Taxi Driver Online

But what is he looking for?

Is the criteria laid down somewhere?

What happens when he is on holiday, or away sick?

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IDFIMH

It's a stupid rule, they have lost once in court and will do so again, so long as it can pass the vehicle test it should be ok. Just because a vehicle is over 7 yrs old does not make it any less road worthy than a 2 yr old vehicle.

If its not age its usually emissions,or if they cant feck you on that they make a exeptional condition policy which can be almost impossible if they want it that way !! Almost forgot the three tests a year

Ultimately every LA wants the town's image to be of a line of shiny new "proper" taxi's, it doesnt matter to them that the £25K price tag puts owners heavily into debt, just so long as it looks good..

they used the WAV argument as a back door means after age restriction failed

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not so nice



dear me no......

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

I can make my Euro4 Mondreado smoke like a WW2 destroyer or The Flying Scotsman if i really try..

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

[quote="wannabeeahack"]Ultimately every LA wants the town's image to be of a line of shiny new "proper" taxi's, it doesnt matter to them that the £25K price tag puts owners heavily into debt, just so long as it looks good..

they used the WAV argument as a back door means after age restriction failed

nice




not so nice

I have recently seen derby taxis,that has to be the worst looking taxi colour in the country, at the end of the day it's all a waste of money,derby punters will still get in anything I'm sure,

A council test is just an mot with extras? Meters,fire extinguishers,first aid kits and so on. If the vehicle is road worthy as per mot, they can not fail it. If they did fail it for an mot related item, and I was not happy, I would leave the car there and get vosa in. All testing stations should be registered with vosa. Personally my testing station is very good,if there's a fault they show you, we also have a testing manual, which is provided by the council.

Normally yes, my 2006 plate saloon has 3 tests a year a set of specific items to meet, scratches and dents, and confirmation that the brakes, tyres and battery will last 5000 miles.....

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

Lol how can anyone confirm that brakes,tyres and battery will last 5000 miles? I had a brand new tyre that only lasted a week, so that lasted less than 1000 miles. Only by challenge will you get anything done, none of this crap would stand up in court? Maybe the law commission will help you.

But they can fail it and often do,bodywork being the obvious one.If you want to argue with them and make a point,id guarantee theyd find something every time you took a vehicle there.Conditions of fitness as laid down by local council can easily be made more stringent than a mot.

What Blackpool says is right.

Having had a chat with the LO, I offered him the chance to look under the bonnet: I'm not qualified to do that. Understandable but the MoT tester IS and has looked underneath.

I gather what the council is looking for is a well-presented, clean car, fit for purpose. Quite a number round here reportedly stink of cigarette smoke despite the smoking ban and are not clean inside or outside. Having our cars cleaned outside at least once a week and inside every couple of days pays dividends.

By the way, I got £420 costs awarded by the court for my trouble! The council has to pay that.

With the success of this case, it also puts the latest taxi forum ballot on vehicle age out of touch! Last quarter I proposed no age limit, that was voted out; this time the proposal was to increase the minimum age for a "new" vehicle to 3yr 6 months, and raise the maximum age from 7yrs to 7 yrs 6 months! What a waste of time and money.

BUMP!

As forecast by Mystic Meg in a post above, my renewal has come into question again. It makes me wish I'd have carried last year's episode through to the end of the Magistrates Court appeal to get a final answer.

This year's slightly different as the new LO seems eminently more sensible than the previous incumbents. My cheque for £300+ ha been cashed for licence renewal, but a refusal to issue a plate on age grounds. So I'm left unable to use the car until it's sorted. I thought maybe the Luton case may be useful, but that dealt with licence suspension, not a refusal to renew.

Thoughts are that the issue may have to be taken to the Licencing Committee which meets infrequently. At least 2 of their members use us and the "offending" car many times a year in their private capacity and never have a problem! Anyway, the LO reckons there's some case law on vehicle age which I'm unaware of but which he's running past their legal department today, so hopefully the matter will result in good new for me later today.

I also mentioned to him the Worcester case currently being discussed in the "news" forum here.

Update: the LO phoned this morning, he wants to inspect the car on Monday morning and should be able to use his discretion as the car is in very good condition.

A further update.. a call from the LO this afternoon with good news, the council WILL re-licence my vehicle following a further inspection on Monday by the LO to ascertain the condition of the bodywork and interior. Providing he is happy with that, the licence will be forthcoming.

He tell me there's case law that says a council cannot refuse to re-licence a vehicle simply on age ground despite what their rule may say; the condition of the vehicle must be taken into account. If it isn't, then it's down to the Licencing committee, if they refuse, the magistrates court appeal etc...

Anyone got any idea what case law this is? It appears to be a recent case and the LO wouldn't tell me!

I could do with knowing this as well.

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Grandad,