Taxi Driver Online

Conditions of Fitness Review
Reconsideration of three elements


PCO Notice 19/04 announced the reconsideration of three elements of the Conditions of Fitness following the completion of the initial review, the results of which were announced in PCO Notice 10/03.

The reconsideration process has now been completed with the following results.

Turning circle
• The turning circle requirement (Condition of Fitness 7) is retained.

Sliding doors
• There will not be a requirement for sliding doors, if fitted, to be power assisted.

Visibility
• A new Condition of Fitness is to be introduced with advice from ergonomic experts to address the issue of visibility into and out of taxis for the benefit of passengers and drivers.

The full report of the reconsideration process may be found on www.tfl.gov.uk/pco/taxi_conditionsoffitness.shtml

A revised Conditions of Fitness will be published in due course and made available on the PCO website. In the meantime the version dated 2000 (as amended) should be read together with PCO Notice 10/03, 9/05 (Emissions) and this Notice.





15 December 2005 Roy Ellis
Head of the Public Carriage Office

London Taxis - Conditions of Fitness

Transport for London's Public Carriage Office today issued the results of the Conditions of Fitness review for London's taxi industry.

The Conditions of Fitness are intended to ensure that all taxis operating in London are safe and fit for purpose.

In 2002, the Public Carriage Office (PCO) undertook a full review of the Conditions of Fitness which was completed in June 2003.

Some changes were made while other conditions remained the same.

However, three aspects were challenged by Allied Vehicles Limited, and they are as follows:

the turning-circle requirement
the requirement that sliding doors are power assisted
the requirement for a one-piece rear window

Extensive research

Following extensive research it has been decided to:

retain the turning-circle requirement
not require sliding doors, if fitted, to be power-assisted
introduce a new condition to address the issue of visibility into and out of taxis for the benefit of passengers and drivers

Roy Ellis, Head of the PCO, said: "After a comprehensive review, it was found that the tight turning-circle produced tangible significant benefits to the travelling public, and that these outweighed the advantages of removing it.

"Allied Vehicles alleged that the retention of the turning-circle requirement led to fewer taxis, higher fares, less suitable taxis for the needs of the disabled and the unavailability of safer and more comfortable taxis, to the disadvantage in general of passengers and drivers alike.

The facts of these alleged disbenefits were not borne out by the research undertaken.

"Approximately 50m U-turns and over 90m other tight turns are performed by London taxis each year.

"If these U-turns were replaced by multi-point turns and other alternative complex manoeuvres, this could cause delay and impede other road users.

"Overall, during this review, both passengers and drivers preferred the existing London Taxi."

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

Thank you for this information. This link might serve you better.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/ ... p?prID=625

Regards

JD

An early Christmas present for LTI.

And a Happy New year

Strange that a non London driver would support a restriction on London drivers.

What was that about 'the workers united'?

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IDFIMH

One. At least I am a Taxi driver, not a wanna bee.

Two. Hypocrite. You applaud deristriction where it rears it's ugly head.

It is not a restriction on london drivers, as you claim, the rules merely remain the same.

I'm as much of a London taxi driver as you are. But I happen to believe it should be them that decide what they want to drive, within a reasonable criteria. You happen to believe that you know best.

As for the effects on London cabbies, well I think having to pay £10,000 extra for a motor with less safety features than the competition, alongside a MPG than is an utter disgrace, is enough to restrict their finances.

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IDFIMH

More hypocricy. And note I had no influence in the decision to retain the status quo. So how are London drivers going to have to fork out an extra £10K?

Can you buy a TX2 for the same price as an E7 or a Eurobus?

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IDFIMH

I didn't think even the Spanish were that daft.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article333474.ece

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IDFIMH

It looks like many of the muppets in London have got what they wanted.

Still at least the lads in Coventry will be pleased.

Ollie

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Happy to be legit.

What he wants and what he'll get are two separate matters - even if they consider his idea then once the price is revealed then they'll probably have second thoughts

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

Also for Roy Ellis, a few more brown envelopes?

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Make trafic wardens redundant. PARK LEGALLY.
Congestion charge! Before it was free.

Press Release from the London Taxi Board

LTB WELCOMES CONDITIONS OF FITNESS REVIEW RESULT

The London Taxi Board welcomes the outcome of the re-review of the Conditions of Fitness recently undertaken by the Public Carriage Office.

This extremely detailed independent report bears out the view taken by the London Taxi Board that standards should not be lowered.

The LTB expresses an aspiration that firms who can supply vehicles which can meet present standards should be encouraged to provide choice in the trade.

The famous London taxi with its clearly recognisable, iconic shape and tight turning circle would seem to have been examined in this review in all its aspects and not found wanting.

The famous turning circle, which according to the report is used 50 million times a year by the trade, is a benchmark standard and was found to be as necessary today as ever.

The need to preserve safety through recognisability was never more important than it is now in the light of the review of exterior signage on private hire vehicles being undertaken at this time.

The London Taxi Board is proud to represent the most famous taxi trade in the world which must be preserved for y

No chance - there's simply not the volume to support another supplier, as Mr Kelsey effectively says.

Excuse my ignorance, but what/who are the LTB again?

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