Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers demand change to test rules

Taxi owners in Dudley are demanding a change to the rules which mean they have to fork out up to £500 in vehicle tests every year.

Current policies are 'outdated' and are hitting drivers in the pocket, according to members of Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association.

Taxi owners have to pay £230 for their vehicle test and licence application every year but drivers of older cars, over six years old, face having additional tests during the year to ensure their taxis are safe.

Rules limiting the colour of taxis to white only were scrapped recently following a campaign by drivers, including 'slow drives' past the council house in Dudley.

The association says the change has allowed more of its members to change their cars meaning there are less older cars on the roads.

But under current rules cars aged between six and eight years face two tests a year and those aged over eight need a test every four months.

Additional tests can cost £153.40 under current guidelines.

Association chairman Shaz Saleem said: "The policy is outdated now. We are now seeing newer cars which is good for people in Dudley .

"This policy should change as it is hitting people in the pocket."

New proposals which will go before the committee say vehicles aged between six and 10-years-old should be subject to six monthly tests.

Vehicles 10-years-old and above would still receive four month tests under the proposals.

A report from Philip Tart, the strategic director who oversees the taxi committee, said: "The hackney carriage/private hire trade have made representations through the taxi focus group that the committee review the current policy in respect of the testing of vehicles, it has been proposed that the committee amend the current policy."

Association members have also raised separate concerns over the confusion of policies over renewing taxi licences.

Mr Tart, in the report, said: "The way applications for the renewal of vehicle licences are processed has caused confusion amongst the trade and has also caused staff major problems as it is quite often misinterpreted."

Both matters will be discussed at the taxi committee meeting on Tuesday at 5.30pm at Dudley Council House.

source: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/loca ... est-rules/

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

Simple solution, "don't run a shed."

What really need looking at is the amount licensing authorities charge for testing for instance in Doncaster the fee for testing is £60 yet the same council do Mot's for £40 which they must make a profit at, I know these fees are low compared to what others have to pay but it shows that most authorities view us as cash cows

MOT garages buy the MOT sheets for £10-£15 depending on how many you buy, the more you buy the cheaper they are, lets say the council is buying them for £10 and charging £40 for an MOT that's a 300% profit for testing a car.

What about the time taken to do the test, is that free?
Mot test fees are set by the Government. There is a maximum fee but garages can, if they wish, charge less that the maximum. That rings a bell.

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Grandad,

simple solution, have a max age limit of 10 years, that way they could buy a brand new vehicle and if it lasts they get 10 years out of it, with the last 2 years requiring 6 monthly tests

Have you seen a mechanic when he's done an MOT? He's tossing it off waiting for the clock to count down on the computer so he can print the MOT off, if he's got another one booked in he'll test that then come back to print the MOT off.

What difference does that make? There is a standard time and standard price laid down.

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Grandad,

The cheaper they are you'll notice the mechanic doing another MOT while he's waiting for the timer to count down. If a garage buys 2000 MOT papers they'll get them even cheaper than £10, the big dealer garages will buy them in 10,000 packages making them even cheaper than the 2000 packages but they'll nobble you for £45 for an MOT.