Taxi Driver Online

The solicitor will have the application listed in the crown court listings, it shouldn't have to go anywhere near the magistrates. As far as I know the magistrate doesnt have the legal authority to preside over such legal litigation that section 16 presents.

Best wishes.

JD

The council sent out letters to all HC & PH drivers this week. this is what was in the letter:

" Review of Quantity Control Policy - Hackney Carriage Vehicles.

The Office of Fair Trading Published a market study into the regulation of taxis and private hire vehicles in the UK in November 2003. The Goverment responded in respect of England and Wales on 18th March by means of a written statment in the House of Commons.

The written Statment included an Action Plan for Taxis and Private Hire vehicles in particular paragraphs 4 to 8 covered limiting the numbers of taxi licences issued by local authorities.

Plymouth City Council is one of a number of local authorites in the country that currently sets a limit to the number of hackney carriage taxi licences issued.

As a result of the Goverment response to the Office of Fair Trading report, the Department for Transport have requested that we review our local policy that currently limits the number of hackney carriage taxi licences we issue and to publish and make public the conclusion of the review by the 31st March 2005.

A copy of the letter dated 16th July 2004 issued by the Department For Transport contains the Action Plan for taxis and Private Hire vehicles (referred to above). A copy of the said letter and the Office of Fair Trading report is available for reference, and if you wish to view this document, arrangements should be made via Ena Tuckwell, Licensing Officer, Contact details at the head of this letter.

The Goverment Action Plan makes clear that the Goverment Belives limiting numbers should only be retained where there is shown to be clear benifit for the consumer, and that councils should justify their reasons for the retention of limiting numbers and how decisions on numbers have been reached. Thus the Goverment considers that, unless a specific case can be made, it is not in the interests of consumers for market entry to be refused to those who meet the application criteria.

The Goverment also makes it clear that they consider local authorities are best placed to determine their own local transport needs and to make the decisions about them in the light of local circumstances.

To be in a position to reply to the Department for Transport the council must consider and decide:

( 1 ) Whether to commission a survet to establish whether there is demand, including latent demand, for taxi services, or,

( 2 ) to make a decision as to whether to remove the current limit that is placed upon the issue of Hackney Carriage licences.

Your views are therefore requested to enable a decision to be made. The reason for the shortness of the consultation process is that the Cabinet calendar requires an early assessment of this point to be in a postion to meet the Goverment requirement for response by 31st March 2005 and it is intended to include this for consideration in the Cabinet meeting of 9th November 2004.

We would be gratful if you could complete the attached form and return it in the enclosed pre-paid self addressed envelope by Tuesday 26th October 2004. All responses will be treated in the strictest confidence and only reported in aggregate format. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Yours faithfully

Ena Tuckwell

Licensing Officer "


the form basically had one question on it:

" Of the following two options described in the letter, please can you tick your preferred choice?

( 1 ) To commission a survey to establish whether there is demand, including latent demand, for taxi services.

( 2 ) The council should make a desicion as to whether to remove the current limit that is placed upon the issue of Hackney Carriage taxi licenses.

plus other comments...

Of course that date to responed by and the meeting date has nothing to do with them needing to submit evidence for a certain court hearing on the 10th did it?

I can and will consider myself to be what I like thank you.

But if the Home Office says I'm a taxi driver, then who am I to differ?

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IDFIMH

Be that as it may, but neither I, nor Mr Plymouth wrote the 1985 Act. So please take that issue up with those that did.

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IDFIMH

The issue is lack of taxis, the only way to settle that is to license more. Not exactly rocket science.

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IDFIMH

Section 16 of the 1985 Act, I should give it read if I was you.

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IDFIMH

I'm not claiming anything, it's the law.

A court couldn't give a monkeys where the demand is coming from, they are only concerned if it's not being met.

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IDFIMH

Put me down for a number two please.

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IDFIMH

You sure about that???

A Council that is unsure of unmet demand can defer a license application until it has satisfied itself the level of unmet demand for the services of Taxis. That means under the law a council can defer a license applicant until it has had a survey to measure demand.

One would assume that Mr Preece has been refused a licence otherwise he wouldn't have gone to court. If it turns out the council have just deffered a decision on his licence then he is wrong to go to court until such time a decision on his aplication has been made.

Best wishes

JD

i cant see the point of sending the letter and simple question to HC & PH drivers myself as the delimit with hit the HC lads the hardest. Surely they are going to get 300 hackney drivers ticking box 1 and 700 PH drivers ticking box 2?

I'm not syaing that you are not a taxidriver Sussex, but if you consider yourself to be a taxidriver and therefore the vehicle you drive to be a taxi then surely you would accept that the unmet demand you claim exists, exists in the PH sector as well as the HC sector.

That being the case, the proportion of "unmet demand" complaints should be idetified that equates to the sector under review, unless this is investigated how can unmet demand possibly be met.

THERE IS NO POINT DERESTRICTING THE HACKEY CARRIAGES IF THE MAJORITY OF COMPLAINTS COME FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC UNABLE TO BOOK A PRIVATE HIRE.

So you admit the unmet demand exists in the PH sector then Sussex?

That being the case don't you think that the problem of unmet demand should be investigated properly in order to properly meet that demand?

Don't you think that if it is found that unmet demand is more prevelent within the unrestricted PH sector little would be achieved in meeting unmet demand by derestricting the HC sector, as this would lead to existing PH drivers leaving their PH offices and working the streets therefore increasing unmet demand?

In the interest of fairness, don't you think that councils should consider where the unmet demand is before jumping on the HC and destroying the PH sector.

The issue is lack of taxis Sussex, but you consider yourself to be a taxi driver and therefore the vehicle you drive you cansider to be a taxi even though it is licensed as PH.

What I am saying is quite clear, the public percieve YOU to be a TAXI and if they can't book one from your office then that is unmet demand and more likely to warrent a complaint to the council. If these complaints are in the majority, bearing in mind there are no quantative restrictions on PH, how would making more HC available solve the problems of the person unable to book a PH car.

The unmet demand you are fighting for is your demand for a plate being unmet, and not the unmet demand that the public have to suffer.