Taxi Driver Online

The Scottish Government
Taxi and Private Hire Car Licensing
Best Practice
Licensing Authorities 2007

THE ROLE OF LICENSING; POLICY JUSTIFICATION

7. The aim of local authority licensing of the taxi and PHC trades is to protect the public and to help ensure that the public have reasonable access to taxi and PHC services, given the part they play in local transport.

8. Licensing requirements which are unduly stringent will tend unreasonably to restrict the supply of taxi and PHC services, by putting up the cost of operation or otherwise restricting entry to the trade. Local licensing authorities should recognise that too stringent an approach may not be in the public interest - and could, indeed, have safety implications.

9. For example, it is clearly important that somebody using a taxi or PHC to go home alone late at night should be confident that the driver does not have a serious criminal record and that the vehicle is safe. But on the other hand, if the supply of taxis or PHCs has been unduly constrained by onerous licensing conditions, then that person's safety might be put at risk by having to wait on late-night streets for a taxi or PHC to arrive; he or she might even be tempted to enter an unlicensed vehicle with an unlicensed driver illegally plying for hire.

So:

a) The council IS responsible to protect public safety.

b) Too stringent restriction DOES have safety implications.

c) Two females unable to hail a cab DID get into unlicensed vehicles and WERE harmed - FACT.

What part of the Scottish Government warned councils, and CEC ignored these warnings twice, do you folks not understand?

QUANTITY RESTRICTIONS OF TAXI LICENCES

43. The present legal provision on quantity restrictions for taxis is set out in section 10(3) of the 1982 Act. This provides that “the grant of a taxi licence may be refused by a licensing authority for the purpose of limiting the number of taxis in respect of which licences are granted by them if, but only if, they are satisfied that there is no significant demand for the services of taxis in their area which is unmet”.

44. Local licensing authorities will be aware that, in the event of a challenge to a decision to refuse a licence, the local authority concerned would be required to establish to the satisfaction of the court that it had first satisfied itself that there was no such significant unmet demand.



Is it really FACT or are you assuming because they didn't hail a taxi or phone for one, they couldn't?

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

if the supply of taxis or PHCs has been unduly constrained by onerous licensing conditions, then that person's safety might be put at risk

Ummmm, the supply of PHCs aren't constricted in Edinburgh though is it?

Anyone, including yourself, can go to the council offices and buy a license and put their own car on as a PHC

Your not supposed to be able to hail a PHC though, are you?
You can only legally hail a black hack in Edinburgh. They are restricted.

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

You're right, but, Best Practice doesn't just cover taxis it covers PH (7)/(8.) and it covers phone work

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

No you can't publicly hire a private hire in Edinburgh but then again it's PRIVATE HIRE

Did the victims try to phone a PHC? No one will know unless you ask them but if you did I'd almost guarantee the answer is no. Ok, so they couldn't hire a cab straight away so after a wait they illegally publicly hire a private hire but if they had phoned for a private hire to pick them up they wouldn't have been assaulted!

Edinburgh is a tourist city isn't it? How do you know the victims weren't tourists?
Edinburgh PH don't have their phone numbers on their vehicles.
How would they have known the phone number for a PH firm? Especially if they were the worse for wear?

Truth is, we will never know for sure.

Now I'm not Jasbar and I'm not trying to say that restriction is directly responsible for what happened to these 2 unfortunate lassies.
But I think it is lunacy to insist that it wasn't a contributing factor. One of many factors I might add.
At the end of the day, they chose to get into a car with a total stranger. Something every mother tells their kids not to do.
That was, in the end, the most important factor.

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

You highlighted the wrong bit.

You should have emphasised the word before PHC, namely 'or'

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Caledonian Cabbie

I'm pretty sure that in the reports by the newspapers that they weren't tourists

Point is, you would need to know the number to phone it.
I've been to Edinburgh many times and I don't know any taxi or PH numbers.
I dare say that's true of most visitors and probably a good few of the locals.

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

"She had become separated from her class-mates from Dublin University who were enjoying a weekend of pubbing and clubbing in Edinburgh."

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-centra ... ex-attack/

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Caledonian Cabbie

At least now I know that she was trying to hail a taxi. Now without seeing the footage of the cctv in that area at that time I have no idea why she couldn't get one. It could be that all the taxis she tried to hail already had passengers in them or the taxi simply didn't stop and headed to a rank that pressumably had a queue on it. I mention the later because I frequenly watch taxis drive past people who flag them, heading in the general direction of the rank. Imo it is not feasible to provide a taxi for every single person that wants one at the very moment they do and I'm still of the opinion, that provided there has been a proper and full SUD, the council has acted within their rights to do so in restricting vehice licenses.

It also wouldn't go amiss to read the full quote of Lady Smith, rather than the little snippet that Jasbar likes to print



Imho the judge is right. Nobody else is responsible for what happened other than the person that committed the crime.

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

How can anyone defend restriction when it compromises the safety of young women at least, to some extent, is beyond me? Irrespective of your views on de-restriction, a shortage of taxis, artificial or otherwise puts women at greater risk of being attacked. One contributing factor out of many granted, but it does exist.


It's simply not good enough to say things like “Edinburgh Council has carried out a reasonable survey".


What do you think CC?

Does it put blokes at more risk of attack?

Just a thought!

How do you have the gaul to sit in judgement of Edinburgh Council when you sell plates. I've never come across such a perfect example of double standards in my life, ffs get off the soap box you've no right to be there, you hypocrite

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!