Taxi Driver Online

The standard of vehicles being licensed are quite high.

I saw a VW transporter type thingy conversion....licensed by Berwick 'operating' in North Tyneside as a PH.....the vehicle was the same colour that North tynesides H/C's were, infact the only difference between the N. Tyneside HC & the Berwick HC was the Berwick roofsign....it was a 06 plated vehicle.

The above aside, I understand Berwick accept applications by post and will send you all your liceses by return of post....should save people the bother of going up the A1.

Indeed, they've also opened a test centre in Newcastle...allegedly with a firm called 'Lansdowne'....who incidentally have a PH firm that 'operate' the out of town HC's......can't imagine many failures

CC

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

And how exactly is he going to enforce that if he never sees them?

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IDFIMH

Sussex read the post agin and it will tell you

My point was that he can suspend a license but how can he enforce if the driver carries on working?

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IDFIMH

But if what CC says is correct then the licenses are awarded without any kind of initial test?

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

I'm not about to start pointing out where the vehicles licensed by Berwick Council are in contravention of the local bylaws on here ............... especially when it forms part of the case against them.


B. Lucky

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"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

And there boys and girls is the exact point.

B. Lucky

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"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

Just want to add that as a Newcastle hack driver I see it every night - the amount of Berwick plated vehicles (especially from Blue Line and lansdowne) that are "ranked up" in the town centre.

If you're on a booking you'd maybe expect to sit for 10-15 minutes for your job and if you haven't picked up in that time you'd say that its a "blank" and drive off. However, the same Berwick Plated vehicles (yes some £20,000+ vehicles... in black too) sit continually outside certain pubs and clubs in the City Centre. If you ask them what they're doing you'll be told to "P!ss off" or the like.

There are a high percentage of drivers who have managed to get these plates/badges that couldn't give a S*** about the passengers, councils the Police or honest drivers that have actually studied the knowledge for Newcastle and received a badge to inform their passengers of this.

I don't have a problem (to a certain degree) with people getting a Berwick Plate.....just decide that you are going to work an Office and stay there. Don't nick our work - its hard enough as it is!

Chris

Sounds like a licence for every fly-by-night to take the p*ss

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So your main complaint is that private hire vehicles are parking up outside public places? I have news for you, Newcastle is not unique in that respect. If these guys you refer to were not using Berwick plated vehicles the likelihood is that they would be using Newcastle private hire cars so you would still be in the same situation. Unless of course you are implying that Newcastle private hire drivers don't park up in public places then it that case newcastle would be unique.

Its up to your licensing authority along with the police to enforce the law if any particular law is being broken. Newcastle is affiliated to the NTA which is an organisation that thinks tinkering with legislation is all that is required.

You know the law and likewise the people who represent you, therefore if you want change you guys know what to do about it.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Well I knew you couldn't back up your ficticious statement and as expected your response was predictable.

Considering you are a rep for the GMBU its about time you considered what you say before you put your fingers to the keyboard because your ill considered ramblings won't get past first base on this forum.

Now how about explaining your misconceived notion "that these vehicles and drivers are working in contravention of their local by-laws"

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Hi JD

Cheers for your post.

You say that "If these guys you refer to were not using Berwick plated vehicles the likelihood is that they would be using Newcastle private hire cars so you would still be in the same situation".

I think you are wrong on that statement as if they were not using a Berwick Plated vehicle to "flimp" the arse of the town they couldn't use Newcastle Private Hire vehicles as the vast majority will not have Newcastle Private Hire badges as that is the whole point of getting the Plate from Berwick .... they are getting their badges too without any knowledge test.

Therefore, if we had no Berwick Hack Plated vehicles working in Newcastle the amount of flimping would surely reduce - its got to.

We all know it goes on.....you just need to try and reduce it and look after the public.

Chris

I thought you guys in Newcastle were complaining that Ex Newcastle private hire drivers were obtaining hack plates from Berwick? Therefore it stands to reason that these same people would be be sitting outside night clubs etc regardless of what they had on the back of their vehicle. You can't convince anyone on here that private hire vehicles don't sit outside nightclubs in the larger cities and for you to say they don't do it in newcastle is an insult to our intelligence.

Therefore the plate on the back of the vehicle is meaningless, ask Any hack driver from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc etc etc.



Flimping as you call it is commonplace where I come from and its not from hack drivers licensed in other authorities its nearly always from private hire vehicles licensed by Manchester City Council and surrounding areas.



Of course we all know it goes on thats what makes your statement even more remarkable. If you wan't it to continue then support your local TOA because they are the ones who support the NTA policy of tinkering with legislation.

Get your guys up there to support a brand new taxi act and you might get somewhere.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Yes, that's what I said earlier about comparing the entry requirements for an HC in Berwick and comparing them with a PH in Newcastle.

The main differences will related to:

- badge requirements, eg knowledge, DSA

- vehicle requirements, eg age limits, size, colour

- license fees

Obviously which ones are encouraging drivers to shop around depends on their stringency.

For example, I doubt if £50 difference in license fees would be a huge factor, whereas a stiff knowledge test compared to none at all might be significant.

So we've established that Newcastle PH need a knowledge test while Berwick HCs don't?

How stiff is the Newcastle PH knowledge?

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

Its not a case of backing anything up Just a Dodo ............



What the fook has the GMB got to do with the actions of Newcastle City Council ................ you really are a sad fooker JD .................. please feel free to advise everyone of how the GMB are involved in any way shape or form in this action ................... or indeed this thread THAT YOU STARTED.




As you are quite obviously working towards helping this kind of activity, I will point out a single contravention to help you convince authorities with the same train of thought as Berwick Council, who do not properly accept the responsibility of operating the licensing function professionally, that you should be considered an "expert" in advising councils.

Berwick local bylaws state that no advertising can be displayed on, from or in a HC without the approval of the authority ................ vehicles operating outside of the borough are carrying advertising.

Its only one of many (indeed probably of least importance) but the fact remains they are not in a position to check these vehicles on any regular basis.

B. Lucky

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"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.