Taxi Driver Online

Big rise in bids for Shropshire taxi badges


Hundreds of taxi drivers from the Black Country and Birmingham are bombarding Shropshire Council with applications to operate in the county – with the number of drivers’ badges 400 per cent up on last year.

But council chiefs today raised concerns that some applicants may not have a genuine intention to work in the county.

Officials fear they are using a loophole to apply through Shropshire and then operate elsewhere.

Figures today showed that between January and July this year Shropshire Council issued a total of 1,468 taxi-related licences compared to 357 during the same period in 2010.

Officials said that of the 684 pending, more than 95 per cent were from out-of-area applicants.

Applications included those for Hackney carriage licences, joint driver, private hire operator and private hire vehicle licences.

Karen Collier, service manager for the environmental health team at Shropshire Council, said: “There has been a 400 per cent increase in drivers’ badges issued between January to July 2011 compared to the same period last year.

“There is concern that an applicant based outside Shropshire might not have a genuine intention to ply for hire within a Shropshire zone but is applying for a Hackney carriage licence solely to take advantage elsewhere of a statutory exemption which allows them to take private hire bookings remotely from Shropshire.”

Now the council is set to use a draft policy to refuse out of area applications, unless the applicant can prove they intend to operate in the county.

source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Can they do that? And if they can, what is to stop drivers from just turning up in the area for a couple of hours just to prove that they are working in the area?

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Grandad,

They license their hackneys to ply within their borders, so I think they can do that.

Quite how they enforce it, who knows.

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IDFIMH

Yeah Sussex is correct.......it was re-enforced by the decision in the Berwick case.

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

There is a simple solution surely it could be made a condition of application of licenses that the applicant lives in or close to the district say within 10 miles of the area for which they are applying for a badge

Shropshire obviously have much cheaper fees than Brum

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

It should also be made a condition that councils do not over charge for licences this would stop this happening

Good idea, but I suspect refusal by postcode would be illegal.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Some councils already do it such as Peterborough, Rushden and i think Rutland as well

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Rutland certainly don't do it. There is a company in Kirby Bellars which comes under Melton Borough Council and they are plated by Rutland.

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Grandad,

They have changed now because they used to

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

why would the council worry, its extra income, and once hack plated i can take work off any base anywhere, hack or private hire, and take phone calls/emails and do my own school runs

sounds good to me

plate till vehicle is 9 years old then 3 tests a year

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most