Taxi Driver Online

But saloon prices have only kept a plate premium because its cheaper to buy one than a WAV.
When phase 1 of councils have to have 100% WAVs, then your plate premiums will be no-more.

Phase 1 will never be fulfilled, the disabled groups don't want 100% WAVs they want 100% tolerant drivers and adequate provision, as all of those who believe that ONLY people in wheelchairs are disabled are guilty of discrimination under the exact same act.

Other phases will be abandoned as they were in 2000 and the government along with our european brothers will have to come up with some other way of telling the disabled community whats best for them.

Give the public ALL OF THEM what they want

Sorry I didn't finish.

Often plate prices are quoted at £50K on here, now if you went out and bought a brand spanking new TX11 GOLD you'd still have change from YOUR quoted cost of a plate.

Keep the arguments consistant gentlemen.

yes lets think about them 25% new bus grant?

Look I didn't write the DDA, but Phase 1 will happen.

In fact it's happening already. Many councils have already made changes to their licensing condition on the back of Phase I and OFT, with loads more in the pipe-line.

Pre the publication of the Phase 1 list I would have agreed that it might not happen, but now it's too late. And this government a) wont change their views, and b) will be here for a while.

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IDFIMH

No, plates can cost up to £50,000, that's a fact. What people put that plate on is, more times than not, up to them.

However the fact that some choose to put a £50,000 plate on the back of a pile of [edited by admin], is a sad reflection of the cab trade.

Wouldn't we be viewed in a better light if we put a £10 plate on the back of a £50,000 motor?

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IDFIMH

Your possibly right sussex.

However, I can remember being in a council meeting prior to delimitation in my area.

A PH owner driver stood up and said "we want hackney licenses to give a better service to the public, thats what its about, the public"

The same PH driver, now HC, currently does a school contract twice per day and goes home, he only works the streets and services the public on a Saturday night.

regards

Captain Cab

And I expect that's repeated up and down the country.

But it does put to bed the often repeated scare-mongering that the streets will be flooded with cabs following de-limitation.

My understanding of the current position is as follows:

The general provisions of the DDA are irrelevant to the trade insofar as it relates to vehicle specification. This exemption is fairly unambigous.

But the DDA does allow the Govt to pass regulations which will oblige taxi drivers to run accessible vehicles. But at present no regulations have been passed, so there is currently no legal obligation on LAs to compel the trade to run accessible vehicles.

However, LAs can specify accessible vehicles using their powers under the more general licensing law.

Clearly, whether they do this or not is a political decision, not a legal obligation, but many of the arguments comprehensively outlined in your earlier posts are the kind that would be considered by LAs thinking of going down this route. Clearly there is also lengthy DfT guidance on the subject.

Of course, it would be open to anyone to challenge an LA specifying WAVs under existing licensing and local government law, and I daresay the DfT guidance and the like would be considered by the judge, but I suspect that in strict legal terms the DDA would be irrelevant.

I assume that someone in the past has challenged an LA that has decided to go all WAV, but have presumably been unsuccessful.

This is probably still the most relevant law as regards any LA currently thinking about going all WAV.

I suspect someone from the Manchester area will put me right, if I'm wrong, but Manchester Council was the first one to Mandate.

My books says that in the late 1980's the council issued 100 new licenses to drivers who would plate a WAV. This was appealed to the courts, but in the meantime the council decided to make all taxis, both existing and new, WAVs.

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IDFIMH

not really guest, the guy could do the same job in private hire

regards


Captain Cab

1987 Les R objected to the condition that the 100 new plates be wheel chair converted. He argued that the condition did not apply to the rest of the fleet therefore the condition was unreasonable.

There was no conditions about age of vehicle, the court ruled that the council were quite within their legal right to make the condition of wheelchair access on the new licences while at the same time exempting the other 450 licence holders.

Best wishes

JD

I wonder how this chap would do in Bristol?

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltsh ... s22ZM.html

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IDFIMH

The DDA was passed to stop discrimination against disabled people. If they refuse or revoke a licence because of a persons disability then they are in breach of the DDA and wide open to legal challenge.

This is where the implimentation of the DDA to taxis is up its own arse.

i like the bit that says:
"This is the fourth purpose-built taxi he has purchased through LTI Vehicles' Birmingham main dealer, Mann & Overton. It has also been fitted with a special seat to allow Allan more room to keep his legs in a comfortable position when driving."

what about the rest of the drivers that would like more room to be comfortable in?!!