in Oxford for a long time, but we are investigating to see if we can find a way round it."

Mr Maxwell, a 20-year-old history student at Balliol College and the grandson of disgraced Oxford tycoon Robert Maxwell, has already paid £10,000 to import five rickshaws from Colorado.

He said he hoped progress on licensing his business could be made by the autumn.

He added: "We are not plying for hire, we can't do that and we know we can't do that.

"There is a group of councillors which thinks a limit on the number of Hackney carriage licences is no longer relevant and has completely lost any environmental benefits it might have had because there are a lot more private hire vehicles.

"If it means you can't have a pollution-free taxi company it's crazy.

"I have been lobbying for this since September.
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It would be interesting to see if their last SUD survey considered rickshaws.

Cos if they didn't assess demand for them, then it will be very hard for them to justify to a court there isn't any SUD.

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IDFIMH

I doubt Mr Maxwell has even heard of sud. All he needs to do is get 200 signatures and he has his demand. In the main surveys only consider motorised vehicles, they never take into account rickshaws. Is the demand for rickshaws being met? Obviously not because there are none? lol

Regards

JD

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I bet he's heard of Pension funds and the dangers of falling off boats though

CC

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