Taxi Driver Online

On the one hand, only eight cars checked. On the other, DVSA also involved, so the checks must have been slightly more than perfunctory. Presumably


Taxi safety checks help keep the public safe in Ribble Valley

https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/news/ar ... ble-valley

A joint operation by Ribble Valley Borough Council and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) saw officers carry out a pre-Christmas round of spot checks in Ribble Valley to ensure the safety

During the inspections, a total of eight hackney carriages and private hire vehicles were thoroughly examined, all of which met the required standard.

Councillor Ian Brown, chairman of the council’s licensing committee, said: “It’s great to see that in this case all the vehicles were up to the standards we would expect.

“The council and DVSA will continue to carry out regular inspections of licensed vehicles in the borough throughout the year to help ensure standards are kept high and passengers, and drivers, are kept safe.

The checks were carried out on Wednesday (17th December).

People using taxis over Christmas and New Year are reminded to take some simple safety checks of their own to ensure they get home safely.

● ‘Yellow plate’ private hire vehicles must be pre-booked. Only ‘blue plate’ hackney carriages can be flagged down or hired from a taxi rank and it is illegal for private hire vehicles to pick up passengers in the street, unless they are pre-booked

● Check drivers are wearing identification badges that have not expired

● Check the identity of drivers against photographs on identification badges

● Check that the vehicle is displaying licence plates at the back and on the left of the windscreen – if in doubt take a photograph of the plates

● Do not give personal details to drivers

● Agree private hire fees in advance with operators (hackney cab fees are set by the council)

If you suspect a taxi firm of operating without a licence, or a driver of driving without a licence or using an unlicensed vehicle, contact Ribble Valley Borough Council’s licensing team on 01200 414411 or email taxilicensing@ribblevalley.gov.uk.

For a change (maybe), the press rehash is actually framed *more* positively for the trade than the council's news release above. Or via the headline, at least, but of course the headline is always important in terms of framing the whole piece


Ribble Valley taxi check gets 100% pass rate

https://www.burnleyexpress.net/travel/r ... te-5449878

A joint operation by Ribble Valley Borough Council and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency saw officers carry out a pre-Christmas round of spot checks in Ribble Valley to ensure the safety and reliability of taxis in the area.

But, of course, the press has simply parroted the advice about checking badges etc.

I mean, either that won't happen at all (the vast majority of the time, no doubt). And in the unlikely event it does happen, checking expiry dates and photos likely to prove a bit awkward (particularly assuming drivers are required to wear the badges).

so only checked in Ribble valley but down the other end on the river over 100 checked

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Only testing 8 vehicles isn't that much of an effort IMO.

Perhaps they were also inspecting normal cars and vans.

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IDFIMH