Taxi Driver Online

I don't agree with an age limits, because its not quality. Quality should be enforeced for all ages of vehicles, including new, nearly new, & older vehicles.

An age policy coupled with a quality policy, which allowing vehicles in exceptional condition to continue to be licensed beyond an age limit is, I think, fair.

Simply put, an exceptional condition vehicle does not become pristine on the age limit deadline day for licensing. It must have been looked after throughout the life of the vehicle to achieve exceptional condition status.

This would encourage proprietors to look after their vehicles if they wished to get 'extra' life out of them, & those that did not; then your first sentence above would apply. They would have to upgrade when their vehicle reached the age limit as a 'penalty' for not looking after there vehicle during its earlier years.



We are constantly being told that Birmingham is one of the last LAs in the country that only tests HCs & PHVs once a year throughout the life of the licensed vehicle. I don't know how true that is?

There is no age limit for licensing either HCs or PHVs in Birmingham.

The idea of more frequent testing of older vehicles is recognised as possibly the way forward. But testing a vehicle every 3 months is not an option as the LG (MP) Act 1976 Section 50 states;

50. .....

Provided that a district council shall not under the provisions of this subsection require a proprietor to present the same hackney carriage or private hire vehicle for inspection and testing on more than three separate occasions during any one period of twelve months.

IMO, because of the above, any council would be 'shooting themselves in the foot' if they tested older vehicles more than on a 6 monthly basis.

If they tested older vehicles to the maximum allowed by Section 50, i.e. 3 times a year, they could not legally test the vehicle again in the 12 month period starting from the time of the initial inspection at the beginning of the year.

It would be much better to test older vehicles on a six monthly regular basis, & then slip in that third & final vehicle test that a council is allowed by the legislation in any twelve month period, just when the proprietor is not expecting it; 6, 12 or 24 hours notice of a vehicle inspection ..... lovely!!!!!

The first part of Section 50 LG (MP) Act 1976 allows for this & reads;

50 Provisions as to proprietors (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 68 of this Act, the proprietor of any hackney carriage or of any private hire vehicle licensed by a district council shall present such hackney carriage or private hire vehicle for inspection and testing by or on behalf of the council within such period and at such place within the area of the council as they may by notice reasonably require:

And that the way to do it!!

Going out to pick the pash-heads up now.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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We only have a yearly test, but have a 7 year age limit, but if the vehicle is 7 years 11 months you can still get a 3 year licence for it, so it could be almost 11 before it comes off

How does that work?

You have a 7 year age limit (on WAVs I presume), but you can still get almost 11 years out of the vehicle before they won't re-license it.

This I've got to hear?

Is this a council invention; 7 year age policy, but you can have almost 11 candles on the cake just before its last licensing birthday????

_________________
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.

That's because the vehicle is in its 7th year, yes its stupid I know but ain't all councils, yes thats for hack and the 3 or 4 PH that are only used for school runs

One thing that is interesting is the fact that nearly all the cabs are single shifted. And for what it's worth I think that's a good thing.

But even if the council restricted taxi numbers, then as they can't restrict driver numbers it wont have an effect, as those existing cabs will be on the road 24 hours a day rather than 12.

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IDFIMH