Taxi Driver Online

our private hire companys have started to take the biscuit these last few months it bad enough that the council allowed one of them to open p/h booking office right infront of a hackney rank about a year ago abid complaints from the hc drivers at the time which made it a knightmare to get on and use the rank because of propietors vehicles blocking it all night but now they have started forming ranks of p/h cars outside this office!! this office is also just around the corner from the main hc rank in the town and we are losing buissness because of it tonight i personally saw 10 fares walking over to use dirvet to them because they were closer, this i feel has to be stoped i had a word with a police officer about it and they were unsure of what to do! to make matters worse. im going to coplain to the council tomorrow but probaly won't get anywhere, any of you guys got any sugestions for us or any leggal eagles out there who can help ?

In some respects this should make the licensing officers job a lot easier.

All he has to do is watch for an hour and so and he will be able to caution/prosecute dozens of drivers for doing naughties.

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IDFIMH

Do you belong to a taxi association and is the association a member of the NTA or the NTTG or any other body? I just wondered what advice they might give you?

Have a look at your local by-laws and have a look at the legal documents on this site about ranking up in close proximity to a Taxi rank and even ranking up at all? You will find all your answers in this website, and so will the NTA, NTTG, TGWU and any other body who can't assist you?

Regards

Any vehicles forming a rank either individualy or collectively with the explicit nature of inviting or accepting bookings is breaking the law. There are reems of case law on the subject on this website and they nearly all revert back to section 45 of the Town police Clauses act 1847.

TOWN POLICE CLAUSES ACT 1847 CHAPTER 89 PART 002

HACKNEY CARRIAGES

s 45 Penalty for plying for hire without a licence.

If the proprietor or part proprietor of any carriage, or any person so concerned as aforesaid, permits the same to be used as a hackney carriage plying for hire within the prescribed distance without having obtained a licence as aforesaid for such carriage, or during the time that such licence is suspended as hereinafter provided, or if any person be found driving, standing, or plying for hire with any carriage within the prescribed distance for which such licence as aforesaid has not been previously obtained, or without having the number of such carriage corresponding with the number of the licence openly displayed on such carriage, every such person so offending shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding forty shillings.

Notes:
Act amended (with respect to hackney carriages, as incorporated in any enactment (whenever passed)) by Transport Act 1985 (c. 67), s.16; extended by Public Health Act 1925 (c. 71), s.76; extended (England, Wales) (as incorporated in Public Health Act 1875) by Transport Act 1985 (c. 67), ss. 15(1), 140(2); restricted by London Passenger Transport Act 1933 (c. 14), s. 51(7) and Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c. 14), s. 64(2)Preamble omitted under authority of Statute Law Revision Act 1891 (c. 67)Words of enactment repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1891 (c. 67)This Act is not necessarily in the form in which it has effect in Northern Ireland

Functions of commissioners as to licensing of hackney carriages in City of London and Metropolitan Police District now exercisable by an Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 (c. 115), ss. 6, 8, 11, S.R. & 0. 1934/1346 (Rev. XIV, p. 795: 19341, p. 1221) and S.1. 1955/ 1853 (19551, p. 1143)
S. 45 extended by Town Police Clauses Act 1889 (c. 14), s. 4(1)(2)By Criminal Justice Act 1967 c. 80, s. 92(1), Sch. 3 Pt. l it was provided that the maximum amount of fine imposable on summary conviction in respect of s. 45 instead of the maximum fine of £2 was £20 for a first offence and £50 for a second or subsequent offence and as to the amounts of fine on summary conviction, Criminal Justice Act 1982 c. 48, ss. 35 (in relation to liability on first and subsequent convictions) 39(2), 46, Sch. 3 (substitution of new maximum fine of £500 instead of the old maximum fine of £20 and of references to levels on the standard scale) applyS.45 applied with modifications by S.I. 1985/567, regs 3, 4
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Which is the rank you cant use? the overflow rank that has NEVER had a Hac on it, outside the Crown Office?

Wait until the new Abba office opens opposite the crown one your talking about, That'll be fun!

You guy's keep shooting yourselves in the foot! the letter in last weeks Guardian from Eddie Eaves for instance. He went on about "cherry picking" "illegal PH touting for work".
There aren't ANY illegal PH in Warrington and he knows it! And very few PH take flags in town becuse we have fares coming ut of our ears at the rylands St Office
As far as the cherry picking point, who in their right mind wants a job to manchester that'll take an hour or so to do for £30, when you can get 4-5 quick runs from Sankey to town for the same moneybut less fuel??
You seem to be making out that the office is next to a main Rank that gets customers queuing up for a Taxi, You know and so do i that this is not the case, the rank reffered to is an overflow rank thats never used because you all just over rank on Bridge St.

If a customer wants to walk 100m from the Bridge St rank your talking about, to the PH office to get a ride home then whats to stop them?

Admittedly the Crown PH office should never have been allowed to be sited there, but it was, and thats down to the morons on the Council and our friendly Licensing Officer who we all love
Did you see my reply to eddies letter this week? It was edited by the paper but most of my point was given.

In all, the main reason and the reason i gave up driving a Hac some years ago is because of the overcharging by "some" of the Hac drivers, the pubilc have lost confidence in them and they need to get it back somehow.

BTW, whats "illegal" about a PH vehicle parking outside his Office?
If you see a PH take a "flag" (not a legitimate customer who has walked up, booked a taxi home with the office then got in the first car parked outside), Then report him!

It's also worth noting that illegal pick ups, be they via PH or out of town taxis, are clear evidence of un-met demand.

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IDFIMH

Oh dont say that! the Hac drivers will be throwing themselves in the Mersey!!

If he looks at the last figures in the LO, there are perhaps 2-3 reports of PH flagging in the town in the last 6 months , in fact i was jumped on by his Holyness a few months ago, i was picking up my daughter!!
The look on his face was worth my nights takings!!

The simple fact is, the huge overcharging by "some" (and it is only some) is reflecting on every Hac in the town.

My point is that if the dinos from the cab trade try and scare-monger by saying there are loads of illegal pick ups, when there's not, then just wind them up by asking them to put it in writing in time for the next taxi demand survey.

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IDFIMH

If all the hires are made legitimately (ie via the office), then the cars can really sit where they want, other laws permitting.

I suppose if the drivers were siting in the vehicles and near the rank then they could be construed as plying for hire, but if they are just parked up and the drivers are in the office then it's difficult to see how this view could be taken. But given what smiffyz says, then it's not really near a working rank at all.

That's business, I'm afraid

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

TDO Wrote.

"If all the hires are made legitimately (ie via the office), then the cars can really sit where they want, other laws permitting.

I suppose if the drivers were siting in the vehicles and near the rank then they could be construed as plying for hire, but if they are just parked up and the drivers are in the office then it's difficult to see how this view could be taken. But given what smiffyz says, then it's not really near a working rank at all.

That's business, I'm afraid"

Thats exactly what's happening. We get approx 5-600 walk-ins on a weekend night between midnight and 5am, some sit and wait for an hour or more to be taken home when the ranks are only ticking over. Why? Because of the way their treated by some of the Hackney Drivers (over charging by as much as DOUBLE in some instances) Now dont get me wrong, i know a lot of hac drivers and their decent guy's who want to earn a living like the rest of us but a minority are spoiling it for the rest.

We have Hac's on a "hac radio deal" which is cheaper than what the PH drivers pay because they only work when the ranks are quiet, but even they are now tending to keep working the offices at night because of the ammount of fares they get, and of course when they drop off, they're going to get a return bringing them back towards town thus cutting out the unpaid milage. (and our PH rates are better than the Hackney rates anyway)
There's talk of de-regulation (has been for years) but if it happens the bottom will drop out of the whole trade in the town.
Personally, i couldnt make it pay driving a Hac in Warrington anymore.

It does no good to anyone, when all the rep's do is moan. They need a rep on the Town Center Management Committe who's prepared to chip away at some of the issues rather than go in with all gun's blazing.

Very valid point, but as the assisstant editor of Taxi'talk' recently mentioned, the likes of the NTA and T&G couldn't give a f*** about anything bar taxi plate premiums.

So councils can, and do, shaft the taxi boys any way they like, and the local trades just stand there and take it.

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IDFIMH

Exactly

well goeff who is pulling your string would it be mr bailey ? you no you can not use that rank so do stay off it you are not a hac are you so stay off the rank its simply. as you may have notice this weekend we the hac drivers in warrington were using the said rank and do so from here on in. can you thank mr bailey for me and the rest of the lads for the fairs we got off there while you lot went home because there was no work for you cheers. hope you can pay for your radio this week ha ha. how much has he put it up to now £80 -£90 aweek. cant wait till he opens that other office cheers phil more work for us and the punters have somewere to stay warm and dry. as for over charging that good coming from a ph driver you lot take the mick i know someone that was charged £6.40 to be taken from hood manor to BT gemini when the fare is £4.50. you lot make the fares up as you go along. also did no you were being video pulling up onto the rank which are not allowed to do, we have all read the letter mr bailey has put out about staying off the rank so take notice and the message on the radio, look mate why not go and work for harrys? its time to move. or if you can afford a hackney plate buy one its the only way you are going to any work inthe town centre. look forward to your reply.

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WIRE HACMAN

To be honest i dont like Hackneys, i dont like the drivers attitude because they dont really have a boss who can take away their radio. I know the council is there but i think Hackneys get away with a lot more than PHD's.

We are going to buy a car park in the town center right next to the clubs where the hackneys rank, its going to be worth it to see their faces when we put on the big TAXI sign up.