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Council to reject limit on taxis

CALLS for a restriction on the number of so-called hackney carriages looks set to be rejected. Warwick District Council’s ruling executive is to be told that the move will have little benefit on the trade of existing drivers. Limitations were considered by the council after lobbying from the taxi trade.

But at a meeting on Thursday, senior councillors will be told that the number of applications for black cab licences are actually falling anyway and that a recent survey showed there were ‘sufficient numbers of HCVs in the district to meet the service demands of the traveling public’.

Hackney carriages can be hailed in the street or pick up business at taxi ranks and have to be licensed in the area in which they operate. Private hire vehicles can only be used if booked through a taxi firm. They are also licensed by local authorities, but that does not have to be the one in whose area they operate.

Documents to be presented to the council’s executive on Thursday accepts that private hire taxis coming in the district have increased considerably, including drivers legitimately working for companies such as Uber.

But they add that the council has little control over them as some were licensed by neighbouring authorities and there were no powers available to limit their numbers.

And the council has predicted a continued increase in passengers using app-based taxi services in the future anyway. The documents added: “Given the above, a restriction on the number of HCVs is not necessarily going to benefit the HC trade.

“It is also possible a limit could cause additional financial strain on them, this is because the costs associated with running and maintaining a limitation policy, including the commissioning and project management of surveys every three years should not be borne by the general taxpayer and would need to be recovered from the trade via licence fees.

“Setting a limit could mean there is an increases in litigation as the number of appeals could increase, the local authority would also be open to a Judicial Review.

“This is because regardless WDC would still be required to process applications and if refused on the grounds of a limitation or restriction policy the applicant retains the legal right to appeal the decision.”

Author:	Sussex [ Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Council to reject limit on taxis
Council to reject limit on taxis CALLS for a restriction on the number of so-called hackney carriages looks set to be rejected. Warwick District Council’s ruling executive is to be told that the move will have little benefit on the trade of existing drivers. Limitations were considered by the council after lobbying from the taxi trade. But at a meeting on Thursday, senior councillors will be told that the number of applications for black cab licences are actually falling anyway and that a recent survey showed there were ‘sufficient numbers of HCVs in the district to meet the service demands of the traveling public’. Hackney carriages can be hailed in the street or pick up business at taxi ranks and have to be licensed in the area in which they operate. Private hire vehicles can only be used if booked through a taxi firm. They are also licensed by local authorities, but that does not have to be the one in whose area they operate. Documents to be presented to the council’s executive on Thursday accepts that private hire taxis coming in the district have increased considerably, including drivers legitimately working for companies such as Uber. But they add that the council has little control over them as some were licensed by neighbouring authorities and there were no powers available to limit their numbers. And the council has predicted a continued increase in passengers using app-based taxi services in the future anyway. The documents added: “Given the above, a restriction on the number of HCVs is not necessarily going to benefit the HC trade. “It is also possible a limit could cause additional financial strain on them, this is because the costs associated with running and maintaining a limitation policy, including the commissioning and project management of surveys every three years should not be borne by the general taxpayer and would need to be recovered from the trade via licence fees. “Setting a limit could mean there is an increases in litigation as the number of appeals could increase, the local authority would also be open to a Judicial Review. “This is because regardless WDC would still be required to process applications and if refused on the grounds of a limitation or restriction policy the applicant retains the legal right to appeal the decision.”

Author:	StuartW [ Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Council to reject limit on taxis
Sussex wrote: Hackney carriages can be hailed in the street or pick up business at taxi ranks and have to be licensed in the area in which they operate. Private hire vehicles can only be used if booked through a taxi firm. They are also licensed by local authorities, but that does not have to be the one in whose area they operate.

Author:	Sussex [ Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Council to reject limit on taxis
I find it interesting that the council believe they are doing the local taxi trade a favour by not restricting. Not sure that view is shared by many owners in restricting areas.

Author:	StuartW [ Fri Apr 06, 2018 8:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Council to reject limit on taxis
Sussex wrote: I find it interesting that the council believe they are doing the local taxi trade a favour by not restricting. Not sure that view is shared by many owners in restricting areas. Yes, and of course the threat of private hire has always been there, as illustrated by its huge growth in Edinburgh and associated fare discounting, not to mention 203020 in Dundee, although it withered on the vine over the years. However, to a degree I can see where the council are coming from - the days of huge growth in demand for public hire cabs is probably long past, so limiting numbers will have less impact than it would have done 20-30 years ago, say. In fact, in London it's probable that there's significantly less demand for public hire cabs because of Uber, although whether that would put growth in new badges into reverse is a different matter. By the same token, here in the East Fife zone the cap was only applied about 13 years ago when there were 150 taxis, so whether it's made much difference in the long term I don't know - it's perhaps instructive that plates are only worth £3k(?) and there's still effectively zero private hire, so no indication that limiting taxi numbers has led to growth in PHC numbers. If the cap had been applied 30 years ago when there were maybe 50 taxis then plates would no doubt be worth a lot more, and there would be significant private hire numbers, but that just didn't happen. So it's maybe a bit like locking the stable door years after the horse has bolted, sort of thing, and maybe that's the case in Warwick too. Still suspect it would be in the interests of those in Warwick if the council had restricted numbers, but not the same benefit as would have happened a few decades ago.

Author:	edders23 [ Sat Sep 08, 2018 9:44 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Council to reject limit on taxis
Sussex wrote: Council to reject limit on taxis CALLS for a restriction on the number of so-called hackney carriages looks set to be rejected. Warwick District Council’s ruling executive is to be told that the move will have little benefit on the trade of existing drivers. Limitations were considered by the council after lobbying from the taxi trade. But at a meeting on Thursday, senior councillors will be told that the number of applications for black cab licences are actually falling anyway and that a recent survey showed there were ‘sufficient numbers of HCVs in the district to meet the service demands of the traveling public’. Hackney carriages can be hailed in the street or pick up business at taxi ranks and have to be licensed in the area in which they operate. Private hire vehicles can only be used if booked through a taxi firm. They are also licensed by local authorities, but that does not have to be the one in whose area they operate. Documents to be presented to the council’s executive on Thursday accepts that private hire taxis coming in the district have increased considerably, including drivers legitimately working for companies such as Uber. But they add that the council has little control over them as some were licensed by neighbouring authorities and there were no powers available to limit their numbers. And the council has predicted a continued increase in passengers using app-based taxi services in the future anyway. The documents added: “Given the above, a restriction on the number of HCVs is not necessarily going to benefit the HC trade. “It is also possible a limit could cause additional financial strain on them, this is because the costs associated with running and maintaining a limitation policy, including the commissioning and project management of surveys every three years should not be borne by the general taxpayer and would need to be recovered from the trade via licence fees. “Setting a limit could mean there is an increases in litigation as the number of appeals could increase, the local authority would also be open to a Judicial Review. “This is because regardless WDC would still be required to process applications and if refused on the grounds of a limitation or restriction policy the applicant retains the legal right to appeal the decision.” what is a So-called hackney carriage ?

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