Taxi Driver Online

A story from the Aberdeen Evending News. Looks like a carbon copy of Dundee from a couple of years ago. With the story the other week about the accessible taxi operators threatening legal action about having the rest running saloons, it maybe a case of preparing the ground to making all taxis accessible. I think anyone can have an accessible plate in Aberdeen, so as in Dundee it hasnt got rid of the hire plates.

TAXI FIRM BOSS INSISTS ALL DRIVERS HAVE BEEN VETTED

GRAHAM LAWTHER

16:00 - 17 June 2005
The boss of Aberdeen's biggest taxi firm today hit out at suggestions that drivers may not be properly vetted.

Rainbow Taxis director Raymond Burgess said every driver in the city was fully licensed and checked.

His claim came in the wake of statements in a letter sent by city council licensing chiefs to all taxi and private hire car (PHC) drivers.

The letter claimed that 25% of vehicle plates were being hired out by the holders to other drivers and suggested the practice could be illegal.

It also stated that many plate-holders hiring out their plates "do not know to whom the plate is hired".

The letter also said hiring out plates to another driver might mean both were "committing criminal offences".

It said: "The council is deprived of the right to approve who is permitted to operate a taxi/PHC."

But Mr Burgess said no taxi operator would dare risk their livelihood by hiring a plate to an unlicensed person.

The council says plate-hiring leads to mis-matches between the vehicle plate number and the taxi drivers' licence and needs tightening up.

Under the current set-up, if a driver is involved in an incident and the plate number is reported, that number will not necessarily tell the authorities who was driving.

It will only show the identity of the plate holder.

Councillors will receive a 200-page report from licensing solicitor Donald McLeod.

A letter which was a summary of the report has been sent to all drivers before a special licensing committee meeting later this month, which aims to find solutions to a string of long-running disagreements between the city council and the trade.

He will tell the special June 27 licensing meeting that it is his department's view that hiring out plates is not allowed by law.

But he spells out in his full report: "Although drivers may be incorrectly operating taxis or PHCs without the taxi or PHC licence being in their own name, they all hold taxi driver licences and all of the vehicles have been inspected and passed as safe for use by the public."

The city council said today it couldn't guarantee there were no unvetted drivers in Aberdeen. But it said there was no reason to believe there was a significant problem.

Council 'just scaremongering'

Ian Cameron has been a self-employed taxi driver for the past 15 years.

He has hit out at the letter and accused the council of "scaremongering".

The 56-year-old, who was nominated in the Evening Express Aberdeen's Champion Community category last year, said: "The taxi drivers that I know are all safe.

"Aberdeen is a small place and taxi drivers will know if there is anything illegal going on.

"At New Year if there are guys operating without a licence the drivers contact the police straight away and it gets stopped.

"It is just scaremongering and I can't believe the figure."

Ian added: "When I got the letter I was very surprised.

"There are a number of issues in it and I am very disappointed with the council.

"It gives taxi drivers a bad reputation."


In earlier editions of yesterday's Evening Express we stated that hundreds of taxi drivers were picking up fares without being vetted.

While council officials claimed in their letter that many drivers did not know who was using their plates it was misleading to suggest that hundreds of drivers had not been vetted.

We apologise for the confusion.

_________________
Dundee rocks. Almost.

Didn't Dundee say that drivers operating hired plates were operating unlawfully?

And surely if the owners don't know who's driving, then that's in breach of their conditions/bylaws, and should lead to the plate being revoked.

_________________
IDFIMH

I think the problem was proving that the plate was being leased out.

_________________
Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk