Taxi Driver Online

I seem to recall a regulation that a booking required that the passengers would be carried by a vehicle from the company taking the booking, does this mean i could neither TAKE a job off another company, nor GIVE a job to another carrier? i had hoped to gain work via my own website and also FROM the many online booking services now available to customers...

or is it back to the dark ages for the trade?

Brian Roland of the NPHA has asked for Section 5 of the LPHA 1988 to be included in the 1976 LGMPA. Here is the section relating to sub contracting.
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5 Hirings accepted on behalf of another operator

(1) A London PHV operator (“the first operator”) who has in London accepted a private hire booking may not arrange for another operator to provide a vehicle to carry out that booking as sub-contractor unless—

(a) the other operator is a London PHV operator and the sub-contracted booking is accepted at an operating centre in London;

(b) the other operator is licensed under section 55 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (in this Act referred to as “the 1976 Act”) by the council of a district and the sub-contracted booking is accepted in that district; or

(c) the other operator accepts the sub-contracted booking in Scotland.

(2) A London PHV operator who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) It is a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section for an operator to show that he exercised all due diligence to avoid committing such an offence.

(4) It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1) whether or not sub-contracting is permitted by the contract between the first operator and the person who made the booking.

(5) For the avoidance of doubt (and subject to any relevant contract terms), a contract of hire between a person who made a private hire booking at an operating centre in London and the London PHV operator who accepted the booking remains in force despite the making of arrangements by that operator for another contractor to provide a vehicle to carry out that booking as sub-contractor.
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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.

The works going into a Licensed London Taxi as the Minicab firm's run out of drivers again.

Im not in london though, but it could all apply if the website owners were a london based company, but i may not be aware of that....

once again, technology is expanding faster than legislation...

I think you will find that Mr Rowland wants the London act to be applied on a National basis.

If i dont carry signs no-one will be any the wiser......

cant personally see the harm so long as all vehicles/drivers are badged/plated/insured, etc, or am i missing something (apart form good looks)

on a purely technical and pedantic note, as every owner driver on a circuit is legally a seperate business entity in his/her own right then it could be argued that by passing a job to that owner driver the job IS being sub-contracted out....

oh dear........

I haven't given much thought to sub contracting because it has never affected me in any way whatsoever but I will say one thing and that is if the current legislation on subcontracting is prohibitive on the way private hire companies do business then a better method of contract transference or substitution should be found.

Unlike many in the taxi trade I don't believe in living in the past, therefore any legislation that simplifies matters and takes account of the modern world we live in and makes business easier to conduct then I'm in total agreement.

Perhaps someone can make a case for retaining current sub contracting legislation and on the other hand perhaps someone might wish to make a case against it being retained?

I'm quite sure it can be improved upon and if that is the case then it should be.

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.

I suppose that if im registered with an online booking agency who are an existing taxi/PH business its no different to me renting a radio off them, except i may be licensed outside their own borough/district, then again, if they ARENT a taxi/PH business, just a website, have THEY broken the law taking a booking...

i sense a HMG "consultant" fee of about £200K to look at it...

if i was cynical (if? no doubt about that!) id say councils would love to protect their nice little earner and bits of power....no, im way too cynical on this....

If you are licensed as a taxi, it doesn't matter.

If you are licensed as a PH, then you can only take/pass work to/from an operator based in your area. Providing they are licensed of course.

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IDFIMH

ignoring any "london" issues, generally, i always thought a hackney outside his own LA had the status of a PH, i.e no flag downs, but could still do pre-booked jobs/remote collections....

Didn't I just say that?

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IDFIMH

not exactly...........