Taxi Driver Online

Quick Question that some of the more knowledgable members on here may be able to answer.

A company who has an office and a radio set up - but ONLY has owner driver hackney plate cars - Do they need an operators license at the law stands ?

Ive been told they dont but my argument is surely - unless the people on the telephones / radio all have hackney driver badges then what they are doing is "operating" - ie, taking calls and handing them out to drivers out of an office that has planning permision to be used as a taxi office

some LA's will try for the extra income....but its a PH outfit that should have an Ops licence, then again the council could hit them with a planning issue/restriction and get the money that way

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

Brentwood Borough Council -v- Gladen; Admn 28-Oct-2004

The defendant taxi operator was telephoned, and cabs were booked, and those bookings were fulfilled by providing licensed hackney carriages with licensed hackney carriage drivers. He was accused of knowingly operating the vehicles as private hire vehicles in a controlled district without a current operator’s licence under section 55 of the 1976 Act contrary to section 46(1)(d) and (2). The council appealed by way of case stated dismissal of their prosecutions under the Act of Mr Gladen for providing pre-booked private hire. The prosecution claimed he needed a license as a private hire operator in addition to the license he had under the 1847 Act.

Held: The District Judge had been correct. Section 46(1)(d) is not breached where a licensed hackney carriage and a licensed hackney carriage driver is provided for the relevant conveyance of a passenger, albeit it is provided through an operator. In those circumstances, an operator’s licence under section 55 of the Act is not appropriate, since that section does not cover hackney carriages.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Adm ... /2500.html

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

interesting thanks.

So essentially ANYBODY can open a booking office without needing any kind of license in place (other than relevant planning permission) as long as they only use the service of hackney badged drivers in hackney plated cars .

Taxi laws are far too complicated for their own good lol

of course had the base OWNED just 1 hack then the case may not have been brought, any hack can give any hack a job legally....in the same LA

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

Any hack can also give a ph a job. It happens round here quite openly every Friday.

We are 100% hacks. No op licence!

No.

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IDFIMH

I think any new Cab Act will address the matter, but to me it's not a massive issue.

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IDFIMH

Yes.

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IDFIMH

It may happen, but it's not legal.

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IDFIMH