Taxi Driver Online

Outrage over taxicab ruling

Furious taxi firms say customers will be hit in the pocket by Elmbridge Borough Council's decision to ban more than five passengers from travelling in some people carriers.

Officers have decreed that all taxi passengers must have direct access to a door, which means cabbies are now forced to remove the middle seat from affected models such as the Ford Galaxy and Nissan Primera, to allow passengers to escape more rapidly. The council claims it is simply promoting safety but taxi firms says the move will cost them business, raise fares and leave customers paying for two taxis instead of one.

Zed Juneja, who runs Ashley cars in Hersham Green, said the ruling affected all people carriers at his firm and will have a huge impact on his business. "We will have to bear the cost of the modification, which we then have to pass onto the customer. Long term we will lose a few drivers as they can't afford to maintain the cars," he said.

Mr Juneja is baffled that cars that have been taxed, MOT'd and deemed safe to use by manufacturers can be seen as unsafe by the council. He said: "It's not logical. We have to take the seat out for work as it's unsafe, but when we are finished we can put the seat back in and use it for our families."“We will have to bear the cost of the modification, which we then have to pass onto the customer."

The vote on September 11 was carried by a majority verdict during a lively licensing committee meeting, in which members of the public and one councillor walked out.

Councillor Mike Bennison said: "I walked out of the meeting after being criticised for defending the taxi firms. I believe that councillors have a democratic right to say what they think. I wasn't doing anything for the taxi firms or playing to the crowd, I just believed that they have a good case."Mr Juneja said: "We were thankful for what he said. He really spoke up for us."

The ban came into effect immediately and follows a similar ban in Guildford. The chairman of the licensing committee, Councillor Torq Stewart, said: "All the arguments were put forward and it was a democratic decision."

A council spokeswoman said it was a public safety matter. She added that 98 of the 393 private hire vehicles in Elmbridge are licensed to carry six or more passengers and 29 of 110 Hackney carriages can also do the same.

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IDFIMH

eh, is it bus's next, like when the council was checking all my four car electric windows on test was working and I had the back ones switched of via the master button up front, asked the taxi officer checking the vehicle, why, when bylaws state only one either side has to open, their answer

well if you drive into a river the passengers must have some means of escape, what a laugh, its well known when or if you go into a river you wait while the car fills with water, pressure equals then open the door and swim out, electric would have failed/shorted

You have to wonder if some LOs take a stupid pill every morning.

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IDFIMH

It's not usually the LO that makes these descisions it's usually the councilors under "advice" from some wet behind the ear college graduate employed by the councils as experts or council solicitors looking for things that might get the council sued and advising councillors to ompose these silly terms and conditions

NTA, NTTG, T&G........... Councils know best.

Regards

JD

I am surprised that such a vital issue of public safety should recieve opposition on this site. This council DO know best...no passenger should have to clamber over a row of seats to get into, or out of a "taxi" should they?

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Former taxi driver

I can certainly see where they are coming from but if licensing authorities of taxis, private hire and all Public service vehicles took this approach then there would be an awful lot of vehicles removed from the licensing structure.

JD

The owners in Elmbridge can always appeal this decision.

A district council for an area to which the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 applies may attach to the grant of a licence of a hackney carriage under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 such conditions as the district council may consider "reasonably" necessary. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a district council may require any hackney carriage licensed by it under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 to be of such design or appearance or bear such distinguishing marks as must clearly identify it as a hackney carriage.

Any person aggrieved by any conditions attached to such a licence may appeal to a magistrates' court.
...........................................................

Regards

JD

Well dozens of councils think otherwise, thus councils don't know best?

Or, as per GA, CC, NTA, T&G et al, they only know best when they do what they're told.

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

Is it any different to being sat in an E7 or TX11 and having to move forward to exit the door?
I dont think so.
None of these vehicles would pass the stringent test's carried out to enable them to be sold in the EU if they were unsafe.

I remember the time Mondeo's were banned in Warrington because they were 1/2" to narrow between the rear door handles.

What about being sat in the middle of a BUS? and having to scamble past 12 seat's in front of you while the thing is moving?? to get off!

If only we had a national body to represent us all who carried some weight?
unlike the GMB before you step in with your agitate agitate agitate!!!!

So the average LO knows far more about Fords, Skodas, Vauxhall etc than the makers?

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IDFIMH