Taxi Driver Online

that is a cracking idea...... when can we start

Well I don't know what conclusions can be drawn from this thread other than that plate colours vary more than I thought they did, if the posts in this thread are representative of the country as a whole (or maybe people have just posted their local colours if the deviate from the norm?).

But I really can't see the point in this multi-coloured approach; for example, councils are good at telling people the difference between HC and PH and what plate colours to look for, but if the punter is in another area then they could get confused or even think that a PH is an HC because of the plate colour.

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Taxi Driver Online
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Perhaps there is a case for a national colour code but would there be confusion as to individual recognition? I suppose a council insignia of some sort on the plate would be distinguishable or pehaps even other forms of recognition?

What about vehicle colour? Can a case be made out for a national vehicle colour standard?

Regards

JD

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Our plates have the council name and insignia on them.

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Grandad,

White Hack, Yellow PH, Green Landau here. Hack and PH have different door crests as well. PH aren't allowed top signs either.

Personally I think that the plates should be the same all over the Country; less open to abuse, but I can see where this would raise problems if all were same ie. Mogo but colouring would be a start. Yellow and white seem to be the norm but these are hard to determine in the dark whilst under the influence of alcohol - perhaps a better definition of colours

I suppose that if they used white for one plate and a dark colour for the other plate they would be easily distinguished in the dark.

But does anyone really look at the plates anyway?

Because we use saloons a lot of people seem to think that we're PH cars rather than taxis.

You sit in a row of about 15 cars, all with illuminated roof signs, and people come along and ask if you're for hire. You feel like saying, yes, do you think I've been sitting for an hour for the sake of it

Some of them say that they thought you maybe couldn't be hired in the street.

Aberdeen have:
Yellow for Taxi (city zone)
Green for Taxi (airport zone)
Red for PH
All have the city council logo in a white strip at the top.

Aberdeenshire have:
Yellow for Taxi
Red for PH
Both have the shire council logo in a white strip at the top.

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Fae Fife

Do you or any others know why in some parts of Fife (such as Glenrothes) saloons dominate and not 1 WAV can be seen. Yet in other parts (such as Kirkcaldy) there are plenty of WAVs.

Similar situation in Sefton. Bootle is all WAV but Southport is mainly saloon?

Anyone noticed this or know why?

Disability discrimination act 1995.
It hasn't been applied to the taxi trade yet (and may never be), but some authorities have introduced it anyway.

Some require all new plates since a certain date (1996 in Aberdeen) to be WAVs. This has resulted in a 2-tier system that discriminates against owners who have come into the trade since that date

Others may have changed over completely, hence all cabs are WAVs

Others are sensibly waiting until legislation is in place.

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To be honest I don't really know about the Fife situation, but gusmac is of course correct about the DD Act.

Of course, some councils were WAV/purpose built before that, but the DD Act has certainly encouraged some to act, but with disabled rights being prominent these days no doubt some would have done something even without the Act.

But in the main it seems to come down to the conditions of licence - Dundee is like Aberdeen in that some are allowed any vehilce while some must have WAVs, and I doubt if there are many who can run anything don't run a saloon.

In East Fife you can run what you want, and there are a few WAVs, but not many - some of them get school and social services contracts, but obviously there aren't that many such contracts, so the amount of WAVs is small.

We do have a pile of 6, 7 and 8 seaters though, and some are WAVs, but I suspect they were bougth for the airport and golf runs rather than for wheelchairs.

As for Kirkcaldy, I don't really know, but since Fife is divided into several zones it's possible that councillors have made them go WAV, but in that case I find it strange that Glenrothes isn't WAV too.

I thought that Aberdeen were phasing out the saloons completely?

Thats what we were told back in 1996. Plan was to licence no more saloons after 2002. Council changed that to 2012 some years ago and now we are told they are waiting for central govt. legislation before acting further. Pity they didn't take this attitude in the first place, instead of jumping the gun for PC reasons. Could have saved some of us a lot of wasted dough.
A test case for discrimination was taken to the sheriff court last year. The sheriff found for the council and an appeal is ongoing at the court of session A copy of the sheriff's decision can be found starting on page 26 of this licencing committe minute.
http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/nms ... 1&sID=1446

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It's the same in Dundee - the saloons can continue as normal while the new plates have to have a WAV - I think the very newest plates are even tighter still, because the earlier WAV plates could run a Doblo, but the latest ones are TX or Eurobus.

The retiring licensing chief was bragging in the Dundee press about being fair and even handed with the trade, which I couldn't quite work out.

But basically the councils have passed the buck to the Executive.

Where did you get the idea that no WAVS operate in Glenrothes? I can think of 4 off the top of my head that are rank cars. Given that we have 43 public hire plates a 1:10 ratio isnt too shabby considering WAV is not compulsary in our area. Personally through working the ranks/streets in Glenrothes i think you will be lucky to see WAVS being used/hailed by those with the need once every six weeks, although im not saying they(wavs) dont have there place on the rank, mainly they are used for the 7/8 seat option.
I had a WAV here for a year, one enquiry to take a w/chair customer in one year and i had to pass that hire on because i was already booked at the particular time the customer wanted

Fife council conditions of licence are the same for you in the east fife zone as they are for myself in fife central i.e. wav not compulsary, saloons under 8 years, wav and minibuses exempt from age restriction. I do agree with you on the airport/golf run point

Fairwaydriver - apologies if my last post seemed a bit of a rant at yourself, i dont think you were having a pop at Glenrothes, merely stating what you had observed here sorry