Taxi Driver Online

New 30 mile radius for hackney cabs slammed by taxi boss

The chair of the Rossendale Taxi Association says the group will formally object to the addition to the intended use policy

A Taxi boss has slammed the council for introducing a 30 mile catchment to stop Rossendale licenses being given to people who live more than 30 miles away.

Rossendale Borough Council say that since implementing their new hackney carriage intended use policy in February, they have ‘refined and clarified it’ in a bid to crack down on taxi drivers operating outside the borough.

This includes the rejection of applications whose address is beyond a 30 miles radius from a fixed point within the borough.

Rossendale are one of the first local authorities in the country to introduce such a measure after numerous complaints about taxis plying their trade out of the Valley in areas as far away as Bradford, Sheffield and Manchester.

However the chairman of the Rossendale Taxi Association David Lawrie, who worked with the council’s licensing committee to formulate the intended use policy, says the association are planning to lodge a formal objection to the amendment.

Mr Lawrie said: “This is something they have done without consulting with anybody, no notice, they just threw it in.

“This radius doesn’t make any sense whatsoever and if they have had [consulted] us about it we would have explained why. Things are going absolutely pear shaped.”

He added: “I would like them to go to the original intended use policy that they have only just adopted and give it a chance to work. This is nothing more than a waste of council time and money and stress for applicants who should not be being rejected.”

A report to the licensing committee states that the advice was communicated to applicants and the taxi trade online and face to face, however Mr Lawrie disputes that any contact has been made with his organisation.

Chairman of the licensing committee, councillor Steve Hughes, said the new radius did not need further consultation.

He said: “This is part of what was already agreed under the intended use policy, it’s not a change, it was a refinement of the policy and a clarification making it more specific but that wasn’t something that need to come back to a consultation.

“Ultimately the policy is there to ensure that people operate within Rossendale, if there is evidence that they are operating outside due process will be followed.”

source: http://www.rossendalefreepress.co.uk/ne ... y-11628541

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

Castle Morpeth Borough Council had it in their licensing conditions that a licensed TAXI was not allowed to be kept more than 1 mile outside the Borough boundary.

I and others on this forum know a gentleman who had to seek permission of the licensing committee to keep his license when moving out of the borough.

We have 4 owner/drivers working in our town who live outside the borough but are licensed by our borough and at least another 3 drivers who live outside the borough but travel here to work, one of them from 25 miles away from the town.

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Grandad,

less than 25 percent of drivers in our borough live here BUT in Northamptonshire,Peterborough and Rutland that border onto us you have to live within the borough to get a drivers badge I believe although I'm told Rutland will allow outside IF and only If you intend to work mostly in Rutland

it has always been an unfair playing field and will be until some sort of national Standards are brought in

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

There are quite a few drivers here that have Rutland badges and Rutland plates but very rarely work in Rutland. One company has a non existent Rutland operating office and another business has an operating office in Melton but licenses through Rutland.

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Grandad,

we have one here that has a Rutland office and one Rutland licensed vehicle but otherwise operate locally

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

UK and EU law doesn't allow a restriction to be put on drivers based on where they live in the UK and EU.

That's basic to even the thickest official.

Clearly a restriction on where the vehicle predominately works was muted by the Berwick judge, so that could be lawful.

But the council needs to differentiate vehicles owners to drivers.

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IDFIMH