Taxi Driver Online

Read the article here:

http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/edinburgh.htm

Post your views below!

Your report quotes "

But Councillor O'Donnell said that he would have no objection to OFT moves to encourage taxis to charge fares below the council-set rates, saying that his primary concern was that customers weren't charged in excess of the controlled tariff."

This of course breaches the council's own rules which clearly state that all fares within the licensing area MUST BE METERED.

According to licensing conditions there is no leeway to negotiate.

Fares to destinations outwith the licensing area are not subject to local authority control and price competition already exists for such fares.

Price competition also already exists where fares are fixed by contract.

Competitive elements and considerations influencing include private hire, other forms of public transport, demand and time of the day/week/year.

The council's own rules may well be illegal then, section 17 of the Civic Government Act says....

The fares for the hire of taxis in any area and all other charges in connection with the hire of a taxi or with the arrangemetns for its hire shall be not greater than those fixed for that area under this section and section 18 of the Act.

As in England, they are maximums, not fixed fares.

But i think we all generally disagree with the OFT over this, i havent spoken to anyone who agrees wjth it, surprise surprise

_________________
Caledonian Cabbie

Dark ages bloody dark ages not having phvs plated.
Is there anyone else that doesnt plate phvs.
How does a customer know a driver and vehicle is licensed.
Bloody madness. Been spending too much on that gold plated palace.

I can only speak for Dundee,the private hire vehicles,have to go
through the same police test as hackneys.
The test is very stringent,and the PH have a white plate stuck on
the back of the vehicle and the drivers name and plate number on
both front doors.
You can see them all over the area,waiting on their offices putting
out jobs to them,in the area they are in.
We have emphasised over the years,to the public,that they are not insured
if they are carried in these vehicles,without pre-booking.
This is still flouted,especially at peak times,but with being a small City
it is under control to a large extent.
Also the better offices ensure these PH,do not flaunt,as it is detremental
in covering the jobs.

Edinburgh does require PH to be licensed as the report states, it also requires limousines to be licensed in the same way (one of the few in Scotland that don't turn a blind eye to this trade, ie Glasgow & Renfrewshire)

I don't see what the problem is with ID plates being positioned on the rear & front windscreens, after all I'm not aware of any plans by the Government to require road tax discs to be displayed externally

West Dumbartonshire Council (just outside Glasgow) require plates to be displayed on the rear windscreen & I'm not aware of the public or police there having problems with identification

Why do Local Authorities up & down the Country seem obsessed with forcing unneccesary regulations & requirements on people who are just trying to do a hard days work for the publics benefit

Their is significant demand for my view

Cannot remember where it was ,but noticed PH,had a notice on
the side of the cab,saying that only pre-booked customers were allowed to be carried in the vehicle,and if not,the customer,was not insured.
Thought this was a good idea.

I think one of the Ayrshire Councils require this on the front side doors, but again this seems unfare, I don't see any buses with notices mentioning they can only pick up at designated bus stops (there not insured if they pick up or drop you off otherwise).

When I was talking about plate locations I ment to say East Dumbartonshire rather than West

Cheers

Aren't all the arguments about plating PHV's just nonsense, a distracting side issue to the real one.

Why do we need two licensing systems. It just adds to confusion. The old days where private hire licences were intended to be for chauffeur driven hires, ie limousines, wedding and funerals etc. have long since gone. For the main part, aren't they just operating in the same way as taxis do, except they don't pick up from the street (At least they're not supposed to)?

And, aren't the traditional taxi services also mainly operating like private hire, contributing to the problems of customers having difficulty hailing from the street at peak times, infuriated by seeing empty taxis passing them by hurrying to fulfill a private hire?

This is crazy.

Wouldn't the OFT have served us better, and our customers, by resolving this dilemma?

Why not a single tier public carriage service coupled with flexibility of vehicle types to cover all licensed hire requirements?

Easy for the regulating licensing authorities, easier for those who work within the industry and much easier for the public to understand, possibly even encouraging greater use of our service, which we all want.

And, also much safer for everyone involved.

The current system suffers from the classic british disease of being designed by a committee.

Isn't it time for common sense to prevail?????



Jimbo

I hope it does Jimbo.

I think it needs two things to happen.

One, get rid of the quota system that a minority of councils adhere too, and two, improve standards of vehicles and drivers.

It can be done, and hopefully it will, cos at the moment many in the trade are competing down-wards, and standards, in places, are declining.

_________________
IDFIMH

Get rid of quotas. Possibly.

Compare taxi licensing with pub licensing.

In the case of pubs, the LA issues the license then substantially leaves the licensed trade to deliver the service to customers. And they stand or fall on the quality of that service.

With taxis however, the LAs issue licences, then proceed to act as if they own the taxi fleet.

They set prices.
They police the trade to the point of harrassment.
They set up disciplinary procedures that make the Spanish Inquisition look like a cheap gameshow.
They limit the number of licences.
They tell cabbies what they should wear to work.
They dictate the maximum age that a vehicle should be used.
They dictate that cabbies should attend a training course of their design (brown envelopes to their pals?).

Can you imagine the licensed trade allowing them to get away with all this nonsense, and more?

We need standards, yes. But the way that LAs are currently behaving is outrageous. They don't make the investment in the trade. Self-employed owners and drivers do. The council doesn't employ these people. They don't provide NI, SSP, pension, holidays or any of the other benefits associated with employment. So why should they "run" the trade as if they owned it?

Isn't it time for them to butt out and let those who deliver the service design how it is delivered?

Jimbo

Jimbo,
My sentiments almost exactly. I was hoping that the Oft were going to be the ones to drag us into modern world but they lost the plot and tried to make the facts fit their conclusions. Conclusions they had before they had even started.
Quality, quality, closely followed by quality should be the answer to our problems not silly outdated restriction by numbers. Just because that as always been the way does not mean that we cannot change.
My opinion has always been that we should not be dictated to by time serving local political buffoons, who within minutes of meeting them you know that they do not understand the day to day running of the taxi trade.
21st century legislation is needed now and we will wonder what has hit us when the various dictates of the E.U come into play.
Looking forward to the day when we get up in the morning, go out and earn a living without the silly us and them, union versus non-union, O licences, community car schemes and all the detritus that we battle with on a daily basis.
One system of Hire and Reward, get rid of the bloodsuckers and leeches, parasites that live off the honest and decent people that ply our trade. Government to finally recognise us for what we are and that is a vital cog in the infrastructure of the transport system, and with that recognition at long last the subsidies to which we are entitled. Subsidies that will take out the expense of wheelchair compliant vehicles, VAT removed off new vehicles, fuel rebates, etc.
Who knows perhaps one day....
Ged

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taxi driver @manchester airport

my sentiments exactly well said

As far as the OFT report is concerned, I don't think the fat lady has sung yet. Let's hear it for Europe.

I will admit to the fact that I am uncomfortable with unrestricted numbers.

But then I realise that we've probably reached the limit of those who want to do the job anyway.

And, freeing the job of sitting in the saddle and serving the public from those who hold the reins and sit watching the telly, or enjoying their nights out knowing their basic costs have been met, when we're out grafting can only be a good thing.

Why can't I drive my own vehicle, at a reasonable cost and during the hours that I and my public dictate? And, why should that vehicle be a piece of 30 grand tosh which still owes its technology to the 1940's and gives the punters a horrendous ride.

On holiday I'll sit in a merc as a taxi. Why not here?

JBO

Well said Jim, the current system is archaic,restrictive and monopolistic and never mind europe what about the government, the ministers have not given their decision yet, they may be more mindful of the consequences of their decision if it's challenged in europe.