She sent me the last approved charges list.........
So i asked for clarityDriver licences
1. ONE year badge renewal (which is not being allowed now)
2.THREE badge renewal INC DBS but a DBS+UPDATE has been required for some time now so the £54 needs deducting where not needed?
The online application for a 3 year badge has a base fee of £203. If a driver is due a DBS and not signed up to the update service, £50.50 will be added. Same as if a medical will be required, the fee of £55 will be added.
The fee agreed in 2018 for a 3 year badge was £272. This included a DBS (Cost then was £54) and 3 DVLA checks at £5. We deducted these charges to arrive at £203. Private Hire Operators licences
1. ONLY the 1 year (not allowed now) option is £65 per car per year so is the new £264 5 year ops licence inclusive of howsoever many PH cars are on fleet? (you have said there is no fee to ADD a car)?
The fee for the five year operator licence although not stated on this list, was given to us from environmental health. It is still a per vehicle fee. The figure of the vehicles is taken at that point in time. Should you wish to add a vehicle or take a vehicle off during the 5 years, there is no charge for this, as we no longer state the vehicles on your licence, it is purely an administration exercise. Going forward we are looking at not charging per vehicle, it possibly will be a fixed figure. Vehicle licences
1. Grant for Private hire - £140 inc of compliance test but that fee (£17.50 is payable direct to T.Turners as i understand it so I have to pay LDC £122.50?
That is correct. We used to take payments for tests, then they used to invoice us. It made much more sense for the vehicle proprietors to pay the testers direct, so we have deducted the £17.50 from the vehicle fee, whether that be Private Hire or Hackney Carriage. Lastly:-
Age limits/Special events
There seems to be conflict with the new policy over "Special Events" (or Executive) vehicles, one section states these are Private Hire vehicles (therefore subject to Private Hire age limits) and another states there is a different class of plate (supported by the list of charges it seems, inc a "limousine" category?) and any Private Hire may request "plate exemption"?
*Including "Exec" plating under the "Private Hire" regs mean also Euro 6 (for Diesels) would be mandatory from April 1st 2022?
Im sure you will know by now some vehicles not compliant with the Special events/exec requirements are plated as such (manual gearboxes and way over the 7 year age limit) and some have been replated as such.
From Policy:-
Quote:
"Executive hire vehicles are licensed separately from Hackney carriage vehicles and private hire vehicles. Executive hire vehicles are a special class of private hire vehicle. They are high value, prestige vehicles that are used by companies for transporting special guests or senior members of staff in luxury. Executive hire vehicles are styled more as chauffeur driven vehicles than standard private hire vehicles."
So can ANY private hire vehicle apply to be plate exempted or only those compliant with the laid out requirements for executive transport?
Policy:-
Quote:
Executive Hire Vehicles should have the following features as a minimum in order to be considered for licensing, this list is not exhaustive:-
High quality vehicle in terms of brand and condition, with no visible defects, dents or blemishes to the external bodywork or trim
Luxury or prestige vehicle
Engine size of 2000cc or greater
Automatic transmission
Minimum specification of air conditioning/climate control to front and rear seats, all electric windows, central locking and suitable front and rear headrests for all passengers.
Also, as Turners do not check air conditioning actually works how can the vehicle be approved? I know of at least one where the A/C has never worked since before it was plated.
Will staff at LDC check the vehicle is automatic?
As we are a year into the policy now, we have identified that there are some discrepancies in the Policy in relation to Exemptions. We will be looking at this when we are in a position to formally review the policy. However under the current legislation there are only 2 types of vehicles. Private Hire and Hackney Carriage. A Hackney Carriage cannot ever apply for an exemption, (I didnt ask this) due to the nature of what the vehicle has to have, e.g roof sign. Therefore only a Private Hire vehicle would be able to apply for a plate & side sticker exemption. We would expect the executive style vehicles to apply for the exemption.
Special event vehicles are slowly being passed out naturally. We only have 14 special event vehicles currently plated.
In relation to the transmission – this used to be stated on the log book, however we are aware that it’s not on the new style ones, we will therefore be adding a question into the application form. thanks and hope to speak soon.