Taxi Driver Online

The Award for Sticking their Head in the Sand goes to ...Glasgow City Council licensing department

It is now nearly a year since we were promised a clampdown on the unlicensed limousine trade here in West Central Scotland

http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/vie ... light=limo

Unsurprisingly this has not materialized


Almost one year on I thought it might be a good time to contact the licensing department at Glasgow City Council to see if they have a licensing system in place for stretched limousines, the answer was no

I was told 'they are still talking about it' & 'we don't have a limo licence'

When I pointed out Edinburgh licence stretched limousines as private hire I was told 'well we don't !'

One can't help thinking this will roll on & on until one of these vehicles, or its occupants is involved in a serious accident

Hi as i said on here a few months ago. My daughter and friend,s were in a limo when it violently swerved across the other side of the road to avoid another car. My daughter was throwing across the limo and sustained a head injury while the others were catapulted down the other side of the limo they were a bit shaken and bruised. But they were all drinking with the complimentary plonk thats supplied as young girls do. But there glasses went flying also hitting others. lucky no one was seriously injured when i contacted glasgow to see if there is some licence on them to carry over 9people they said it was a grey area some are less than that. The woman said i think you should contact a lawyer Well got some compensation for my daughter in the end from the company, not to take it to court. Bearing in mind some of these guys who run these limo companies are heavy people. But glasgow city council get your act together.

If anyone knows of limousines carrying more than 8 persons they should contact the Department for Transport & report it

I got the following off the VOSA website

Scotland
Richard Loftus
Vehicle & Operator Services Agency
GVTS
Grange Road
Houston Industrial Estate
Livingston
West Lothian EH54 5DD

Office: 01506 445 200
Fax: 01506 437 425
Mobile: 07710 833 424
Email: Richard.Loftus@vosa.gov.uk

Maybe they are waiting for the guidance to come out from our DfT and your whatever you call it.

But the council shouldn't have made such a big thing about it last year, and then back-tracked.

_________________
IDFIMH

Any ideas as to how many councils license them these days - a minority or a majority, or nearly all?

_________________
Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

A miniority IMHO.

10% at most.

_________________
IDFIMH

As far as I know, here in Scotland only Edinburgh & Dundee licence stretched limos

All the rest just ignore applying the law

I remember one of the excuses used by the taxi enforcement officer here in Renfrewshire (Paisley/Glasgow Airport) was that when he approached one of the operators the guy just refused to cooperate & told him he would just move his HQ to Glasgow

The Police are just as bad, they have told the local councils there will be no enforcement action until there is a licensing scheme in place, surely the law is the law & if it is being broken one can not simply turn a blind eye to it ?


If you operate as private hire in Scotland I would suggest you hand back your operator & driver licences, tell the councils to go f**k themselves, buy a rust bucket of a limo, hire a radio from a private hire company & just work as normal picking up people from pubs, supermarkets & the like as normal

The Council wont bother you, the Police wont so whats to stop you ?

No age restrictions
No colour restrictions
No licence fees
No background check
No bar on vehicle adverts

What are we waiting for ?

The story linked to at the start of the thread also mentions Aberdeen.

_________________
Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk