Taxi Driver Online

u forgot dundee..5 different types of licences...

beat that !!!

Unlike England and Wales, there is no legislation in Scotland to insist that all cabs are accessible to people confined to wheelchairs.

Well I would be very interested to see the legislation in England and Wales that insist our cabs are all WAVs.

There is no such legislation south of the border either.
What he should have said is:

"Unlike England and Wales, there is no legislation in Scotland to allow councils to insist that all cabs are accessible to people confined to wheelchairs."

The 1982 Civic Government (Scotland) Act only gave this power to The Secretary of State for Scotland. Aberdeen council imposed WAV regulations off their own bat and have enforced them for 13 years without the legal powers to do so.

12:00 - 12 January 2008 Evening Express

A Scheme to make more taxis wheelchair friendly was today slammed.

Come monday morning all you wav owners want to write in to Aberdeen council and tell them you are going to change your vehicles for saloon cars. In accordance with the Renfrewshire ruling.

Regards

JD

Come monday morning all you wav owners want to write in to Aberdeen council and tell them you are going to change your vehicles for saloon cars. In accordance with the Renfrewshire ruling.

Regards

JD

Come Monday morning all you wav owners want to write in to Aberdeen council and tell them you are going to change your vehicles for saloon cars. In accordance with the Renfrewshire ruling.

Regards

JD

The ruling needs to be sent to ALL Scottish councils, anyone got a list

Callum McCaig
CMcCaig@aberdeencity.gov.uk
(01224) 523598
(01224) 648940



13 December 2007

FIRST CLASS
Stewart Stevenson MSP
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure & Climate Change
Scottish Government
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ



Aberdeen City Council
Town House
Broad Street
Aberdeen AB10 1FY

Tel 01224 523598
Minicom 01224 522381
DX 529451, Aberdeen 9
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

Dear Mr Stevenson

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 1995
ACCESSIBLE TAXIS

As Convenor of the Council’s Licensing Committee, I am writing to you to express our concerns as to perceived unwillingness by the previous Scottish Government to make policy decisions on the introduction of wheelchair accessible taxis under the above Act. Although these are complex issues which require careful consideration and full discussion, some progress has been made in England and Wales. In the absence of any discussions, the Scottish Government has merely encouraged Scottish local authorities to adopt their own policies. There is a limit on what can be achieved at a local level within the terms of the existing legislation. There are some areas of the country where there are few, if any, wheelchair accessible taxis. Even in areas where there are wheelchair accessible taxis, disabled passengers can still encounter difficulties.

We would therefore urge the Scottish Government take steps to address these issues without delay.

(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Sections 32 to 38 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 placed legal duties on taxi drivers in England and Wales to assist passengers in wheelchairs into and out of their taxis. The Minister of Transport for England and Wales was also given powers to make regulations as to the technical specifications for wheelchair accessible taxis and require taxis in any designated English or Welsh Local Authority to be wheelchair accessible.

UK-wide consultations took place in the late 1990’s on the technical specifications for accessible taxis, but regulations were not published. In 2003, the Minister for Transport for England and Wales announced that all taxis in certain local authorities in England and Wales would require to be wheelchair accessible over a 10 year period, commencing in 2010. It was intended that the technical regulations would be issued in good time to allow vehicle manufacturers and modifiers to design and construct suitable vehicles.

The regulations have yet to be issued, even in draft form. Concerns as to the delay in issuing these regulations were expressed at the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) at its meeting on 7th June 2007. Recent articles in the taxi trade press have claimed that the Minister is reconsidering the policy of requiring all taxis to be wheelchair accessible. It is suggested that it may be preferable to have “mixed” taxi fleets with saloon cars and accessible taxis and that these matters might be better addressed by incentives and encouragement, rather then by government regulation.

(2) Position in Scotland

As taxi licensing law is different in Scotland and Sections 32 to 38 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 do not apply. Section 39 allows the Secretary of State for Scotland, and now the Scottish Government, to make regulations under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to address these issues. Apart from provisions relating to the carriage of guide dogs in taxis and private hire cars, no regulations have been made.

I attach copies of correspondence with the Executive on this topic since 2003. The Scottish Executive had indicated that it proposed to adopt a different approach from that announced in England and Wales, and would consult once the Department of Transport issued technical regulations.

(3) Other Developments

Aberdeen City Council Licensing Committee has followed encouragement from government to use the powers already available to it to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis in Aberdeen. Section 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 has since required all Councils to adopt policies which will minimise discrimination against persons with disability and promote equality of opportunity and encourage participation by disabled persons in society. Limited access to suitable and economic transportation is a major factor in discrimination.

In 2004, the Local Government and Transport Committee considered a Petition (PE 568) from The Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance (SATA) that the Executive should encourage local authorities to have one half of their taxi fleets fully accessible (without suggesting a mechanism to determine which taxi licence holders had to operate such vehicles). SATA were advised to contribute to the Department of Transport’s consultation on the specification for accessible taxis.

In November 2004, a Task Group appointed by the Executive provided a report with various recommendations for review of the licensing provisions of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The topics covered did not include taxi accessibility issues. No proposals have been made as to the implementation of any of the recommendations.

(4) Practical Difficulties with Existing Scottish Legislation

As has been highlighted previously in 2005, taxi licensing legislation in Scotland makes it difficult for Councils to introduce appropriate policies to accommodate the transportation of disabled persons in wheelchairs.

For example –

(a) Training for Taxi Drivers It would not be unreasonable to expect that councils should be able to insist that all taxi drivers are appropriately trained in the loading and unloading of passengers in wheelchairs. The legal advice that we have received is that Section 13 (5) of the 1982 Act does entitle Councils to require applicants for the grant of taxi drivers licences to take a test on matters relating to the operation of a taxi as the Council considers desirable. This could include knowledge on how to load and unload passengers and wheelchairs. There is, however, no provision for Councils to insist that taxi drivers applying for the renewal of licences can be required to undertake similar tests.

The 1982 Act also requires Councils to renew a taxi driver licence unless it is has grounds for refusal. The onus is therefore on the Council to establish a driver’s unfitness, rather than for the driver to prove his fitness. Accordingly, the legal advice that we have received is that, if the Council tried to refuse to renew a taxi driver’s licence, merely because they had not passed a training course, the Sheriff Court on appeal would strike down such a decision.

I have been advised that this contrasts with the position for Hackney Drivers in England and Wales. Hackney Drivers apply for the grant of their licences every three years. There are no renewals, as such. Section 59 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 states that Councils shall not grant a hackney carriage driver licence unless they are satisfied the driver is a fit and proper person. This provides more scope for English and Welsh councils to insist that all existing Hackney carriage drivers are appropriately trained in the loading and unloading of disabled passengers.

(b) Insurance Cover Councils in Scotland cannot grant a taxi operator a licence unless the vehicle is covered by the minimum level of 3rd party liability road insurance. We have been advised that this would not cover any claim that arose if a passenger in a wheelchair was injured whilst being assisted into or out of the taxi by the driver. Taxi drivers are therefore encouraged to have appropriate insurance cover to cover this eventuality. We have been advised that a licence condition requiring a taxi operator to hold such cover would not be sustainable under the present legislation.

(5) Necessity for discussions

The above are merely an example of the type of issues that require to be considered.

Members of our Licensing Committee are disappointed in the lack of progress in this area. It is appreciated that developments in England and Wales are relevant as to the types of accessible taxis that are required. It would be inappropriate for the Scottish Government to require different technical specifications for accessible taxis than England. The technical regulations on the design of accessible taxis are important but there are a wide range of other related issues that can be discussed now. There has been no movement in this area since the late 1990’s and this has resulted in Councils in Scotland adopting a wide range of policies and practices. Disabled and elderly people ought to have the same access to suitable taxis throughout the country.

We would therefore suggest that it would be of benefit if the Scottish Government were to establish a national Working Group, involving all Councils, disabled and taxi trade representatives to look at all of these issues.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely





Councillor Callum McCaig
Convenor Licensing Committee

The following is a letter from Aberdeen Licensing Committee to the Scottish Minister for Transport