Taxi Driver Online

Plying 4 hire, how many of you know what it means? Answers on a postcard please.

Regards

JD

Making oneself available for Joe Public to appraoch you with a view to you carrying them for reward.

Starter for ten.

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IDFIMH

According to JB it would have to be a rather big postcard, as ever it is a question that some would wish to be more confusing than it actually is.

Blaming the 1847 act as one person does, because it was passed at a time when engines didn’t exist is a stupid argument to offer, as it is the activity of the driver and situation of the vehicle, as opposed to the legislation which is the real debate.

Only a hackney carriage can ply for hire.

If you consider that only a hackney can ply for hire, then you must surmise that other vehicles cannot.

Each 'plying for hire' case seems to differ except in one way, the vehicle plying for hire must be displayed or exhibited to the public.

This leads to a situation where some people would argue that a PHV if found on any street could be considered as 'plying for hire'.

In my view that assumption is incorrect, and that assumption is nothing more than an attempt to undermine legislation to further the claim that current laws are unworkable and we need new ones in place.

Again, the basis of opinion that is given as fact enters the debate.

This is obviously flawed logic and presumes that unlicensed vehicles plying for hire wouldn’t exist if new legislation were made.

As previously stated, 'Plying for hire', in my view has more to do with what the driver is doing and where the vehicle is parked, than the unambiguous view of some.

This was made clear in the Milton Keynes case, where a PHV parked next to a taxi rank, and the Ogwr vs. Baker case, where a PHV parked outside a nightclub.

The Nottingham vs. Wooding’s case seems to give the better view, not because the court recognised that PH existed and not because in the opinion of some it conflicts with the above mentioned cases but because it made it reasonably clear that the response from the driver was of equal significance as to where the vehicle is situated.

Regards

CC

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

Clearly if I had written the book, it would have been a tad shoter.

And would have made more sense.

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IDFIMH

I think I'd have to agree

CC

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

I think I posed rather a silly question considering this is a Taxi forum? lol

Regards

JD

There are no silly questions, just silly answers

regards

CC

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

Silly question - cos I know the answer ... but is a Private Hire parked on a residential side road with driver in the vehicle plying for hire???? Or a Private Hire parked on a busy Coach Park with no Hackney's on the rank plying for hire?

And an even sillier question - when are the public going to realise that if your For Hire light is not lit then you aren't available for hire?!?!?

Never.

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IDFIMH

One no IMO, two possibly IMO.

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IDFIMH

If you are a sole PH operator, with no office, and you have the phone in the car, therefor a mobile office, and you go to a pub or club to pick a punter up, and another punter asks you to come back for them, are you breaking the law, by taking a verbal booking????
Or if you pick up a booking from the street, and the same thing happens, even though neither have not phoned.

PH ops need a base, be it an office or their home.

A verbal booking is a booking, so your first senario is quite simple IMO.

The second will depend on a number of things, and could be legal, but then again may not be.

But having a ops license allows the bad guys to get away with quite a lot.

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IDFIMH

Probably when the trade gets its act together?

In my manor quite a few cars go around with their signs unconnected or with duff bulbs, which they probably only replace for the test.

And most taxis in my manor do pre-booked work, and normally when they're going for the pick-up the light is on because it's connected to the meter.

Also, many taxi in my manor do discount fares off the meter, so the roofer is on a lot of the time even when they're not for hire.

So basically it's no wonder the public don't really know the significance of the light - I suspect many just think that the illuminated signs are the posh ones

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

My top light is connected to my meter as well - but I've got an over ride switch that I can flick the lights off for when I'm doing fixed price, pre booked , heaven forbid not working.

Round here PH's aren't allowed to take bookings via a mobile phone number - although there is nothing to stop them having a landline diverted to a mobile. They are not allowed to have "taxi" or "for hire" anywhere on the vehicle or adverts. Also PH's are not allowed to have luminated top signs and the door crests are totally different. BUT how many drunks can tell the difference? And I will admit that on the odd occassion that I have driven a PH I have taken the odd flag - ie. stop outside nighclub for pre-booked; wrong pax gets in etc; on the grounds of safety ie. it was safer for me to take them and go back for my passengers than to try and get them out of the car. I suppose its different here as we only have one licence and all PH's can drive Hack and vice versa.