http://makeashorterlink.com/?W2BB35FEC
trying to force the councils hand now....
COURT-BATTLE CAB IN SERVICE
More Headlines | Back to home page
12:00 - 08 April 2006
There's one more black cab on the streets of Plymouth today - after private hire firm Taxifast finally received the Hackney licence it was awarded in a court hearing last month. It means there are now 360 black cabs in the city.
But what is still unknown is the future of Plymouth City Council's black cab cap, which had stood at 359 since the 1990s.
Taxifast, owned by transport entrepreneur John Preece, yesterday also applied for a second Hackney licence, after presenting two gleaming new cabs, worth £32,000 each, to the council.
But the authority has not made a decision on the second vehicle, even though it has been given paperwork, including insurance and inspection documents, by Taxifast.
A city council spokeswoman said: "The cap on plates still stands and it has only been four weeks since the court case so we have not yet made a decision on whether the cap or limit should be revised.
"One of the plates will be granted because it is the subject of a court order and we are considering our position on the second one."
Alan Johnson, company director, said the newly-licensed Hackney would immediately be ready to use on the city's roads.
"It's available for work to meet the unmet demand," he told the Herald.
"They have said the other (licence application) is in the hands of the legal department; it's all we expected, really."
Mr Johnson presented paperwork for the two new taxis to the council's licensing officers at 10am yesterday.
He was initially told a decision would be made on both within five working days.
But five working hours later he was being told Taxifast would receive one black cab plate.
In total, however, the firm has waited three years for the decision.
Taxifast, which runs private hire vehicles as its main business, originally applied for 30 Hackney licences in 2003, but had the applications turned down by the council, which operates a limit.
The firm went to the courts and last month a judge upheld the appeal, but granted only one licence, because the initial application had presented just one taxi for inspection.
Taxifast boss John Preece has since launched another appeal, in the High Court, to obtain the further 29 hackney licences. He also wants the council to grant him an additional 50 plates so he can run a 'taxibus' service.
The firm has already put its phone number and logo on the new LTI TXII Bronze cabs, and will install DVD players.