Mobil Taxi Office

driver · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 5:16 pm

Can anyone give me any information about mobile taxi offices, in the city where i work there is a company that is converting a 16 seat mini bus into a mobile taxi office, and apparently they are going to park in the busy part of the city where members of the public can go and wait for a PH to be called to take them home. Is this legal? Because i would have thought that you would need a special licence to operate in this way. Can anyone throw a bit of light on this situation, or has anyone heard whether this is going on in another city or town? Any information would be appreciated.

TDO · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 5:46 pm

So have they got an ops license for it yet? That could well be a problem.

Sussex · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:17 pm

I think it's more than likely legal.

I suspect it will be viewed not as a mobile taxi office, but as a mobile free-phone. There the staff will ring through to the main base, and the jobs will be despatched as per normal.

If PHs rank up near this mobile base, then that could be viewed as illegal, but if all the bus does is pass on bookings, then I think it should be within the law.

driver · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 7:13 pm

thanks lads what with de-limiting, late night buses and illegal PH's working the sreets it looks like another nail in the coffin of the independent taxi driver.

captain cab · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 7:43 pm

Could a council not use section 56 of the 1976 act and make a condition where the operator had to have planning permission for his base?

You cant give planning permission to a mobile base therefore it can't operate.

Captain Cab

Sussex · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 7:54 pm

driver wrote:

thanks lads what with de-limiting, late night buses and illegal PH's working the sreets it looks like another nail in the coffin of the independent taxi driver.

I agree the independants are likely to be worse off following de-limitation.

So why not get a few mates together and try what the lads in Harrogate and Lincoln are using.

http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/vie ... 13&start=0

Barnsley · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:18 pm

driver wrote:

Can anyone give me any information about mobile taxi offices, in the city where i work there is a company that is converting a 16 seat mini bus into a mobile taxi office, and apparently they are going to park in the busy part of the city where members of the public can go and wait for a PH to be called to take them home. Is this legal? Because i would have thought that you would need a special licence to operate in this way. Can anyone throw a bit of light on this situation, or has anyone heard whether this is going on in another city or town? Any information would be appreciated.

Our Private Hire company were doing something like this for a few years not with a converted mini bus but just a mobile phone outside a nightclub we had a contract with but you could book a car even if you had not been in the club. We stopped about six months back as in the end it turned out to be more hassle than it was worth. ( our so the owner of the firm said)

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2005 9:27 pm

many years ago when they had music festivals down here.
one of the cab firms had a mobile rank/booking office out in the fields.
it was a table. :lol:

GBC · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:38 am

London can always better that.

Get one nerd who can't speak English, give him a clipboard, and stand him in a doorway of a shop you are 'renting' at night.

Bobs your uncle, a minicab office.

Oh and make sure he chants, tax...... well you know the rest. :wink:

Sussex · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:07 am

But this just goes to show how weak the taxi leadership in London is.

All this touting and illegal activity and all they can do is moan about it in the trade press.

Maybe a little war war, instead of jaw jaw, is required. :shock:

GBC · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 2:06 pm

Sussex wrote:

But this just goes to show how weak the taxi leadership in London is.

All this touting and illegal activity and all they can do is moan about it in the trade press.

Maybe a little war war, instead of jaw jaw, is required. :shock:

Don't you think we've all tried Sussex? Short of arresting them ourselves what do you do?

The Police tout squad (60 officers) are all on other duties after 7/7, the PCO's minicab licensing inspectors seem to be no where to be seen, the problems are replicated all over London (remember the size) thousands of times a night.

Its a bit like New York and its Gypsy cars epidemic, it took years of enforcment with tough penalties until it stopped.

Here, if your a licensed minicab driver, and you get caught (a million to one) What do the PCO do? They give you a warning! Yep thats it a warning!

If you were caught touting I would imagine your license would be revoked (not suggesting you tout

)

So until enforcement is carried out, the situation carries on unchecked.

Sussex · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:16 pm

greenbadgecabby wrote:

If you were caught touting I would imagine your license would be revoked (not suggesting you tout

)

I think maybe not for a first offence, but if I was a repeat offender, then yes.

But my point is that you (the London trade) have 25,000 voices. I can't believe for a second anyone would ignore that, if it was directed properly.

Or maybe more forcefully. :shock:

driver · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 8:46 pm

it looks like our problems in Cardiff are mirrored all over the place.

I have been informed that the way this mobile office will work is by the customer entering the mini bus and depositing a pound into a machine and then entering the address they wish to go to and a receipt will be issuesed, a PH will be called and the customer gives the receipt to the driver (not me) and he will deduct it from their fare.
If it works it won't be long before the PH's start to rank up near the mini bus.
I'm wondering if this would come under the East Staffordshire BC v Rendell case where Mr Rendell was successfully prosecuted for using an unlicensed vehicle and that the use of a telephone number was seen as an invitation. This means under section 46(1)(d) a person is operating a vehicle in a controlled area if he arranges for telephone calls for bookings to be diverted to and answered at an address in that controlled area.

I could be wrong any views on this would be interesting.

Sussex · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 9:21 pm

driver wrote:

I'm wondering if this would come under the East Staffordshire BC v Rendell case where Mr Rendell was successfully prosecuted for using an unlicensed vehicle and that the use of a telephone number was seen as an invitation. This means under section 46(1)(d) a person is operating a vehicle in a controlled area if he arranges for telephone calls for bookings to be diverted to and answered at an address in that controlled area.

I could be wrong any views on this would be interesting.

But they wont be un-licensed, they will be (I assume) licensed PH.

Also Rendell was before the 1976 Act.

driver · **Posted:** Sat Aug 06, 2005 9:25 pm

i'm refering to the mobile office, and some one using a phone inside it.

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