Taxi Driver Online

None, since I am no longer a licensed hc driver I cann't rent his taxi anymore so we have parted company.

Kevin

I don't think they apply to the provision of a service, it's just in relation to employing people and paying employees.

The drivers are presumably self-employed, so to that extent it wouldn't apply to that either.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Yes you do Sussex. Took me over a year for my last renewal. However, our Council has accepted a temporary license for existing holders subject to receipt of satisfactory CRB. If its bad they then withdraw the licence. Our average for CRBs is now down to about 7 weeks over the past year. They are improving though.

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There is Significant Unmet Demand for my Opinion.

I can not believe that i have been through all this aggro for nothing.

I could have carried on working under section 77 of the 1976 act. Seems like I can carry on working as a hc driver even though my license has been suspended becasue of the delay in crb check.

the council has to give me written suspension (which they haven't done yet) and then I have 21 days to make and appeal to the magistrates and i can carry on driving while this all takes place

http://www.tapin2taxis.co.uk/faq.asp?id=3

Looks like tonight I'll be out looking for a taxi owner who is prepared to rent their car to someone using this exclusion. We'll see. But I have also been told because the council have not provided me with written suspension i can make a claim to the county courts for loss of earnings due to them not following the correct procedures.

We'll see, but to any one who is in the same position of having their license suspended i suggest they check out the above link.

Kevin

mmmmmm....

Just got an email back from Herefordshires principle lawyer confirming that i have the right to continue driving as a taxi driver for the next 21 days in which time I need to decide if I want to appeal to the local magistrates court on the decision not to renew until the crb comes through (hopefully it will be through before then).

So why did they not tell me this when they said I could not have my license!

kevin

simple they dont have a clue and dont care
thats the council for you

totally agree with you there unfortunately.

Since the licensing department has heard I can drive under section 77 (I am sure they knew about the provisions but failed to tell me) they have decided to reissue my badge on a temporary basis until my crb comes through so they don't have me driving around on an out of date one.

I should also ay that the local traxi drivers association was pretty useless as well. They did not know about this provision, I would have thought that they would have known about the legislation that covers taxi drivers.

Kevin

I wouldn't be too critical on the local taxi ass, I doubt more than a couple of hundred people in the UK know about the 1976 act exemptions.

But why should they? As I've said on this topic more than once, if you have or want more than one customer per car, then you are acting outside of the exemption, thus outside of the law.

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IDFIMH

On a strict reading of the section the exemption covers Kevin's scenario:

..apply to a vehicle used only for carrying passengers for hire or reward under a contract for the hire of the vehicle for a period of not less than seven days

I can't really see which part of the above Kevin's scenario doesn't apply to.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

But that section has been clarified by the Pitts judgement, a contract must be for exculsive use. The contact must have a start and finish date.

He cannot advertise for his work, or offer his services to anyone. If he did he would need an operator's license.

Remember section 75 is an exemption for vehicles, not an exemption for operators.

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IDFIMH

one of the firms down here has two or three exempt vehicles that do school contracts.
they would love to do more work like airports etc.
but they know people have got there eyes on them.

I would have thought that the local taxi drivers association would have known that if the council refused to reissue you your taxi license then you had the right to continue to drive as a taxi driver for 21 days while you decided whether to appeal to the magistrates or not.

And if you do decide to appeal then you can continue to drive as a taxi driver until you appeal is heard at magistrates.

As it is, the council have reissued me with my license on a temporary basis until the crb comes through so I do not need to use the section 77 provisions. These provisions are entirely different to exemptions in section 7.

Section 77 covers disaplinary procedures and refusals not exemptions. I suppose really I should have known it being a taxi driver, but you do tend to look to the taxi driver associations for guidence sometimes.

Kevin

No if you are banned or suspended or whatever, then that applies from the date it happens, not in 21 days.

The 21 days is the lenght of time you have once you have received the written reasons for you suspension/banned etc, to lodge an appeal.

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IDFIMH

Agreed, you can continue driving once you have received the written notice which the council has to give you within 14 days. It's still annoying to know that I could have had a short holiday while they put the written notice together before I could carry on driving as a taxi driver though

You would have also thought that the council would have given you your rights of appeal when they refused to reissue the license, but I guess they work on the principle of 'need to know' basis

Kevin

Only if a court gives you permission.

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IDFIMH