Taxi Driver Online

Why does Renfrewshire council ignore the private hire policy where they aren't allowed to rank or sit outside of licensed premises around the Paisley area? I was always under the impression that the council handbook issued to all taxi and private hire drivers layed down the rules for the safe operation of said cars! each night i go to work in my insured taxi, i am met with a 'rank' of private hire cars, waiting in line in New st paisley, to illegaly pick up fares from the street. once the passenger gets into the car they then put the driver into the position of driving without insurance as the fare was not hired through their control base. surely police and council officials cannot condone this behaviour, putting the public into an unsafe position?

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REAl Taxis are white.....all the rest are PRIVATE HIRE! remember that when you pick up (UN-INSURED) off the street!

Well of course they shouldn't be putting up with this, but unless some serious pressure is put on the council and police, then nothing much would change.

Just a thought, but maybe if all those PH were made taxis, then surely that would solve the insurance problem.

Just a thought.

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IDFIMH

They have been doing this for years in London. Ocasionaly the law has a purge, but they return as if the nick is an ocupatioal hazard.

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Make trafic wardens redundant. PARK LEGALLY.
Congestion charge! Before it was free.

Are you 100% sure that they do not have jobs booked, because if they do they are 100% legal, within the law and insured.

Maybe you should contact Mr Roy Hadden, the Taxi enforcement officer, & let him know that there appears to be a large amount of demand which is unmet

This would encourage him to pass this information on to the Regulatory Functions Board & maybe they will issue more plates.

The only problem would be if you are a plate holder yourself, more plates would dilute the value of your £25,000 one.

Still you could always sell it on

Real taxis should be black !

Not white to suit Glasgow Airport

I know the situation you describe

Surely the best thing to do would be to have more ranks in Paisley instead just the one at the railway station. The majority of pubs & clubs in Paisley are a fair distance from that one

This followed by the issuing of more plates would solve the problem

All the best

In Scotland it is not illegal for a private hire owner to book a hire via his/her radio or mobile phone if some one asks for a taxi/private hire, they could even book the hire legal if they take the details and write them down. But no matter, according to the ACT a private hire must return to base and a taxi can only rank at legal ranks or return to base, is there a legal rank outside the clubs.?
When I ask this question I usually get the relpy "we are clearing the streets". So are the privates

Why is it assumed that private hire only tout too meet unmet demand?

Oi! Thats the 'Cockney Scousers' avatar you've nicked!

If you've ever met Sheldon you would'nt have.

Or Charcoal Grey. Thank you.

Or Red!!!!!!

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Make trafic wardens redundant. PARK LEGALLY.
Congestion charge! Before it was free.

I'm afraid it is mainly the same all over the UK. Enforecement of this kind is not a priority, neither is the policing of vehicles that park on Taxi Ranks.

When such enforcement is laxed those people who habitually break the law in this respect get bolder and more brazen in the way they go about illegally plying for hire. I think it should be mentioned that not all private hire vehicles that sit outside night clubs or places of entertainment are illegally plying for hire but it is sometimes easy to distinguish between those who are and those who aren't?

I don't know the remedy to the problem but you can't take matters into your own hands. Licenses are easily revoked these days so you don't want to put yourself in that position.

Ask the council to make that part of the road in question a night rank from 7 in the evening until 7 in the morning. Impress on them that the rank is needed in order to service the high volume of public who assemble in that area and to make sure that the most vulnerable members of society are proteced by having a legally licensed vehicle in which to take them home. Also inform the council, if you haven't already? That unlicensed vehicles are operating with impunity in these areas and if the council does not want to police them themselves, then they should do everything in their power to make conditions harder in which these vehicles can operate.

Regards

JD

had to post reply to this friends..

i live in a small village ( approx 12000 ) and there is only i nite club, with ONLY private hire cars in the town... no black hacks at all.
the police let us sit ( in rank if thats what you can call it ) outside the club and take people home without any bother....
but as one cop told me.... you guys are doing US a favour by taking the assholes away from the club as quickly as possible, so they dont start fights ect...

is this the same in ALL small villages ? where there are no black hacks ?

The law as you probably know states that the only vehicles that can legally ply for public hire are those that are specificaly licensed for that purpose.

If you have an informal arrangement with the local enforcement officers that allows you and your colleagues to ply for public hire in your village, then I would count myself very lucky.

Regards

JD