Taxi Driver Online

oh if you are doing that can you find out if Souness has sorted out those idiots in the dressing room?

and also ask if they have given up on Rooney?

cheers
Geoff

I phoned Newcastle and I specificaly raised the points you made but when I enquired about Rooney they replied "Rooney" who? I was reliably informed that the only Rooney they had on their books was an eighty year old midget who goes by the name of micky, drives an FX3 and fancies himself as a movie star.

When we got talking about limited numbers she told me they stopped issuing licences three years ago lol. However she did say that this may change soon because of the Government guidance.

So after getting a history lesson on Geordie Taxi numbers I decided to phone Wycombe and see how far down the road they are with their derestriction. It seems they are far more advanced than I assumed. The council have rubber stamped the decision to de restrict numbers and the policy will be implemented within the coming months.

I'm pleased about that because I won't have to alter the percentage figures, I'll just take wycombe out and put Sunderland back where they rightly belong.


Best wishes

JD

Adur do indeed allow WAVS to be licenced on demand there is no restriction on this type of vehicle. Therefore it can be counted as a de restricted Authority.

Thanks for the help Sussex.

Best wishes

JD

After updating this list the current number who limit by numbers is now 126 out of 402 Councils throughout England and Wales. The accurate total overall percentage level is now 32% of councils who limit by numbers.



1 Ashford 2 Aylesbury Dale, 3 Babergh 4 Barnsley 5 Barrow in Furness 6 Basildon 7 Basingstoke 8 Bath and North East Somerset ua 9 Bedford 10 Blackburn Darwen ua 11 Blyth Valley, 12 Bolton RR 13 Bournemouth ua, 14 Bradford 15 Braintree 16 Brighton and Hove ua, 17 Burnley 18 Carrick 19 Cherwell 20 Chester 21 Chester le street, 22 Chorley 23 Colchester 24 Congleton 25 Conwy 26 Copeland 27 Corby 28 Denbighshire 29 Dover 30 Durham 31 Easington 32 East Lindsey 33 East Riding, 34 Eastbourne 35 Eastleigh, 36 Ellesmere port 37 Exeter 38 Fylde 39 Gosport, 40 Great Yarmouth, 41 Gwynedd, 42 Halton ua, 43 Harrogate 44 Havant, 45 High Peak 46 Huntingdonshire 47 Hyndburn, 48 Ipswich 49 Kerrier 50 Kettering 51 Kings Lynn 52 Kingston upon Hull 53 Kirklees 54 Lancaster, 55 Leeds 56 Lincoln 57 Liverpool 58 Luton ua 59 Maidstone 60 Manchester 61 Merthyr Tydfil 62 Middlesbrough ua 63 Mole Valley 64 New Forest 65 Newcastle on Tyne 66 Newcastle under Lyme 67 North East Lincolnshire ua, 68 Nottingham ua 69 Oldham 70 Oxford 71 Pendle 72 Penwith 73 Plymouth ua 74 Poole ua 75 Portsmouth ua 76 Preston 77 Reading ua, 78 Reigate and Banstead 79 Restormal 80 Ribble Valley 81 Richmondshire 82 Rochdale, 83 Rotherham 84 Rugby 85 Salford 86 Scarborough 87 Sefton 88 Slough 89 Solihull 90 South Bedfordshire 91 South Ribble 92 South Tyneside 93 Southampton ua 94 Southend on sea ua 95 St Edmundsbury 96 St Helens 97 Stevenage 98 Stockport 99 Stoke on Trent ua 100 Sunderland 101 Swindon ua 102 Tameside 103 Teignbridge 104 Test Valley 105 Thanet 106 Thurrock ua 107 Torbay ua 108 Torfaen 109 Torridge 110 Trafford 111 Tunbridge wells, 112 Wakefield 113 Walsall 114 Wansbeck 115 Warrington ua 116 Watford 117 West Somerset 118 Weymouth 119 Wigan 120 Windsor and Maidenhead ua, 121 Wolverhampton 122 Worthing 123 Wrexham 124 Wyre 125 Wyre Forest 126 York ua.

Best wishes

JD

So the split was 55/45 in 2003, and now it's 68/32.

Very interesting.

I wonder what it will be this time next year when all those councils have to justify it, 80/20 or 90/10?

Times are a changing.

The Acid test will be early next year, all councils that restrict licences will have to justify their restrictive policy. The councils who have a high volume of H/C saloon vehicles are the ones that are setting the current trend in delimitation. They see the Government guidance as a way of implementing the DDA and upgrading their fleet of Hackney Carriages to a higher standard.

I suspect by September next year the percentage level may well have fallen to well below 20 percent. Those councils that have already voiced an opinion to de-limit numbers will take the percentage level to below 25% by early next year.

Whether we like it or not, the practice of Regulating Numbers is slowly being eroded. No more so than in those Authorities that have a large compliment of H/C Saloon vehicles.

Best wishes

JD

I agree John, but didn't Kavanagh say that he KO'D OFT?

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IDFIMH

Perhaps someone should send him the latest figures? Come to think of it perhaps someone should send Mr Cope the latest figures too.

There were several licensing departments who voiced the opinion that up to date figures would be most helpfull in determing their future policy. I suppose once a trend sets in everyone else follows.

Best wishes

JD

I'm not so sure about Basildon.

I saw this story in their local rag today.

Basildon: Concern over taxi shortage

Spiralling costs, troublesome customers and people looking to get fit are forcing cab drivers out of business in the Basildon area.

Since last year there has been a 14.6 per cent drop in the number of cabs registering in the district - meaning one in seven drivers are giving up the job or leaving the district.

David Dadds, chairman of licensing at Basildon Council, said: "I am concerned that there is a decrease out there because we want to make sure the are enough vehicles. It could be the implications of the licence fee or there is not enough trade. I am going to probe this and find out more."

One 63-year-old taxi driver from Billericay - who asked not to be named - said: "There is not enough work.

"I don't think they are getting buses because the services are not that much good, but quite a few more people walk for the exercise and petrol prices don't help."

and then noticed in that the council has licensed replacemnet cabs.
http://www.basildonmeetings.info/Publis ... ocA.ps.pdf

http://www.basildonmeetings.info/Publis ... ocA.ps.pdf

Now if they did that then surely they can't have a waiting list.

_________________
IDFIMH

Basildon are still restricted, I uspect the article was reffering to Private hire vehicles when it said "Cabs". They have over three times the number of private hire vehicles to Hackneys.

Best wishes

JD

If that is right, then surely the council are out of order giving a taxi license to a fleet rental firm, and no-one else.

Perhaps we should all start up a rental firm, just for one driver, ourselves.

_________________
IDFIMH

I can asssure you they are limited, they have about 120 Hackneys. They are looking at the Government guidance right now. I havent read about the bulk issue of licences perhaps I should have mentioned it when I phoned them up. Are you talking about the 28 or so that was issued the last time they issued plates?.

I don't know the criteria for that issue perhaps there was a wav condition attached?

Best wishes

JD

What I'm saying John is that on the 15th January 2004, and the 8th July 2004, they allowed new taxis to be licensed by those companies that supply replacement vehicles.

Surely they can't restrict taxi license to the likes of you and me, but allow new licenses to insurance companies.

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IDFIMH

I read where the council had come up with a scheme that allowed the insurance company concerned to supply replacement vehicles to both Hackney carriage and private hire owners. I wasn't aware the council had issued this insurance company with H/C vehicle licences. I'll read it again.

Best wishes

JD

The only thing I came up with was this article from 1998.
http://www.thisisessex.co.uk/essex/arch ... .11ZM.html
I can't find anything about a further issue. What makes you think this insurance company were granted licences?

Best wishes

JD