Taxi Driver Online

well somebody has just lit a fire under them

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Good.

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IDFIMH

Dear all,

Hope everyone is well. I’m writing to you as part of a smaller group initially as you have all been involved in recent discussions surrounding new and renewal licence applications and I have spoken to most of you on multiple occasions. I know we had a meeting planned for last week that didn’t go ahead and the offer still stands to host a meeting should we still feel the need to have one.

I’d like to update you all on the current situation (as I understand it) to give you an idea of how things are working and proposals moving forward.

On a weekly basis, we identify all the driver licences that are due to expire in the subsequent week and we attempt to make contact with them all to offer them an appointment to get their licence renewed before it expires. We manage to speak to around half of the drivers we contact over the phone meaning that the other half will have to make contact via email to arrange for a call back. Some of the contact information we hold for drivers is no longer valid meaning we cannot make the initial contact by phone. We are asking drivers to be specific in the subject line of their email and should state ‘DRIVER NAME – BADGE NUMBER – EXPIRY DATE’ so we can easily identify and prioritise these. There are a number of drivers who no longer wish to be licensed so if we cant make contact with them and they don’t get in touch to let us know that they want to be relicensed the process is effectively put on hold.

It's a different process for vehicle owners as we ask all owners wishing to renew a licence to complete the vehicle licence application form (before expiry) on the website and send it in along with the test certificate and with any other required documents. We are currently dealing with vehicle licence renewals received approximately 10 working days ago and these will be dealt with in date order received. Again, we ask vehicle owners to state ‘VEHICLE LICENCE RENEWAL – PLATE/REG NUMBER – EXPIRY DATE’. If we see that a vehicle licence is expiring shortly or has actually expired then we will deal with it as quickly as possible. We do receive applications on the day that licences are expiring and we receive applications with incorrect documentation which causes delays. The OSS will issue the vehicle licence once payment has been received but sometimes we have issues contacting vehicle owners and collecting payments which leads to further delays.

Despite stories to the contrary, we are currently handling a number of new driver applications that have been assisted by Antrec.

I’m aware of the complaints received regarding waiting times which has led to conversations with most of you and some of our Councillors which has led to further discussions with Peter Moore, Mark Quillan and Andy Cain. With that in mid we are proposing the following;

• The reintroduction of ‘auto renewals’ for driver licences. I think the phrase ‘auto renewal’ needs qualifying slightly as it will not apply to anyone who does not have a current ‘Right to Licence’ according to their immigration status. It may also exclude drivers that have recently received a conviction that breaches current policy but generally speaking, we are proposing to automatically extend the majority of driver licences for 2 months if their licence is due for renewal between 30 November 2020 and 31 January 2021. This means that we will postpone the requirement to produce DVLA, medical & DBS by 2 months. During the 2 months period, we may still contact these drivers to try and start the DBS process but they will receive their licence so can carry on driving during December & January. All outstanding badge fees will be collected once the automatic extension period ends and drivers will be invited into Bootle One Stop Shop to renew their badge.

• Over the next 4 weeks, we will be handling the existing licence applications over 7 days a week. As you are probably aware, the OSS is only dealing with taxi licensing applications at the moment anyway and we are confident that the weekend working will clear the number of applications waiting to be processed.

• Updates to the website – I’m proposing to make it very clear on our website that drivers may receive phone calls around the expiry date of their badge and this will be from a withheld number and that vehicle owners should get their applications in 4 weeks before their plate expires. Again, we will explain on the website about the wording that should be placed in the subject line of any emails sent into the OSS (I am aware that not everyone will look at the website!).

I know we have received kind offers of assistance from parts of the trade but we believe we can address the issues that have been raised by introducing the above changes. I’m happy to discuss with anyone but please note I’m off this afternoon so it would have to wait until Monday. I’m planning on circulating this to the wider distribution list next week but I’ll wait to hear comments from any of you first.

On a separate note there will be communications regarding the LCR driver grant scheme published next week.

Regards
Came this morning

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Delighted you are getting somewhere Mr T.

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IDFIMH

Not only me

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Problem is that it can all sound very reasonable and well-organised when council in PR-mode, or in the kind of email above. But in practice a totally different kettle of fish.

Meant to have a look back at our own council's stuff over the weekend, but rapidly lost the will to live.

Could easily write a couple of thousand words on my two applications, but in a nutshell:

Badge used a new online form, with numerous pages to be navigated. Which wasn't that difficult at the end of the day, but problem was they didn't tell you precisely what they wanted before you start filling in the form. So I was back and forth for ages, dummy runs etc to try to find out precisely what they required. For example, instead of the usual passport photo, they wanted a digital camera selfie or similar. Which wasn't that difficult, obviously, but it's easier if you know that's required beforehand rather than where you're on page 9 (or whatever) of an online form. Ditto driving licence etc. All they required was a digital image, but you're only told that when halfway through the form. Ditto the DVLA print out. I just forwarded the pdf file that you can call up from the DVLA site, which wasn't difficult, but forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

I only really got stuck on the payment thing, which was something to do with being signed in or out of the Fife Council website, which in turn is linked to the ScotGov registration/password process

Again, it wasn't obvious from the website what was happening, and I eventually emailed licensing to ask them what was going on, but managed to work it all out before they got back

On the other hand, the plate application just used the normal application form, and asked for the usual documents. So I just kind of guessed what was required. The form is available in Word format, so I just downloaded that and filled in the blanks

I then photographed the usual documents and downloaded a pdf of my insurance certficate from Patons' website

The payment procedure was different from that for the badge , but to be fair it was reasonably well explained.

So I just emailed the application form, and the photo files and pdf to licensing and hoped for the best

And eventually both the badge and plate arrived (Except I had to travel to Cupar for the plate, which is just the normal procedure.)

So it was all reasonably straightforward in the end, but just not well enough explained in advance in my opinion, and a lot of effort could have been avoided with proper explanatory notes available in advance.

On the other hand, I've been online since the 1990s, when I was doing some basic web design. And I can do some basic photo editing etc. So how some of the older/more technophobic drivers managed I'm not sure

Can't understand the selfie stuff, why didn't they just use the previous picture?

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IDFIMH

Maybe they knew I looked totally different with my lockdown DIY haircut

But presumably they just want an up-to-date image, particularly with a three-year badge.

And previously they've just required passport-style photo booth photos to be submitted, so obviously once they're used they can't be used for another badge.

But at least if I need a replacement badge, or whatever, then they might just use the digital image I emailed to them.

Certainly prefer the smartphone selfie to the photo booth things though - you get more chances NOT to look like a complete spanner

And saved me £6 and a trip to the supermarket, blah, blah

You get four photos from those booths, that's enough for 12 years.

Well it is for me anyway.

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IDFIMH

We had to submit a couple with our applications, presumably the spare(s) were for the council's records.

So we had to submit either two or three photos, although I can't remember offhand if it was two or three.

But maybe it was three, which is why the photo booth jobs couldn't be used twice.

But used to hate the photo booth thing - you think they're everywhere, until you actually need one - which was one reason I moved to the three-year licences. And the fannying about with the plates was another main reason

Anyway, hopefully all that photo booth stuff is in the past

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Chris The Fish

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

That suggests an alternative to my DIY lockdown buzz cut

However, suspect I'd be dead long before it grew that long

Best thing I've bought in a long term was a set of hair clippers.

I've had about four trims with them so far, so I'm about £30 up on the deal.

Yipeeeee.

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IDFIMH

Certainly a lot more convenient, but I bought £25 'Made in PRC' rechargeable clippers as well as the £13 Wahl ones, because mains-powered was a pain in the bum, particularly as my bathroom doesn't have a power point.

And because I only spent £40-50 on haircuts per year, I'm not much up on the deal


Anyway, seems like Sefton have got their act together, maybe thanks to Mr T

But this is an official press release by the looks of it, so no doubt things are not going quite so swimmingly in reality than it sounds below:


Sefton’s simplified online renewals services for taxi driver & vehicle licencing remains in place

https://mysefton.co.uk/2021/08/25/sefto ... -in-place/

Sefton’s taxi drivers are being reminded that despite the relaxation of some COVID-19 restrictions, vehicle licence renewals are still being processed through a simple e-mail service.

Ten-day turnaround

We aim for a turnaround of ten working days for the renewal of vehicle licences with a high proportion being processed more quickly. We ask that as much information regarding vehicle renewals is included within the subject line of the e-mail enabling us to prioritise our workload.

Driver licences continue to be considered for auto renewal for a period of six months. A number of licence holders will be invited in for interview if a new DBS check is required, Immigration status check is required, a Medical check is required or there are pending criminal matters.

Target

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Councils Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services said: “Since the start of the COVID pandemic, to ensure the safety of drivers and its own staff, the Council has been carrying out online renewals rather than the drop-in system at Bootle One Stop Shop.

“Infection rates show that the coronavirus is still very much with us, so the online process remains in place for now.

“We have a 10-working-day-target for the process and the majority of applications are being done more quickly.

“And, owners can apply for renewal of their plate 28 days before their current one expires so there should be no reason why anyone should be without a plate.”

To renew, all drivers need to do is email a copy of their Mechanical Fitness Test, which they get from one of the Council’s authorised testing centres to taxiapplication@sefton.gov.uk. Their application needs to be accompanied by an image of their application form, their V5 Registration certificate and evidence of insurance.

The Council then collects the fee from the driver over the telephone and the renewal certificate is sent to them.

Safety

Cllr Lappin added: “As with many of our services, Sefton Council quickly adapted the way we managed taxi vehicle and driver licence renewals to ensure the safety of drivers and our own staff.

“This has mean that the popular drop-in service that took a few minutes, which drivers had got used to now takes a little longer but with a 28-day lead-in time for renewals, no-one need miss the deadline.

Since taking renewals online to prevent the chance of COVID-19 spreading, between drivers, with Council staff and with taxi users, Sefton has processed around 9500 renewals.

Cllr Lappin continued:

“Inevitably taxi drivers in Sefton have had to get used to a change from the drop-in, face-to-face process they have been accustomed to but the vast majority of them have adapted and have been using the system without any problems.

Find out more about the application process on the Sefton Council website.

Grants

During the pandemic, Sefton Council has distributed close to £1,000,000 in grant funding through two sets grants to support taxi drivers who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Over 4,000 taxi drivers licensed in Sefton, and who live in the Liverpool City Region, were eligible for an initial £100 support grant followed up by a further £200 support grant.