roythebus wrote:
Yes, you seem to be right there. I have a similar mindset to the gent from Blueline in some ways, challenging laws (that isn't going to cost me £50k
), but as you say, it appears he didn't learn from the earlier skirmish.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the Blueline case, merely stating what I had heard at a meeting at which he was present.
The laws need to be changed to get up to date with technology!
I heard a little story that Blueline stated in 1958 as a taxi company with 10 vehicles - the chap that started them got rid of the taxis and went minicab - which was unlicensed in those days.
Now, the thing about all of this is - people tell me that technology has changed things - but in my relatively short time in the trade - I have seen over the past 3 - 4 decades taxi and private hire companies embrace all manner of new fangled things from two way radios - to iphone apps - to say that the trades havent embraced technology (and i know you havent said that) is a myth put about by some.
Additionally, if people are citing old or bad legislation - they should consider how much certain companies have grown - as I stated earlier, the company we mention started with 10 cabs - it now has many fold that.
The fundemental principle behind private hire is the private hire operator - the law dictates that all three PH licenses should match and the area where the call is received should be the area of license.
It appears to me - what some PH operators want is a base in a large City where they can source vehicles and drivers with different licenses from different areas.
The above scenario is ridiculous from the point of view of the public - if a complaint is made enquiries could transgress many differing licensing regimes - and cost time and money.
A driver could commit an offence in Liverpool, whilst doing work for an operator licensed in Manchester, whilst driving a vehicle from Rossendale with a Preston drivers license.
If the job was passed on to another operator, the above scenario is even more confusing.
People cite London as working perfectly well - I think those people should ask the London cab trade about how well the system works in London.