Taxi Driver Online

Not sure about that. If they are using their own bus to do their own work without money changing hands yhen I am not sure that the same rules apply.

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Grandad,
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They'll not be doing it for nowt, I would have thought that even by diverting our Community Charge payments towards such Vehicles would be classed as reward...If it's a form of community transport then It should be Properly Licensed.

Is it any different to a company having a minibus to transport their own workers?

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

I would have thought it was, these are School Children not workers and If it's a Local Government body such runs should be put out to tender and the same Vehicle licensing rules should apply fairly to all.

I don't think there is any law that says that all such runs should be put out to tender. Most councils provide transport in their own vehicles for certain groups without being put out to tender.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

I'm not quite sure on the right answer to that one. Company minibus drivers now need the D1 without 101 restriction as they are being paid to drive the minibus. the same should apply to council run minibuses, but the vehicle will not need to be a PSV and the council will not need an O licence. BUT, it cannot then tender for its own work.

In the rest of Europe they do not have such things as voluntary minibuses. I've spoken at length to a director of a large coach company in Belgium who has told me that for school minibuses the driver must have a D1 licence. The bus does not need to be a psv and the school does not need their equivalent O licence. Much the same a scout group. these criteria only apply if the school or scout group is taking their own members, close friends or family. However, drivers must use a tacho and keep to drivers hours. the only exemption (according to the Sweden-v-Lundberg case) is a privately owned minibus taking family and close friends not for any fiscal activity. That includes payment for fuel.

I'd do an FOI to the council and ask the questions as to what contract it's doing, does the driver have D1, does the council have either an O licence or s19 permit.