Taxi Driver Online

A few more questions for you gentlemen, if you would be so kind.

Firstly, is it legal for a person, or establishment, to request several Private Hire vehicles to their premises, who are then expected to queue up and wait, without knowing who they are booked for, or where they are going?

Secondly, is there a legal definition of a "pre-booked job"??

Lastly, if a private hire drops a customer, is immediately approached by a member of the public, who the rings appropriate company, can this be seen to be legally pre-booked in any way, and therefore the driver can take them??

1. Yes

2. A pre booked job is exactly what it states ie "pre booked".

3. No but some would say yes, so you pay your money and take your chance. See case law on TDO.

Our resident BTEC experts will point you in the right direction to the answers you require us mere mortals have not yet reached the BTEC standard requirement.

Regards

JD

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Yes, but it's worth looking at what the ops licensing conditions say i.e. whether customer's names need to be on the booking, and if the destinations need to be given at the time of booking.

If you don't know who you are picking up, then you wont know their names and their destinations.

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IDFIMH

I think a case for touting could be made, as the only reason the driver has been approached is because he must have looked like a taxi.

I think if the punter talks to the driver then that's not pre-booked, and the only way he is going to know the name/number of the driver is if the driver gives them to him. Else how will the base know which driver to give the job to.

Finally keep banging on.

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IDFIMH

suppose it went like this

ring ring, can i have 7 taxis at Red Lion in the name of Smith going to...

so as each PH picks up their unknown customer, the driver will then ask name and where are you going, then blow it in to the office, the driver who picks up the person named Smith must be the only legal one

when ever we got jobs like that we would try and seek out the person who made the call to do the block booking. they, after all, are the person who made the booking, and it is up to them who we take and where.

I think in that case it would be ok cos the booking is immediate. The fact that not all punters would be called Smith shouldn't matter.

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IDFIMH

Yet again the council are trying to find a way of making PH ranking up at various locations locally "legal".

To play devils advocate then, if a club, or any other establishment, has only to say that vehicles of whatever type are there "by invitation" or "block booked", then they are they legally able to rank up?? - surely not.

The "glassworks" scenario, for example, could be put to rest if someone (I presume it could be anybody?) simply asks for all available PH to pick up from there??

How about I call several local PH firms and ask them to pick up everyone from, say, Brighton station??

Anyone can invite anyone onto their land, but that doesn't excuse them from the 1976 act.

If a firm books through a licensed operator, say, 50 vehicles to take their customers home, then that might seem to be ok.

However if these vehicles are licensed Arun PH, then they have to adhere to their licensing conditions which are as I said in a previous post i.e. name, time, who booked, destination, car doing the job etc.

http://www.arun.gov.uk/assets/taxi/appl ... icence.pdf

These have to be done before the punter gets in IMO, not afterwards.

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IDFIMH

Thanks Sussex - you have just made a key point, and I hope the penny has finally dropped with me!

In effect, the driver should know the who, what, when, where, and how before even making contact with the customer.

Talking at the car window to sort out a journey would not make this a legitimate booking, as there is certainly no prior proper record (which if pre-booked there would have to be), it is not being made through a booking office, and obviously not properly logged as well.

"Blowing in" the job will not be legal either, therefore operating like this cannot in anyway be compliant with 1976 regs', as I see it now?

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Well that may make it legal, but when you are dealing with pi**ed up, drugged up punters, it seldom happens.

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IDFIMH

can you be held guilty of "touting" if on private property? i thought it only applied to the public highway and areas

Hi wannabeeahac,

My (limited) understanding of this is that Section 167. Of the CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER ACT, 1994, [Touting for taxis and hire cars] specifically addresses this issue.

In short, its illegal to tout in a "public place", which also means on private land.

I believe the Eastbourne court ruling (see elsewhere on this site for both legislation details) also covers this from the plying for hire aspect in a public place, private land not being an "excuse".

I hope this helps.
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DocG

I only wondered, wouldnt do it, but the question of the booking as you drop off "are you free mate" (yeah, ring the office, its on divert to my mobile) is open to abuse and mis-interpretation

i once worked on a circuit who covered work in the next borough, even sending 5 cars to cover the work, i used to see that as an infringement in some ways, but radios+telephones know no boundaries

t'internet is even worse!