Taxi Driver Online

one of our local stations in our borough used to have a taxi office at the station, but recently have moved out and relocated some 2 miles away, there are bays on station forecourt marked taxis but no signage stating no waiting except taxis etc, private hire company that usec to reside there say they have the rights to the bays, council say its private property and anyone else except the private hire co are touting any one know where hacks stand with regards to this matter

I would say if the bays are in public view the PH cannot park there.

CC

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

From memory, & I have not investigated to refresh my memory, & I am quoting what I believe to be the law in England & Wales (you're in Scotland I believe, so it may be different) a railway forecourt IS private property of the Railway Company. BUT & it's a big BUT under one of the Railway Acts, I believe in the 1920's, any road, thouroughfare, square etc, etc on Railway property is deemed to be a 'street' for the purposes of the Town Police Clauses 1847.

The net effect of that is that only a Hackney Carriage, LICENSED IN THE AREA IN WHICH THE STATION IS LOCATED, can lawfully stand & ply for hire within the railway stations premises / area, eventhough it is PRIVATE PROPERTY. I will find the correct Railway Act for you asap.

If the same Act applies north of the border, & that's for you to find out if I can't 'nail it down' conclusively for you, then your council are talking b*ll*cks, But then if the Act does not apply in Scotland, they may well be correct.

I will investigate for you.

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Brummie Cabbie.

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I thought Grays was in Middlesex?

CC

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

Very sorry, I thought Mr Stationtone had made the original post; didn't look carefully enough.

My mistake, in which case it does apply & I have found the details, which will be posted below.

Grays council ARE talking b*ll*cks!!!

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Brummie Cabbie.

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ok thanks brum

I was right on the approximate date of the Act, but quoted the wrong Act.

The correct Act is;

Public Health Act 1925 (c. 71)

Section 76 states;

76 As to public vehicles taken at railway stations

In any area within which the provisions of the M1 Town Police Clauses Act 1847, with respect to hackney carriages are in force, those provisions and any byelaws of the local authority with respect to hackney carriages shall be as fully applicable in all respects to hackney carriages standing or plying for hire at any railway station or railway premises within such area, as if such railway station or railway premises were a stand for hackney carriages or a street:

Provided that—

(a) the provisions of this section shall not apply to any vehicle belonging to or used by any railway company for the purpose of carrying passengers and their luggage to or from any of their railway stations or railway premises, or to the driver or conductor of such vehicle;.

(b) Nothing in this section shall empower the local authority to fix the site of the stand or starting place of any hackney carriage in any railway station or railway premises, or in any yard belonging to a railway company, except with the consent of that company.

The weblink to the Public Health Act 1925 is below & the relevant section is on page 4;

http://www.uk-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/R ... 50071_en_4

So Mr Taxitone, first thing Monday morning; tell your council they are talking BIG B*LL*OCKS!!!

Any LO, worth even a pinch of salt, really. really should know this Act.

Good luck & I hope things are restored to a lawful standing on the railway premises asap.

Also, the railway management cannot choose to ignore this legislation & allow any other vehicle to stand & ply for hire other than a Hackney Carriage licensed by the council in which the railway premises are located.

PS I don't know what the annotation M1 is in section 76.

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Brummie Cabbie.

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I think this case is the best example of the private land issue.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2000/410.html

Absolutely, bang on, brilliant!!!

I'll save that one to my computer.

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Brummie Cabbie.

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When the problem started at fat sams central the council said it was private land we showed them the eastbourne case and proved that it was not private land .They then moved the goal posts by saying this was English law.We then sent them a guidance report from the lawyer for Edinburgh council on illegally plying for hire in it he says
"The above cases are all decisions of the High Court of England. The Council Solicitor is of the view that they would be very persuasive for any Scottish court considering the issue".
They have moved the goal post again by saying that block bookings may be legal and have used the Blackpool case to back up there argument. They say that because the judge in that case said that block bookings MAY be legal that they are happy to allow it to continue.

We have told them that Blackpool council won there case but they are not interested.We have also made an enquiry to Blackpool council to see if they would allow us to set up the same situation as fatsams central.Below is there response.

Hello Mr Stationtone

Firstly the Blacktax decision was overturned on appeal by the Council - which we won.

To comply with the legal requirements of a Private Hire Operator all journeys and customers must be recorded. You could take a block booking from a venue provided the venue had a record of the passengers and where they were going. Someone has to be able to tie every journey to a named passenger.

At the end of the day you, as the Operator, are the person who stands to lose everything by non - compliance, NOT the venue, so be very careful. There are no shortcuts.

Please remember that you need premises, planning permission for those premises even if its your home, public liability insurance ( even if its your home) .

Any queries please ring me directly.

Ted Rhodes

Senior Licensing Officer

I have pestered my councilor and MP,MSP about this and all have said they will look into this but from what i have heard the chief licensing officer is not going to discuss this any further .The Bxstard

Section 76 of the Public Health Act 1925 only applies to railway premises, so I don't know if it would help with the Fat Sam Central situation.

In all these & similar cases, there is always the need to either quote legislation or case law. Unfortunately, we are all human & to try to remember all the relevant legislation / case laws is a very tall order. And you can only remember case law that you have read & there is an awful lot out there that is unread by individuals like me & you.

So, I'm about to 'bit the bullet' & order a copy of;



It's a lot of money at £74.10, but it is a compilation of all things taxi, PHV, DDA, legislation, case law, etc., etc. You might all want to chip into a kitty to buy the book.

The amazon link is;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Button-Taxis-Ja ... 184766055X

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Brummie Cabbie.

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Disagree with other members' views;
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Thanks Brummie since i started posting on the forum i have been very interested in case law involving the taxi trade.The best bit of advice i got from the late JD was to read and read again till you understand what has been written. Sadly it dose not matter how many times i read some of the cases i still don't understand .It was the late JD or Sussex that made me aware of the button on taxi book and i really should invest in it .My only worry is that it becomes an obsession rather than an interest.

JD would have put you on the right track in an instant; highly knowledgeable man & sadly missed.

The Button book is really a reference book & it does not have to be a Crusade, just read in spare time on the rank.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
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I certainly have plenty of that up hear.Just read war and peace over the weekend

If you like reading get a copy of this fascinating book;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu

Read by the military, politicians & leaders the world over to this day & translated into most languages.

You could then use some of the strategies described in the book against your LO.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.