Taxi Driver Online

So what does a PH operator's licence entail?

Surely it's taking bookings, which are then passed on to private hire vehicles, which the operator may or may not own.

A private hire office may have hundreds of vehicles, none of which are owned by the operator who is taking the bookings. A driver who is also the vehicle proprietor but has nothing to do with the office other than paying it a rent doesn't need an operator's licence, surely?

So what's the difference between that and the scenario outlined at the start of the thread?

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Caledonian Cabbie

Well you're talking about two different licencing systems, but a PH operator is someone taking bookings, which are then passed on to licenced PH cars and drivers, so why shouldn't taxirouter be pigeonholed as a PH operator?

What's the difference between taxirouter and a standard PH booking office?

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Caledonian Cabbie

The same difference I would think, if I've understood this right, as between Cabfind and a PH booking office. Having said that I could be entirely wrong

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

So what's the difference between Cabfind and a PH booking office, Toots, because I'm afraid I've forgotten, even assuming I ever knew in the first place

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Caledonian Cabbie

cabfinder is just a source for a cab surely, no different to yell.com, but nore like findataxi, 118me, cabquoter, etc, etc...

i set one up purely as a trial - see my www below

Yell.com is just an online phone book, and some of the others are similar directory-style sites, but if the site is taking bookings from customers and getting PH cars to to the work then that's different, and an op's licence is required?

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Caledonian Cabbie

Thanks for the replies...

I am still of the mind that i don't need a OPS license and the main reason I feel this way is that i WILL NOT be the person taking bookings. I don't have any cars and i dont employ any taxi drivers.

Bookings will still be made in the normal way, between the customer and the taxi.

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www.taxiroute.co.uk

your quite right, you are a refferal servive, not a booking agent

hes not taking bookins though is he

the first of these lives in spain....ops licence? i dont think so



http://www.taxiclub.co.uk/

http://www.taxiquoter.co.uk/

http://www.quotemetaxi.com/

Personally I don't think there is a difference, but, apparently there is when it comes to licensing. It's run similar to the doomed Fraser Eagle as far as I can make out

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

But are you making provisions for the acceptance of bookings?

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IDFIMH

is it any different to skyscanner and the actual airlines it quotes off?

skyscanner would need to be ABTA bonded if cabquoter needed an ops licence

course they dont need an ops licence

But many PH set ups don't own the cars or employ the drivers. They take bookings and pass them on to drivers. But the business taking the bookings and passing them on must have an operator's licence.





Well for a start it should be recalled that there's no operator's licence needed to pass work to taxis/Hackney carriages, so that's an irrelevance.

However, if it's a PH car that's getting the work then there must be an operator's licence in play somewhere, and all three licences - operator, vehicle proprietor and driver - must be from the same LA.

Section 80 of the legislation says:

"operate" means in the course of business to make provision for the invitation or acceptance of bookings for a private hire vehicle;

And to pass such work to PH vehicles you must have an operator's licence.

Perhaps the answer to the national booking office question is that if you pass on work to a licenced operator then you don't need a licence because you're not operating PH vehicles - the person with the operator's licence is doing that.

Thus perhaps the answer is that you can pass on work without a licence provided it's to someone who actually has a PH operator's licence.

You can't pass on work to a PH car and driver who doesn't have an operator's licence.

There must be an licenced operator involved somewhere in the chain.

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Caledonian Cabbie

I agree.
I think we would all agree if a customer went from A to B using this service somewhere along the way the customer should be in a licensed vehicle taxi or private hire.
I would stop trying to work the problem out from the customers first point of contact and try to look at it from the PH drivers viewpoint in reverse to make it easier to dissect. [The taxi part will legally look after itself[.

The PH driver accepts a job off the radio, the PH company accepted the job off a PDA or Mobile, the taxirouter accepted the job off the customer.
Only one operators license is required, the one that gives out the work to the Drivers/Vehicles that they control. Again if you have no vehicles that you control/own/run/operate you do not require an ops license
The PH Licensed car should be used under an operators License. My point is as long as this is in place why do you need the third party referral company to have to have one too.
The Captain posted this and it clearly states 56 Operators of private hire vehicles..

(1)For the purposes of this Part of this Act every contract for the hire of a private hire vehicle licensed under this Part of this Act shall be deemed to be made with the operator who accepted the booking for that vehicle whether or not he himself provided the vehicle..