Taxi Driver Online

We have 2 ford transits both the same age,1 wheelchair conversion 15 years licensing,the other a standard vehicle 8 years licensing cant work it out myself

i share that headache with you,

our council say it has to do with health and safety issues????????

my freind bought 2 brand new E7 pug taxis both 7 seaters one wheel chair one standard.

the standard is still going today with 387,000 miles on the clock and in mint condition

the wheel chair one only lasted 4 years with 203,000 miles on the clock, totally kna******ckered

dave

Those who like breathing.

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IDFIMH

its galling that a 8 seater PH here has to be 4 years max (1st plate) costing £10K plus, then after 6 years old is on 4 month plates but 12 and 16 seaters being run by a local firm on O-licences are S reg smiley transits not worth £2K complete with scabby paint and smokey engines....

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

You could always report the smokey engines. VOSA have a telephone number specifcally for this.

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Grandad,

Before it is ever accepted then it should be seen that the trade are not being penalised by whatever L.A.

If they hand out school contracts and that covers buses,mini buses, in fact any motor vehicle that carries passengers - then all must be treated the same.

Going back to Grandads example!

You go out and buy a brand new vehicle! the next day something else/better comes along for you to earn a more lucrative income so you mothball your new vehicle for the next 15 years. !6 years later you decide that you want to go back to taxi work - your cab is in mint condition!!!! what has age got to do with it?

A silly illustration maybe - but age has nothing whatsoever to do with it.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

But age of vehicle does have an effect and the vehicle you illustrated has also depreciated dramatically whilst it has been mothballed, so although it might run well it is in the 'old banger' class.

If there is no age policy, the bottom line is that eventually most cabs and PH will be 10, 15, 20 years old because they have been paid for many times over, many years ago and owe the owner driver nothing..

This in turn will drive down fares, because if you can buy a cab or car for £400 and licence it as the LC want, AS LONG AS IT IS SAFE, then you don't need to charge higher fares to make ends meet.

This in turn creates the utopia that the LC want of a FREE MARKET. The only problem is that this 'scraping the barrel' FREE MARKET will now attract people that would never have thought of being a cabbie or scabbie. But hey!!! I can do a part-time job at weekends for an outlay of £400 plus my licences and insurance and earn that back in a few weekends.

This in turn screws up those HC and PH owners and drivers in LAs [and sorry Mr Sussex you're licensed in such a LA] that have prided themselves [and rightly so] in having a robust age policy to achieve a fleet of vehicles that the LA, owners, drivers, operators and the city can be proud of.

This in turn creates a 'lowest common denominator' factor, where the once proud HC and PH owners, drivers, operators in a LA with a fleet of vehicles to be proud of, now have to succumb to the FREE MARKET just to stay in the game, reduce their fares to match those that are running around in 15-20 year old bangers at 80-90p a mile, because their motor owes them nothing and they can, and the owners of vehicles less than 5 years old due to an age policy that is now rescinded by new legislation now have to downgrade these motors that they were once proud of to old bangers just to stay in a job.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

And that number is 0870 6060 440.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

It never surprises me how the Thatcher fan club love the free market, except when it applies to them.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

That is totally wrong! Depreciation of the value has absolutely nothing at all to do with the age limit. The thinking behind it is, as much as I can see is related to the age of the vehicle, with it becoming increasingly unroadworthy in the eyes of some!! If it runs safely then the argument becomes (as many of us believe), it is purely cosmetic.




I think that it is rather nice for the drivers to have a vehicle that they owe nothing on! the wage rise comes when you/I have paid it off - therefore no need for a rate/tariff increase.

I have just come in from a short drive in the family vehicle and lo and behold a school/bus coach going the other way is belching fumes like they are going out of fashion! When all and sundry are treated the same then I will start to believe that it is about safety and cleaner air. In the meantime the L.A's carry on doing spot checks, they should then make the drivers who do not look after their vehicles do three tests per year so that they get the message.

A well maintained (inside and outside) vehicle should not be penalised because of age. There are many vehicles out on the road over the age of 25 years in pristine condition that are as safe as it gets. Whilst I am not promoting such a life span for taxis, I do think that as long as it passes the necessary then what is the problem......................oh, I forgot!!!!!!!!!!!!COSMETIC.

P.S. Mine is a 56 plate.............no axe to grind

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Im with you on that john good post.LTI are struggling and low and behold london starts getting age limits,i think itll push for ten years soon.I really dont buy the emissions arguments as why are all councils,bus operators not having age limits forced on them ? If the vehicle passes the councils test/requirements then whats wrong with it ?

So the Granny comes back on the road after 15 years, does it have airbags abs a stability program and other modern safety aids.
Dont forget vehicle manufacturers are improving vehicles at a steady rate of knots so a vehicle over 10 years will be like an antique, compared to a new one

The reverse is also true. The focus becomes squeezing the maximum amount of use from the vehicle before it is too old to replate.
There is no incentive to look after the vehicle. Regular maintenance gets ignored and repairs get limited to the bare minimum needed to pass the test and keep it running.
It also encourages double shifting.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

An age limit wouldn't tell you that.



Then stipulate which safety standards are required, instead of an arbitrary age limit which guarantees none of them.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

There's f*ck all wrong with the granny; I'd rather driver a granny with a decent modernised engine than that skoda sitting on my front now tbh

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin