Taxi Driver Online

Saw this on Taxi Point, which was surprising - I'd always assumed that any London HC could accept pre-booked anywhere, as per the default in the rest of England

That said, the stuff in this piece isn't wholly clear - and a curious mixture of stating the absolute obvious regarding plying for hire (and making it sound like it desperately needed clarifying, because it was unclear) and the slightly confusing stuff about pre-booking. (And, as per usual, maybe sidetracked slightly by the mention of apps etc - surely it's simply about pre-booking as opposed to plying for hire - to that extent, an app booking is surely no different to one by telephone 30 years ago.)


TfL warns suburban Yellow Badge taxi drivers they CANNOT accept fares outside licensed areas, including via apps

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/tfl-w ... eas-includ

Probably no point going through it all and trying to pick holes in it

But this final paragraph maybe sums up some of the less clear stuff in the whole piece - this reads like 'plying for hire' includes a fare via a 'digital booking platform'

I think that's all a load of old boll***s.

Clearly, the yellow lads can't rank up or get flagged down in green areas, but a radio/app job is a radio/app job.

Would this rule apply to green badge cabs at, say, Gatwick?

Clearly not, due to it also being a load of old boll***s.

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IDFIMH

AFAIK the UTAG v TfL case in 2022 established that appearing on and taking work through an app was not 'plying for hire' (although it was more about PHCs and not HCs).

The article refers to the London Cab Order 1934 -

If the holder of a cab-driver's licence ... plies for hire with a cab or permits the cab to be hired in any part of the metropolitan area in which by a condition attached to his licence he is prohibited from plying for hire with a cab ... he shall be guilty of a breach of this Order.

Might be a TfL-only thing, eg a Croydon yellow badge caught working on apps all or mostly in Bromley. Technically road-legal but against TfL licence rules.

Just a guess.

You could well be right, Mr XH558

The 'any part of the metropolitan area' would basically mean the yellow badge drivers couldn't 'permit the cab to be hired' (which presumably means pre-booked?) outside their yellow badge area, thus precluding phone bookings and apps. But the 'metropolitan area' stipulation could mean that they (and green badge holders) could take pre-bookings anywhere outside the metropolitan area?

And that would only make sense in TfL la la land.

A cab can take work outside of the area he is licensed, but not if it’s in a area controlled by his licensing authority.

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IDFIMH

Probably yes - I suppose TfL can set the house rules for all of Greater London.

I'd also guess someone's realised a yellow badge could (mis)use apps to work all or most of the time in central London. Or it's already happening.

You have to wonder exactly why anyone with more than two brain cells would license as a yellow badge in London.

You would have to drive a car that can cost up to £100,000, yet only ply in places that aren't that busy, and the yellow badge drivers near Heathrow can't even ply there.

It would make far more sense to drive a London PH on Uber, where you can do app work throughout London without the likes of TfL throwing a hissy fit.

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IDFIMH

Surely the DPP v Computer Cab Company Ltd court case blows a hole in this.

He further found that all the drivers, when accepting calls material to the present informations, were within their licensed area.

If I'm reading this right, the 1994 yellow badges were given/taking jobs while they were [correctly] in their YB sector. Even if the jobs were in central London.

TfL likely suspects or knows 2026 YBs are loitering in central London to do app work - and potentially street work on the fly.

There's about 14000 green to 1500 yellow badges. I suppose a clue will be if YB numbers suddenly start rising.