Taxi Driver Online

Private hire taxis in Wolverhampton set for changes

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black- ... t-16910027

Chiefs say the amendments are necessary due to new technology being introduced within the business, alongside the introduction of cross-border hiring with neighbouring counties

Private hire taxis in Wolverhampton are set to undergo a number of changes in the way they operate, the city council's licensing bosses have announced.

The city council has recently been in consultation with the local private hire trade group over proposed alterations in the way firms conduct business in terms of base, driver and vehicle procedures.

Licensing chiefs at the council say the amendments are necessary due to new technology being introduced within the business, alongside the introduction of cross-border hiring with neighbouring counties.

In a report to the council, Chris Howell, the city's Licensing Services Manager, said: "The conditions under which private hire taxis operate were last amended back in 2017 and then implemented on January 1, 2018.

"Although there is no legal requirement to consult with the private hire trade groups, we are doing this in the interest of positive working relationships in the city.

"The onset of technology within the trade and also the intricacy of cross border hiring necessitates several proposed changes.

"Base operators will now need to provide drivers with each customer's contact details to enable them to have immediate access to satellite offices and systems, as well as being able to use interactive voice response.

"Also, the system will now include the taking and storage of digital images rather than paper records. All drivers must now tell the licensing services of any changes in their circumstances or work undertaken on their vehicles," he added.

Private hire taxis differ from the black Hackney cabs at the city centre ranks in that they must be pre-booked by telephone in advance and cannot be flagged down or picked up on the street.

"There is also a requirement for drivers to undergo drug and alcohol testing at any requested time, and also to inform the council if they are ever arrested for anything," said Mr Howell.

"A number of other minor amendments are still being discussed with bosses from the city's private hire taxi companies."

The council's Non-Statutory Licensing Committee is due to discuss the proposals next week.

Not too well up either on the technology or the intricacies of cross-border licensing myself.

But reading between the lines I wouldn't be surprised if the 'ghost' offices in Wolverhampton required to implement cross-bordering have maybe been a bit more ghostly than they should have been

how is that going to work with drivers whose home address is 100 miles away who got their license by post

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

Quite.

That council is simply a shower of sh**.

_________________
IDFIMH

The "ghost offices" in Wolverhampton you talk about are above Takeaways and behind seedy looking cafe's.

Does it matter where they? No different to Uber

I think most of them are actually in nice business centres which offer a post box and a telephone number for very little money. The business centre where our office is, and yes we do have a proper office, is in the most prestigious office building in the town and they offer cyber offices.

_________________
Grandad,

Saw this the other day - pretty unremarkable stuff, and wouldn't normally bother posting it. But seems a bit rich of Wolverhampton to do this in view of their wider contribution to undermining enforcement of the rules?


Taxi safety warning issued to new Wolverhampton students

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/tra ... -students/

Council bosses in Wolverhampton are warning late-night revellers – especially students new to the area – to be careful when booking or flagging down taxis in the city centre.

Public safety officers at the council want to make members of the public more aware of the difference between hiring private hire cars and black Hackney cabs on the street – by launching the Get Home Safe campaign.

It aims to warn people not to be taken in by people pretending to be taxi drivers and the risks involved in making their journey home safely.

In a report to members, licensing services manager for the council, Chris Howell, said: “Private hire vehicles must be pre-booked and not flagged down. Hackney carriage vehicles can be flagged down in the street.

“However, people need to be aware that it is an offence for a private hire driver to ply for trade on the street.

“In most cases, passengers travelling in an un-booked private hire vehicle will not be insured. Therefore, this greatly increases the risk to the public.

Dangers

“Also, as the journey is not booked on the operator’s system, no-one else is aware that a journey is taking place – which potentially puts the passengers at a significant increase of risk.

“At the end of an evening out, most often people just want to get home as quickly as possible and do not always think about the dangers of not pre-booking a private hire vehicle,” he added.

“In addition to this, some people’s judgement may be impaired because of drink or drugs. And a lot of younger people may not even be aware pre-booking is a requirement these days.”

The council’s campaign is mainly being targeted at students in the city and will run during "freshers’ week", starting on September 22.

A number of stalls promoting the venture have already been hired at the intake student fairs being held in Wolverhampton, Walsall and Telford.

These will contain information on how to book a private hire vehicle or flag down a Hackney cab safely, along with a range of the council’s branded Get Home Safe merchandise.

A poster has also been designed to promote the campaign, which will be displayed inside all licensed premises in the city centre during the week.

From a council that licenses drivers without seeing them, licenses vehicles without them ever visiting the City, and licenses operators without seeing them, the words 'aware' and 'risk' are incredibly hollow.

_________________
IDFIMH

Not sure if there's much new here. It headlines on the drug and alcohol testing, but most interesting aspect probably the cross-border stuff at the end, but don't know if it tells us any more than the earlier article at the top of the thread.

But for a change it's maybe more about how the Wolverhampton regime has affected the *local* trade rather than the cross-border stuff.


Move backed for taxi drivers to undergo drug and alcohol testing

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/tra ... l-testing/

The boss of Wolverhampton’s Private Hire Taxi Association has given his backing to the requirement for drivers to undergo random drug and alcohol testing, as a way to improve safety measures for passengers.

Mr Raheel Shah, the association’s chairman and founder, also said that business for many firms and individual drivers in the city had not been good since around 2015, and called for a firmer course of action to improve conditions for drivers.

He said that too many drivers were not up the strict standards of the job, and endorsed the legislation from the council’s licensing chiefs.

“It is also incredibly important that any new drivers inform the council if they are ever arrested for anything or have any work or alterations carried out on their vehicles,” said Mr Shah, who is the association’s chairman and founder.

In recent months, the council has been in consultation with the local private hire trade group over proposed alterations in the way companies conduct business in terms of base, driver and vehicle procedures.

“Any assistance we can get from the council will be greatly appreciated,” said Mr Shah.

“These days it is a lot simpler and cheaper for drivers to get a licence, and unfortunately this has resulted in a lot of non-professional drivers taking up work.

“This is problematic for us and can give a lot of us a bad name as private hire drivers. A lot of the new drivers don’t know the roads, the correct health and safety procedures, and haven’t taken a proper practical test.

“Also, with self-employment rights, drivers can now work for more than one firm, meaning a lot of drivers in the city don’t make a decent living because there simply isn’t enough work to go round. There are more private hire cars on the roads than ever before,” he added.

Licensing chiefs say amendments are necessary due to new technology being taken up by many businesses, alongside the introduction of cross-border hiring with neighbouring counties.

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Council’s Licensing Services said: “Although there is no legal requirement to consult with the private hire trade groups, we are doing this in the interest of positive working relationships in the city.

“The onset of technology within the trade and also the intricacy of cross-border hiring means that several changes are necessary.

“Base operators will now need to provide drivers with each customer’s contact details to enable them to have immediate access to satellite offices and systems, as well as being able to use interactive voice response.”

Private hire taxis differ from the black Hackney cabs at the city centre ranks in that they must be pre-booked by telephone in advance and cannot be flagged down or picked up on the street.

Makes it sound like they're more interested in the cross-border licencing and not the actual trade in their own city.

Which is probably just about right

Really?

The council has a duty to consult. That's the start and finish of it.

It is not down to them who responds to that consultation.

All the above is basic law, which is why a council that regularly shuns basic law is so confused about it.

_________________
IDFIMH

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