Taxi Driver Online

Taxi licenses will continue for vehicles not suitable for wheelchair users



TAXIS which are not suitable for wheelchair users will continue to be licensed in East Staffordshire, regardless of looming legislation suggesting they ought to be phased out.

Licensing staff at East Staffordshire Borough Council recommended that saloon hackney carriages, which stand at ranks throughout the borough, should no longer be licensed in a bid to comply with upcoming disability laws.

But members of the taxi trade and the authority’s licensing committee decided the change, which could cause inconvenience for taxi operators, was not necessary, as the rules had not yet come into force and were not expected for some time.

A spokesman for the authority said: “After consultation with the Taxi Trade Group, no clear line was drawn under the preferred outcome for the saloon Hackney Carriages.

“However, it was noted that the preferred option of the Taxi Trade Group was for the saloon vehicles not to be phased out.

“Furthermore, the licensing committee considered that as the section of the Equality Act relating to taxis had not yet been implemented the saloons should continue to be licensed.”

If the decision had been made to phase out the saloon cars, there would have been no further licenses approved for that type of car. They would have been phased out of use completely by April 2015.

Mohammed Ikhlaq, chairman of the East Staffordshire Taxi and Private Hire Association, said he thought it was unnecessary for all taxis to be made suitable for people who use wheelchairs.

He told The Mail: “The majority of taxis running of the rank, and how many people do you see using a wheelchair there?

“Out of every 100 vehicles you may have only one or two people who use a wheelchair. It would not be financially viable for people to replace them.”

But one wheelchair user said she disagreed.

Joy Hincks, of Oakland Village in Swadlincote, said there should be more taxis licensed which are suitable for disabled passengers.

Mrs Hincks, who uses a power chair, said: “There isn’t enough, and with more and more people having these things as we are living longer it is a problem.”

source: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Taxi-l ... 142711.htm

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

Is that based on Fact, Fiction or the Laws of Probablity?

I thought they were looking at Vehicle percentages of WAV/Saloon/other vehicles.

AFAIK there's nothing in the Disability Act that says ALL taxis have to be WAVs. All single deck buses used on local services HAVE to be WAV from 2015, and all double decks from about 2020 except where used on school contracts. That was included years ago in the DDA.

To insist that ALL taxis in an area must be WAV would give a lot of work to PH saloon cars as not everyone wants to travel in a WAV.

The other problem, as bus operators have found out, is that whhelchair specs have changed considerably since the DDA was intorduced. Many thousands of buses were built to take the "standard2 wheelchair of the day. since then we've seen the increase in these huge electric wheelchairs whick are bigger and heavier than the "standard" type. These are now causing access difficulties for buses, not only on the ramps but inside the vehicle as well. I don't know how these big electric wheelchairs fit in a standard London type cab!

Very true, when you see that lot coming down the hill from the local Bingo hall its like the 2nd Panzer division invading the Ardennes...

and they lost too didnt they

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Theres nothing to say "Disabled" means "Wheelchair" either

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Merde, I'd better move my caravan from its site near LaRoche then!!

They don't.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

My understanding of what the LC are trying to achieve is that it will lead to a lot less WAVs.

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IDFIMH