Taxi Driver Online

i am sure that other areas have nite club's sending out mini buses to gather custom for their establishments. any thoughts on this lads and indeed the legalities of the practice are welcome..it is indeed becoming a thorn in the side of the operators in my LA...thx

Down here it all depends on the number of seats, and the 01/01/08.

I would ask your council to ask the night-clubs why they are using un-licensed (if they are) vehicles.

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IDFIMH

First step is take the details of the company and the vehicles involved and see if they are licensed with the local Traffic Commissioner. If they are, then ask the Traffic commissioner under what license conditions they operate and their operating timetable.

If the bus is not licensed then it is breaking the law on several counts. Even if it is licensed it may still be breaking the law if it is picking up people from random locations or the vehicle is stopping when hailed.

Any vehicle and driver that picks up people randomly for the purpose of custom is plying for hire regardless of any monetary payment.

There are many laws that are liable to be contravened but first find out the status of the vehicle which should easily be identified by the registration mark issued by the Traffic Commissioner. If it has no registration identification then the chances are it is probably not licensed.

Transport act 1985 section 30 Plying for hire by large public service vehicles

(1) A public service vehicle which is adapted to carry more than eight passengers shall not be used on a road in plying for hire as a whole.

(2) Subject to section 68(3) of the 1981 Act (as applied by section 127(4) of this Act), if a vehicle is used in contravention of subsection (1) above, the operator of the vehicle shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

What is hire or reward?

Hire or reward is any sort of payment which gives a person a right to be carried on a vehicle regardless of whether a profit is made or not. The payment may be made by the person himself, or on his behalf and may be a direct payment (such as a fare or other payment made directly in respect of the journey) or an indirect payment (such as a membership subscription to a club, payment for a bed in a hotel, school fees or payment for concert tickets). Although such indirect payments are usually made in respect of other services (rather than for transport) they are nonetheless viewed by the courts as hire or reward because anyone who had not made the payment would have no right to be carried.

http://taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3804

http://taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3785

http://taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3638

See above links for further information.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

much appreciated JD..loading the ammo as we speak..but do these conditions apply to university mini buses as well ??

A PSV is a PSV.

If anything I take the view that university buses are the least likely to do it right.

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IDFIMH

If the vehicle is not licensed and there is no money involved, then it would probably fit into the category of "social kindness". If the vehicle is licensed as a PSV then you would have to find out what the licensing terms are? In all probability I would have thought the vehicle would not be licensed because generally there is no hire or reward element attached to a University mini bus. Unless some form of payment is mandatory?

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.