Taxi Driver Online

Looking at the comments, they give the impression that the relaxation in signage might be related to the amount of Wolverhampton plates operating in Oldham. But obviously multi-op working is more of a thing now anyway, and the relaxation of the signage requirements accommodates this.

But at least the article's explanation of the signage change is a bit clearer than the driver rep's explanation about how it'll help the trade

Lots of soundbite-level waffle from various parties at the end, though - you'd think they'd sorted out global climate change, or something like that

Useful article, but it all feels a bit padded out


Oldham: Minicab drivers welcome ‘big improvement’ to rules

https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/2 ... ent-rules/

Oldham’s private hire drivers have welcomed a change to the rules which they hope will mean less damage to their vehicles.

Oldham Council’s licensing committee has decided to change the positioning of identification plates and operator logos on vehicles.

Tariq Hussain, who is the vice chair of the Oldham Private Hire Association, said the change, which sees the requirement to have a sticker with details of the operator dropped, is a ‘big improvement’.

He said: “If you changed firm from one to another you’d have to put their stickers on, which means paying more money, and then taking the stickers off – a lot of people had their car damaged because moving stickers from one to another it’d damage your paintwork.

“It’s a big, big bonus for us.

“At one time you couldn’t work for multiple firms, now you can work for multiple firms.

“If you ring A2B now and I pick you up from base, I have to display my sticker as a base driver, if I then drop you off in town and pick someone up in Manchester and bring them back to Oldham as an Uber customer, I have to display to the Uber customer.

“That means less mileage as I can work for Uber at the same time as the base.”

The change means operator logos will now be shown on the passenger side of the car’s windscreen, which can be more easily changed than a large door sticker.

A sticker indicating that the vehicle is private hire and only insured if booked will be required on the rear passenger door.

Private hire licenses will also no longer be displayed on the front of the vehicle, with the requirement changed to displaying the number in the top left of the windscreen.

Oldham Council licensed vehicles will now only display a rear private hire licence plate.

This plate will provide the licence number, vehicle registration number, expiry date, number of passengers allowed and the vehicle make and model.

There are 1,100 taxis and private hire licensed vehicles operating across Oldham at the moment.

Cllr Arooj Shah, leader of Oldham Council, said: “Our taxi drivers provide a great service to residents and visitors to Oldham.

“They work 24 hours a day and many people – including some of our most vulnerable – rely on them for everyday jobs, such as getting to health appointments or going shopping. During Covid they proved invaluable.

“These changes to vehicle signage bring the council into line with what the industry is doing in other parts of the country and although it may not seem significant it is important people make themselves aware of them.

“It’s good that the trade has supported the proposals because, like us, they recognise the industry is changing and modernising.”

Councillor Elaine Taylor, deputy leader of Oldham Council and Cabinet member for housing and licensing, said: “As Arooj has said our cabbies provide a great local service.

“The trade employs a large number of people across the borough so it’s important the council has a good working relationship with drivers and their associations and we’ll be looking to develop this more over the coming months, which will ultimately benefit passengers.”

Neil Smith, North West & Irish region political officer at GMB Trade Union, said: "Oldham taxi drivers have been waiting for this change for a long time, and through working with GMB Union they've been able to change Oldham Councils' policy on taxi signage.

“It is great to see Oldham Council leading on this campaign and supporting the taxi and private hire trade in the borough. We would like to thank the newly elected leader of Oldham council Arooj Shah, the Oldham licencing team and all the other organisations who worked with the GMB Union and Oldham Council to bring about this change.”

And the moon is made out of cheese.

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IDFIMH