Taxi Driver Online

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Grandad,

Wrangle set to upset disabled and elderly


Disabled and elderly people in Melton could soon struggle to find transport around the borough because of a town cabbie’s wrangle with council licensing officers.

Robert Croft runs one of only two taxis in the area which are accessible for wheelchair-bound passengers and those with mobility problems.

But Mr Croft has been told by Melton Council that he must replace a one-foot step on the side of his vehicle after he removed it when it was damaged in a recent road accident.

He says he can’t afford the £800 it would cost but if he doesn’t the council will not allow him to carry passengers with a disability and those who struggle to walk.

The council insists that a stool he has been using to help customers in and out of his vehicle is unsafe because it is not sturdy enough.

Mr Croft, who operates Freddy’s Cabs and who has driven taxis across the Melton area for more than 32 years, said: “I pick up elderly and disabled passengers all the time outside all the care homes in Melton, Scalford and Waltham and patients at the head injury hospital.

“If my cab is taken off the road there will only be one left to carry all these people so they will have a hard job trying to get around.

“They will have to start booking taxis in Leicester and other surrounding towns and that will cost more to get them to come over here.”

Mr Croft has a ramp which comes out of the side of his cab for people using wheelchairs and he also has the stool available for disabled people to step on to help them get in and out but he has only had to use that once.

Two of his regular passengers are Sharon Burrows, who struggles to walk far after being born with a twisted spine, and her 11-year-old disabled son Charles, who needs it to get to and from John Ferneley College five days a week.

Mrs Burrows (43), of West Avenue, Melton, said: “I think it’s disgusting the council is making Robert do this and I don’t know what we will do if he can’t pick us up anymore.

“A lot of people use Robert’s taxi and we rely on him to take us everywhere.”

Mr Croft often transports customers of Mobility and Lifestyle, which sells mobility scooters from their premises on Wilton Road.

The company’s manager, Steve De-Cantelupe, said: “On our database there are over 600 people who use mobility scooters in this area and then there are also the wheelchair-users too.

“A lot of our customers have said they are worried what will happen if Robert isn’t able to drive them around anymore.”

Melton Council said the issue over Mr Croft’s vehicle was reported to the authority after a passenger told them she had been injured while using the foot stool because it was unstable.

Jim Worley, the council’s head of regulatory services, said: “It is a requirement of Mr Croft’s licence conditions that vehicles are maintained in accordance with manufacturers specifications, but the step has been broken since 2014.

“Mr Croft has therefore been instructed to repair the step, which is installed into the vehicle specifically to allow disabled access.”

Mr Worley pointed out that vehicles with disabled access benefit from a 25 per cent relief from their licencing fees, which is currently £202.

He added: “Mr Croft has been told how to appeal this instruction by the council if he considers it unfair, but he has not taken up the option to appeal to date.”

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

Well I looked (yet again) at the MELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE LICENSING POLICY and I would suggest the following:

The Policy is very badly worded in many areas, especially in Appendix A, Vehicle Specification.

No mention in the policy about "Steps", fixed, electrical, mechanical or stand alone (stool).

The catch all for vehicles is at para 21 of the policy:
21. Modifications
No material alteration or change in the specification, design, condition, or appearance of any licensed vehicle may be made without obtaining approval from the Council.

The Peugeot Expert, Fiat Scudo and Citroen (can't remember the name) variants before conversion do not have steps. It is the coachbuilder or converter who has added them. So could it be argued that removal is returning the vehicle to the original manufacturer's standard?

An appeal to the Council should be made, if it fails, appeal to the Magistrates. The vehicle will have to be licensed by the LA whilst an appeal is pending.

Was the accident that damaged the step reported to the LA within the 72 hours as required in Melton? If it was, why has it taken so long for the LA to take action?

On the other hand, to be honest, a running board could be fitted for much less than £800.00 and a mechanical step is about £350.00 new, less for second hand.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

No mention in the policy about "Steps"

Tragedy, pure tragedy

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

Sorry, didn't know you were a fan....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiwDHHcHPh0

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

very much so

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

He isn't being brought to book by virtue of paragraph 21 though. he is being brought to book by virtue of paragraph 14 which is Disability access. I don't think the accident was reported within the 72 hour deadline. I don't think it was reported at all.
The option given by the Council as I understand it were, return the vehicle to it original condition that was accepted when he license the vehicle, i.e. Fit an electric step. Re plate the vehicle as a non WAV vehicle or change the vehicle.
As I understand it, if the vehicle did not have the step in the first place, he could still have registered it as a WAV.

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Grandad,

Then I think Grandad, my previous thought is the best one:

An appeal to the Council should be made, if it fails, appeal to the Magistrates. The vehicle will have to be licensed by the LA whilst an appeal is pending.

He can represent himself at both or take a Solicitor, the cost of which would plainly exceed the cost of a step.

He will have to wary that they may take action on the accident not being reported in the time scale prescribed.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

I can see where the council are coming from, if someone was to have an accident while using his improvised 'step' they could be liable for allowing him to use it. What should happen is the council should allow him to fit a fixed step to the vehicle instead. They can be had for £250 a pair on eBay and are the same as cabdirect are fitting as an option instead of the electrics ones.

The driver was given 4 options he could change his vehicle, he could fit an electric step, as a compromise he would have been allowed to fit a manual step or he could pay the extra £50 and have the vehicle as a non WAV. The other option was to appeal. However I am told that he has not chosen any of the options and the vehicle will be off the road at midnight tonight. What a plonker.

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Grandad,

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

The electric steps on my wav before it fell foul of 7 year rule and got taken off road were put out of use after 18 months because of constant maintenance problems and i used a portable step which almost all of the customers preferred. I think the council should actually get off their back sides and see for themselves before insisting on such rulings they might be surprised how much more effective the portable step is !

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

That is why, Edders, I have the mechanical steps on my Cab.

I look at all my colleagues that get fed up with them being U/S so have them broken in the half in half out position. They end up with small running boards in effect.

At least with the mechanical ones you can batter them into submission so that they work. The bigger the hammer, the sooner they work.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

Welcome to the taxi/Ph trade 2015.

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IDFIMH

He's making a stand sussex clearly he's been listening to trotsky

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector