Sussex Man wrote:
Down here we have licensed PH limos/executive vehicles. They don't have to display the sort of signage that the rest of the PH do.
The way it works is you have the lot i.e. roof lights, door signs, rear PH plate etc or you have none of them. It's usually the operators that insist on the council signage being displayed. The council would be OK (I think) if normal PHs operated as limos with no signage.
Clearly a license plate must be displayed somewhere, but they usually have a smaller one in the rear window.
Not perfect, but its got to be better to have them licensed, than have them running around un-licensed.

round here their trade is small, but the "demand" is big, we do have the wedding fleets and the funeral fleets but I ignore them in this scenario,
I cannot think of any that are licensed in the category I am on about.
we have 2 executive firms , what they are exactly ( both I count as friends of mine) as very strict, posh and smart private hire but the actual cars are just cleaner and newer than anybody elses, when they get thier door signs they will look tacky. thier cars are just "normal"
but there are others that are not licensed at all, one of there firms insist drivers have hackney licenses, but they dont wear them.
anyone who books a job must contract the hire for 24hours.
now suppose I bought some black merks (its not a possibility as I am investing in public hire) I would be ok about the principle of licensing, what I am against is an ugly yellow plate, and ugly council door signs,
I would want my family crest on the doors and tastefull gold lettering, and I definatly would want say 24hours advance bookings, as I would not want certain people booking them when there was no one else!
get the picture?
Wharfie