Taxi Driver Online

You mean like the London Minicab trade pre-licensing?

They managed to loose 20'000 drivers within the year.

Now they just import them by the thousand from area's that have no means of checking previous criminal behaviour.

Well they only have 4 weeks if they want to do get licensed properly, or even do it less properly via PSV, and I think we know far more are still unlicensed than licensed. And in my area not one has approached the council.

Why do you think that is the case if they have nothing to hide?

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IDFIMH

A lot of limo owners are not even aware of the changes that are taking place. I have spoken to 2 this week who hadn't a clue. There are upwards of 5,000 limo operators in the UK. I doubt that more than 1,000 are even aware yet of the changes. You say that none have approached your local council yet. Have the council approached any of them yet to advise them of the need to license? Is your council one of the ones that will license limos? How many of the limo company's in your area are licensed by VOSA?

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Grandad,

So how many limos are operating under the contract exemption that is about to come to an end?

As a proportion of the whole, not that many, I suspect.

And I further suspect that where the LA does acquiesce to allow a limo to operate under the exemption then the whole thing is such a sham that it's possible that the ending of the exemption will be largely ignored and thus will make no practical difference.

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

If they don't get a license of some sort they will be open to prosecution so they either get one, or go out of business.

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.

I might add that many of these limo companies will try and circumvent the legislation by operating wedding contracts as they do now. The DfT made a mistake by not closing that loophole too.

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.

The special events license that some councils now use would have been an answer to many of the licensing issues. It would have meant that wedding and funeral cars could have been licensed in much the same way as private hire.
I don't think that there will be many limo company's rushing to get licensed and until one of the big ones gets prosecuted and the story is splashed all over the tabloids, I don't think many will be worried about it. I and many others have spent years trying to get operators to license but some just don't want to. It is not because they can't it is usually because the don't want to part with their money. I won't have any sympathy with any of the ones that do get prosecuted but I don't think it will happen soon.

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Grandad,

There are many operating on wedding contracts and I'm surprised the DfT didn't realise this when they proposed the amendments. They only have themselves to blame because like you, I don't think there will be a big rush to license while such loopholes are still available.

I suppose we will see lots of limos flying around at weekend nights all carrying wedding parties. lol

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.

Perhaps the thing about wedding contrat exemptions is that it could be enforceable if the powers that be put their mind to it, whereas the more general contract hire exemption was a bit more of a loophole, a la Pink Ladies et al.

Thus the problem with the wedding exemption is less that's it's a loophole than that there's no meaningful attempt at enforcement.

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

when are we gonna sort this trade out ???

Your quite right, the biggest loophole was the seven day contract exemption but in theory in respect of limo type vehicles they can operate wedding contracts seven days a week. If you recall in a previous thread I mentioned that I was told I could hire a 16 seater limo under a wedding contract by an outfit in Style Cheshire. It appears to me that these limo operators are not going to give up the opportunity to carry 16 passengers just because the Government removed the seven day contract exemption. It also appears to me that very little will change and you will still have near as many limos running around unlicensed as you did before the legislation was changed.

I suppose the proof in the pudding will be extracted after the 28 January.

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 that's their problem, and I look forward to seeing many of them in court. In the same way as I look forward to seeing unlicensed taxi/PH in the dock as well.

But the main difference between the taxi/PH trade and elements of the Limo trade is that the taxi/PH trade have long campaigned to rid their trade of the shysters and their like.

From what I see of the Limo trade, they are hell bent on keeping their shysters in their system.

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IDFIMH

The 7 day contract exemption applies to up to 8 seaters doesn't it? Councils can't license over 8 seats. 16 passenger vehicles don't have a "wedding exemption" do they? 16 seaters have to either be pcv licensed or self drive.

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Grandad,

I'm very lucky with my relationship with my LOs.

And I know that they have checked out the yellow pages etc, checked out a number of websites, and have written to many unlicensed folks pointing out that the 28th of January comes between the 27th and the 29th.

I'm not 100% sure, but I suspect the local postman hasn't hurt his back delivering their replies.

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IDFIMH

You could always become an enforcement officer and then you could do exactly what the law allows. Until then YOU can do nothing but report what you consider to be breaches in the way company's operate to either VOSA or the LA.

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Grandad,