Taxi Driver Online

Our Local LA, have said publicly that the reasons for an open issue is because of best practice guidelines from the government.

I understand that and don't necessary disagree with it.

My question is our LO have only implemented this part of the best practice guide.

We still have to have taxi tests twice a year even for brand new taxi's, we still have to renew our badge each year and not ever 3 years, we are still restricted running 8 seater cabs like there are the normal saloon cabs, we still have a restriction on saloon cabs in favour of the horrible rear loading wheelchair crash dummies. I drive a new shape E7 for my sins, I decided on the top of the range model as I do quite a few miles per week (1k)

I don't disagree with the open issue too much, good cabbies will always do better than bad ones, but my main problem is as a good cabbie, I invested almost £30k in my cab can only charge the same as someone who has put on a second hand write off saloon, even though my job mainly is transporting wheelchairs, Saloons can't do that, but I am slightly miffed that my brand new e7 has to have 2 tests per year like the old right offs, even though the governments best practice says otherwise when all the rest of the trade about me are getting away with potential murder.

I dont know which part of the BPG your on about.

But, from what you have written I guess your testing regime is rigid.....i.e. a set amount of tests per year irrespective of vehicle age?

Experience tells me if you want this changed you will need proof.

Have you proof that vehicles that are older have higher failure rates than those that are younger.......my guess is you dont.

If you do have proof you could ask the question as to why older vehicles arent tested more than newer vehicles.

CC

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

Why would I need to provide proof? surely the best practice guide is good enough, after all its all the LO needed to open the issue.

Surely if our LO agree with the BPG on one part then they should implement all of it?

And pigs will fly.......the BPG is notorious for its selection policy by local authorities.

CC

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

Lets remind ourselves of the BPG

Duration Of Licences

55. It is obviously important for safety reasons that drivers should be licensed. But it is not necessarily good practice to require licences to be renewed annually. That can impose an undue burden on drivers and licensing authorities alike. Three years is the legal maximum period and is in general the best approach. One argument against 3-year licences has been that a criminal offence may be committed, and not notified, during the duration of the licence. But this can of course also be the case during the duration of a shorter licence. In relation to this, authorities will wish to note that the Home Office in April 2006 issued revised guidance for police forces on the Notifiable Occupations Scheme. Paragraphs 62-65 below provide further information about this scheme.

56. However, an annual licence may be preferred by some drivers. That may be because they have plans to move to a different job or a different area, or because they cannot easily pay the fee for a three-year licence, if it is larger than the fee for an annual one. So it can be good practice to offer drivers the choice of an annual licence or a three-year licence.

Vehicle Testing

32. There is considerable variation between local licensing authorities on vehicle testing, including the related question of age limits. The following can be regarded as best practice:
Frequency Of Tests.

The legal requirement is that all taxis should be subject to an MOT test or its equivalent once a year. For PHVs the requirement is for an annual test after the vehicle is three years old. An annual test for licensed vehicles of whatever age (that is, including vehicles that are less than three years old) seems appropriate in most cases, unless local conditions suggest that more frequent tests are necessary. However, more frequent tests may be appropriate for older vehicles (see ‘age limits’ below). Local licensing authorities may wish to note that a review carried out by the National Society for Cleaner Air in 2005 found that taxis were more likely than other vehicles to fail an emissions test. This finding, perhaps suggests that emissions testing should be carried out on ad hoc basis and more frequently than the full vehicle test.

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

Which is why best practise should be binned and replaced with statute law.

Cherry picking by LOs is more prevalent than by Liverpool cabbies.

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IDFIMH

I would be worried about a high failure rate, as it means the drivers/proprieters are not maintaning there vehicles from 1 year to the next.
Now if a driver/proprieter had a 100% pass rate, let them have a 12 month test, but the ones that fail a yearly, put them on a 6 month test.
And if that doesn't make them maintain thier vehicles, ban them!

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now a licensed hackney driver

An excellent post.

And one that allows discretion.

CC

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