Taxi Driver Online

Warrington’s hackney taxi drivers parked up and refused to take passengers at 03:10 on Saturday night in protest to the towns largest private hire company’s operating illegally. Warrington hackney drivers claim the private hire company and its drivers are contravening several road traffic laws and taxi laws, example illegally plying for hire, ranking up in view of the public giving the impression they are available for immediate hire, obstruction of the highway and obstructing hackney carriages from accessing taxi ranks concerns have been lodge with the police and the councils licensing officers over the last 2 months about this activity and nothing seems to be done the councils licensing officers were even out on Friday night on enforcement but again failed to enforce the taxi laws and allowed the private hire to continue to operate illegally Warrington’s hackney drivers are now at there wits end as they have to pay for the privilege to rank up and ply for hire 50+ drivers have to meet a host of new licensing conditions (such as, the vehicle must have at least five passenger seats the vehicle must be wheelchair accessible) meaning that these vehicles built to meet these requirements cost between £18,000 for a second hand vehicle to £35,000 for a brand new one whilst the private hire drivers can spend anything from £500 upwards for a vehicle and the towns officials seem allow them to operate as if there hackney carriages this simply cannot be allowed to continue and if it is serious questions will have to be raised such as who is paying who to keep quiet and allowing this illegal activity to continue

What good does a strike do ? other than hurting themselves in the pocket surely there are many better ways to get the message home

1) how about driving down to the council offices in convoy when the council are due to meet and make as big a nuisance of themselves as is LEGALLY possible in fromt of the media that'll grab the councils attention !

2) Rolling roadblock on the M6 possibly

3) Sit down protest outside the offices of the offending PH firm ? or if the PH firm gets a lot of walk in trade target that by driving past their offices calling their customers over and pinching them

and I'm sure many more could be easily thought up

I think it gets more publicity to the cause, and maybe a few thicko councillors may wake up to the problem.

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IDFIMH

TDO has highlighted every worthwhile case in respect of plying for hire, soliciting, touting, invitation to treat, unlawfull ranking, repetition and there are always certain elements that are analogous to most cases of unlawful plying for hire. However it should be noted that not all cases are that cut and dried and the element of perception does not always hold sway in a court of law. Therefore the ingredients of the offence have to be made out in order to secure a successful prosecution. Two of the many cases of interest are "Fon a car" and "Woodings".

In "Fon a Car" the court found that the mere display of a sign indicating that the driver of a vehicle (which was not licensed as a hackney carriage) might provide services to the public as a private hire vehicle, that that in itself, did not amount to plying for hire, (courtesy of s 45 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847).

The Divisional Court in Nottingham City Council v Woodings 1993 held that the driver was plying for hire at a time when he was seated in the driver's seat of the car and on being approached and asked if he was free, indicated that he was.

The woodings case suggests that all you require to gain a conviction for plying for hire would be the acknowledgement from the driver of the unlicensed vehicle no matter what type of unlicensed vehicle it might be, that he or she was available for instant hire.

Regards

JD

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