Taxi Driver Online

Just came across this on Dundee City Council's website. Which is instructive as regards that other debate about drivers who don't have English as their first language, or who may, er, lack comprehension skills

I'm sure it all makes sense, but to be honest can't be bothered taking the time to work it all out

https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/sites/def ... nce_1.docx


Dundee City Council
Guidance Note
Section 21 of the Civic Government (Scotland) 1982

Section 21 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 makes it an offence for taxi and private hire drivers and operators to work in areas that they are not licensed in. The same section of the Act also provides exceptions to this basic rule. The purpose of this guidance note is to explain what the Council, as the licensing authority, considers Section 21 allows you to do.

It is important to note that this is not intended to be a definitive statement of the law and that it will have no binding effect upon the Police, the Procurator Fiscal or other local authorities. Interpretation of legislation will ultimately be a matter for the courts and, if you are unsure as to what you are or are not allowed to do, you will require to seek your own independent legal advice.

What Can You Do?

1. It is always OK to commence a hire and drop off within the area where you are licensed, always bearing in mind that private hire cars (PHC’s) cannot pick up in the street and must be pre-booked. It is the view of Dundee City Council that a hire commences when the meter is turned on.

2. You can commence a hire which drops off outwith the area you are licensed for if you are in your licensed area when you receive the request from your booking office or, if in a taxi, you receive the request for hire from a passenger picked up within the home licensed area.

3. You can commence a hire outwith your licensed area when that hire drops off in the area you are licensed for provided such request for hire was received by you from your booking office whilst you are in the home licensed area (taxis and PHC’s) or the journey is the homeward part of a “to and from” journey booked through your booking office (taxis and PHC’s) or by a passenger picked up in your home licensed area (taxis only).

4. You can also commence a hire when outwith your licensed area (i) if you were engaged in a hire at the time the request for the subsequent hire was received and the hire you are engaged in when the request was received began or ends within your licensed area or (ii) you were on your way back to your licensed area immediately after a drop off outwith your licensed area. “Immediately” means you must be returning by the quickest, most direct or most expedient route. You cannot under any circumstances accept a request under these conditions from a passenger seeking to hail you in the street.

What You Cannot Do

1. Taxis must only pick up hails in public when operating within their licensed area.

2. You must never commence a hire and drop off outwith your area if you completed a drop off then waited for any period of time outside your area. You must return immediately to your licensed area.

3. You cannot operate outwith your licensed area unless the situations outlined above apply.

Of course, that kind of standard legal disclaimer is also very instructive. If the legislation is unclear, and/or you think the council may be ignoring any law or legislation, then unless you're charged with an offence and/or you take the risk and have the financial wherewithal to get legal advice and/or take legal action, then basically you're supposed to just suck it up.

In simple terms, though, all the guidance in the first post simply confirms that the Wolverhampton-type scenario in England can't be done in Scotland

From memory, and I’m more than happy to be corrected, this only applies to vehicles licensed under the Scottish Act.

Also in the Scottish Act is a section that says, along the lines, that this act doesn’t apply to vehicles licensed under any English and Welsh Acts.

So what’s stopping Uber, or anyone else for that matter, using Wolverhampton PHVs to cover work in areas such as Glasgow and Dundee?

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IDFIMH

Yes, I kind of recall that point being made before, Sussex.

And it's No 359 of things I've always meant to look into, but never summoned up the effort.

But I'm guessing Uber's lawyers will have run the rule over it all and have concluded it's not a goer. Either for strictly legal reasons, or because of geofencing-style reasons, or similar. I mean, the PR angle certainly wouldn't be good - flooding Aberdeen with Wolves-plated cars?

I think Uber Ltd are trying to come across as the good guys, and I would imagine flooding Glasgow with a zillion Wolverhampton PHVs will get them no bonus points at all.

I also suspect the PH big boy operators own loads of PH plates so don’t really want drivers driving cars other than the ones they rent out.

But it would be interesting to follow someone trying it on, and I had a quick read of the Scottish Act and I think it could be a goer.

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IDFIMH

Well it would certainly add a new dimension to it all if Wolves was used to get round PH quantity barriers rather than quality barriers.

But, as you say, a bit of a Catch 22 for the likes of the Glasgow operators with a pile of capped PH plates