Taxi Driver Online

This has come from Edinburgh Council, who have been asked to clarify what constitutes PH plying for hire.

Very interesting, and puts a lot of myths to bed.

http://cpol.edinburgh.gov.uk/getdoc_ext.asp?DocId=58789

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IDFIMH

I wonder why this solicitor said Woodings was the most recent case. Shouldn't he have known about Eastbourne?

In terms of illegally plying for hire the law is hardly complex, there has been many examples handed down by our eminent judiciary over the years and to cite Woodings as a precedent and ignore Eastbourne, some might say is stupidity.

Best wishes

JD

Any links to the Eastbourne one JD, or could you give a quick rundown of it.

It's all to do with prostitutes and the like.

Apparently it's ok for taxis to act like them, but not PH.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2000/410.html

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IDFIMH

Now is that entirely true sussex??

hehe, you know that taxis, unlike prostitutes and private hire, are correctly licensed to do so.

ya laal mischief maker

Captain cab

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Hands up all those who have put a few myths to bed? not forgetting mythstresses....
Ged

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taxi driver @manchester airport

Thanks for that sussex, I will read through it when I have some time.

"Although it is true that had the appellant counsel adopted section 76 of the Public Health Act 1925, as it is accepted they could have done, and indeed as they could still do"

Please explain what section 76 of the public health act 1925 could do for the apellants?

19. As a matter of language, I have no difficulty in construing the expression “plying for hire in any street” as covering a situation in which the vehicle is in a prominent position just off the street and the public are in numbers on the street. The same point arose in the context of the Street Offences Act 1959 in Smith v Hughes [1960] 2 All ER 859 where this Court considered whether a prostitute who solicits men in a street from the balcony of a house or from behind closed or open ground floor or first floor windows of a house adjoining the street commits the offence of soliciting “in a street or public place” contrary to section 1(1) of that Act. Lord Parker stated, at p 861B:

“Observe that it does not say there specifically that the person who is doing the soliciting must be in the street. Equally it does not say that it is enough if the person who receives the solicitation or to whom it is addressed is in the street. For my part, I approach the matter by considering what is the mischief aimed at by this Act. Everybody knows that this was an Act intended to clean up the streets, to enable people to walk along the streets without being molested or solicited by common prostitutes. Viewed in that way, it can matter little whether the prostitute is soliciting while in the street or is standing in a doorway or on a balcony, or at a window, or whether the window is shut or open or half open; in each case her solicitation is projected to and addressed to somebody walking in the street. For my part, I am content to base my decision on that ground and that ground alone. I think that the magistrate came to a correct conclusion in each case, and that these appeals should be dismissed.”


20. That the services offered in that case were different from those in the present case needs no underlining but the reasoning of Lord Parker applies in the present context. The driver is plying for hire in the street if his vehicle is positioned in circumstances such that the offer of services is “projected to and addressed to” members of the public in the street.

I think I agree with Lord Parker

Just as a matter of interest to some of you south of the border, check out the recommendations by the Scot exec task group for changes in the trade up in Scotland.

A REPORT BY THE TASK GROUP SET UP TO REVIEW THE LICENSING PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN THE CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE
Part One and Section 9 of Part Two of the 1982 Act (Chapter 1)

Taxis and Private Hire Cars (phc) (Chapter 2)

We recommend that the current two-tier licensing system for taxis and phcs remains but that the merits of a single tier licensing system should be re-examined as part of any future review of numerical controls on taxis (see following recommendation) .
(Paragraphs 2.2-2.5)

We recommend that licensing authorities continue to have a discretionary power to restrict the number of taxis in their area if there is no significant demand which is unmet but that the ability to do so should be re-examined 2 years after the proposed vehicle specification requirements resulting from the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) are introduced. Such a review should also consider further the merits of single tier, given that the powers to limit the number of taxis do not apply to phcs. In the meantime, in view of the concerns expressed over the frequency and methodology used in the surveys undertaken by licensing authorities to restrict numbers, we further recommend that the proposed Focus Group, outlined in Ministers’ response to the OFT report, be set up without undue delay to ensure that the necessary guidance is issued as soon as possible.
(Paragraphs 2.6-2.9)

We recommend that licensing authorities be encouraged to use their existing powers under Schedule 1 of the 1982 Act to insert an expiry date when issuing vehicle plates to help address the problems associated with their non-return.
(Paragraph 2.10)

We recommend that the legislation be amended to provide for the complete transferability of the licence plate in the event of the death or permanent incapacity of the licence holder, subject to the proposed new licence holder meeting the requirements of the "fit and proper person" check and that licensing authorities should establish a fast track system to consider such requests. We further recommend that this approach be adopted for all the business activities licensed under the 1982 Act.
(Paragraph 2.11)

While concluding that the arguments for allowing the complete transferability of licence plates under all circumstances, subject to the proposed new applicant meeting the requirements of a "fit and proper person" check, are finely balanced, we recommend that the Scottish Executive should investigate further the merits of introducing such arrangements, both for taxi and phc vehicle licences, and for other business activities covered by the 1982 Act.
(Paragraphs 2.12-2.14)

We recommend that a new MOT test should be introduced for taxis and phcs and, given that this matter is reserved to the Westminster Parliament, Scottish Ministers should write to their Department for Transport counterparts requesting that consideration be given to its introduction. In the meantime, the Task Group further recommend that the issue of standards for vehicles should be incorporated in the best practice advice resulting from the OFT report.
(Paragraphs 2.15-2.16)

We recommend that licensing fees for taxis and phcs should continue to be ring-fenced but that the wording of section 12, and the other activities covered by paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 and paragraph 18 of Schedule 2, should all be amended to ensure that licensing authorities cannot profit from the fees charged.
(Paragraphs 2.21-2.23)

We recommend that the review of licence fees charged by licensing authorities referred to at paragraph 13.6 of this report should extend to taxis and phcs.
(Paragraph 2.24)

We recommend that section 13(3) be amended to reflect the fact that "any continuous period of twelve months" means the twelve months immediately prior to the application for a licence and not any period of twelve months.
(Paragraphs 2.26-2.27)

We recommend that a minimum age requirement of 21 years be introduced for taxi and phc drivers.
(Paragraph 2.28)

We recommend that there be a mandatory initial medical for all new applicants; mandatory medical check every 5 years for those 45 and over but under 65; and annual check for those 65 and over, the cost of which to be met by the licensing authority but recoverable through the fees charged under section 12 of the Act.
(Paragraph 2.29)

We recommend that licensing authorities’ discretionary powers to require taxi drivers to undertake topographical knowledge testing be extended to phc drivers.
(Paragraphs 2.30-2.31)

We recommend that legislation is introduced to require all taxi and phc drivers to pass a vehicle knowledge test before a licence is granted or renewed.
(Paragraph 2.32)

We recommend that the provisions of section 14 which prohibits certain signs on a phc be repealed and replaced by a similar mandatory condition of licence to allow a licensing authority to deal with any breach as a suspension of licence as opposed to via the courts, although this option would still be available through the general offence provisions at section 7(2).
(Paragraph 2.34)

We recommend that for the avoidance of doubt, and given the changes that have occurred in the way taxi bookings are made and paid for, the Scottish Executive, in conjunction with licensing authorities and the trade, further review the provisions relating to taxi fares at section 17(1) of the 1982 Act to ensure that they are appropriate to modern day needs.
(Paragraphs 2.36-2.37)

We recommend that section 17(2) should be amended to make it clear that the fare scale review should be completed, and not merely commenced, within the 18-month period.
(Paragraph 2.38)

We recommend that the 5-day period prescribed at section 17(5) for licensing authorities to notify interested parties of a review of taxi fares is unnecessarily short and should be extended to 7 days.
(Paragraph 2.39)

We recommend that the drafting of section 18 is reviewed taking into account the various criticisms made in court proceedings.
(Paragraph 2.40)

We recommend that section 18(1) be amended to allow representative bodies, as well as individuals, to submit appeals to the Traffic Commissioner in relation to taxi fare scales set by a licensing authority.
(Paragraph 2.41)

We recommend that in view of the concerns expressed by the trade over the non-payment of fares, and the difficulties in obtaining corroborative evidence for a conviction, that Scottish Ministers at the next review of criminal offence provisions consider the merits of allowing prosecutions for the non-payment of fares to be based on the evidence of a single witness.
(Paragraph 2.50)

We recommend that Scottish Ministers issue guidance to licensing authorities encouraging them to adapt their existing licensing regime to incorporate those vehicles, e.g. limousines, converted fire engines and ambulances etc., which are unregulated but fall within the definition of phcs and that SOLAR be asked to assist the Executive to draw up model conditions for such vehicles for incorporation within the guidance. We further recommend that Scottish Ministers review the position two years after the guidance and model conditions have been issued to determine whether the concerns over unregulated vehicles have been adequately addressed.
(Paragraphs 2.52-2.55)

We recommend that, in view of the difficulties encountered by the trade with the general definition of "public place", a separate definition for taxis and phcs is introduced through consultation with licensing authorities and the trade.
(Paragraph 2.56)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/society/tglp-00.asp

They seem to like the idea of the single tier set up?

by the way I never inserted the two dont know how that happened

Must be a ghost.

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IDFIMH

Honest sussex I have tried editing them out but the things are not there, maybe the admin can take them out.

What has happened is that the characters on the piece you posted correspond with the characters that make up the smiles.

Thus if someone typed (or pasted) ] (* , ), then when it was put up on TDO it would magically become .

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IDFIMH

Sussex it's time you made a career move where you could utilise your huge cranial capacity for the good of mankind.