News broke over the weekend that the DVSA were going to scrap the Taxi driver test as from December 2016.
Yes, you heard it right, after many years of calls for a more level playing field regarding the standard of driving for Taxi and private hire drivers, the DVSA, instead of calling for all private hire drivers to undertake the same driving standard requirement, have decided to scrap the Taxi driver test altogether.
Over 200 Local Authorities have mandated the DVSA test as a requirement for Taxi drivers Licence.
The DVSA have a captive market for this.
TfLTPH put out this statement on social media, today:
'We have been advised by DVSA that they will stop delivering taxi driving tests on 31 December....
A driving test will still be a licensing requirement, but they will no longer be provided by the DVSA.'
On Tuesday, TfLTPH put out a notice that the Licensed Taxi rank at the Tate Modern, installed at a cost met from the licence fee of Licensed Taxi drivers.....would be suspended to assist the dropping off of passengers arriving for he GQ magazine awards, an event attended by Mayor Sadiq Khan.
TfL's sign, being unsigned has no legal standing.
A notice was also attached to the rank post.
What happened next was absolutely disgraceful. Far from being a place where attendees could be dropped off, it turned into a toutfest of unbooked PHVs. Taxis were stopped by marshals from using the rank, which was being used by private hire cars as a private hire rank.
While minicabs took control of the rank directly outside the main exit point if the venue, Taxis had to queue in Great Guilford Street.
The whole situation became a shambles as pre booked PH vehicles were blocked in by packs of touts. No compliance officers were visable at the location to stop the illegal plying for hire, but in a bid to save face, TfLTPH put out this series of tweets
We would stress at this point that although previously informed by TfL, not one representative from the Licensed Taxi orgs connected to the Joint Ranks Committee bothered to turn up and check out the proceedings. The unfolding saga was documented quite clearly on social media throughout the evening and into the early morning.
A colleague of Taxi Leaks phoned LTDA's Richard Massett Wednesday afternoon, for clarification on what had transpired the previous night at the Tate Modern.
Executive committee member Massett, also chair of the Joint Ranks Committee, said he had been informed of the notice to suspend the rank, but had no idea what had happened.
Is this the best we can expect to get, after paying money to this org, to represent our best interests?
EXTRA COMMENT:
For those who find the DVSA decision confusing, this from the NPHA
Dear Members:
We sent you an email earlier today concerning the fact that we have had confirmation, from both the Department for Transport and the DVSA, that taxi assessments will not be conducted after 31 December. Any bookings made and a slot allocated before that date will go ahead.
There seems to be some confusion on this point: the DVSA test is for taxi driving; nothing to do with vehicle testing. Those of you whose councils already mandate the DVSA taxi driving test will know exactly what we’re referring to.
As far as vehicle testing is concerned, that is still very much a local issue regulated by local conditions on the vehicle licence.
No doubt licensing authorities will be considering how to account for this development in their policies over the coming weeks. If your licensing authority currently mandates the DVSA taxi driving test as a pre-condition of being granted a taxi or PHV licence – or indeed requires this for existing licence holders as well – you may wish to approach the council and make enquiries as to their future plans and requirements.
As always, we welcome your reaction and input on this matter; we have endeavoured to advise you as soon as we got confirmation.
Thank you for keeping in touch.
Best regards,
Donna D Short (Mrs)
Director/Company Secretary
National Private Hire Association
9 comments:
Deregulation by administrative action, no need fo parliament! No chance of you having a say.
This and the shameful episode at Tate Modern, it's 5 minutes from Palestra yet LTPH couldn't task her staff, no doubt aware of the Limey issues, far better to protect the public on 'badge and bill'.
As stated by Whiff of Scandal we need to take the peg off the nose of politicians to the stench at TfL.
this article's headline says, STEALTH
there is NO stealth, it's being done OPENLY
in front of our eyes
under our noses
we're just lambs being led to the slaughter
with those in authority, getting their fat pay cheques & laughing at us
we may have stood a chance, if we'd headed the old maxim:
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL
It seems that now the taxi drivers are confused as to the difference between them and private hire drivers and appear to accept they are one and the same.
DVSA are going to scrap the Taxi driver test as from December 2016. No mention regarding private hire drivers.
If you have already passed a Class B driving test in the UK through the DVSA to drive, why would you need to be assessed to drive a taxi which is within the same Class B classification? The enforcement for a Class B driving test should be imposed on those who have not been tested by the UK DVSA but that of another country whose standards may be lower than that of the UK.
PH in London have never had to take a driving test or answer questions on the highway code and they never will!
One thing is certain, things will only get worse under the stewardship of Shifty Khanage!
Penny not dropped,Government want the Hackney trade nationwide gone & filled by a deregulated Phv business on Apps with plenty of drivers on 0 hours working,said before when Boris said all taxi's from 1/1/2020 have to be 0 emmission he meant that's the last day of the job.
Be very aware low grade migrant's are taking your family's future.
Jim for any sign to be legal it must be signed (Fact ) Its not good enough or legal to just put taxi and interchange blah blah .someone has to be accountable it shows best practice otherwise you can ignore the signage from tfl .
Have a good Day .
London Boy
How bloody depressing!!! The trade is doomed only a matter of time until the knowledge is scrapped, it's invitable,Tfl will no longer be able to justifie tax payers money for examiners wages pension ect ..
In the USA there are many satisfied customers of the Uber hail and ride app service and I have a line of Family members & who have all kinds of experiences with uber and must share this one with you.
On leaving a late night restaurant/bar in Colorado, a friend of mine pressed her uber phone app, & within 5 minutes a vehicle was besides her.
On her way home a conversation started with her and the driver, a tired young man who still expected to work another 5 hours, He had been working all day and need the extra money to top up his salary before he started another days shift later that day, curious to know what his full time job was, my friend asked him.... and to her astonishment he replied "A Doctor" ... an intern finalising his qualifications before he gained status.
My friend knows so many people in the USA who have worked 1 week..to...3 months before realising they simply cannot make ends meet & quit uber and move on, and this is in the USA where putting it simply...taxis are generally crap,
So London Cabs keep up the fight on the high standards we are known all over the world for,to deplete the long line of cheap unsustainable labour who will work for peanuts and still sign on at the end of week for top up benefits on our state, and lets hope all parasitic middlemen will get eventually get their fingers burnt on the free loading financial investments they have made by encouraging cheap migration purely for gain and creating misery on the poor who work long hours and in the end with nothing whilst Uber stocks swish around in cartoon land for the faceless exploiters which is exactly what they are.
Be Lucky
greenbadgejohn
why cannot i have two cc, i have a spare wheel, a spare key, jump leads. more then one pound coin,even a hat, so come on get a life we carry spares, brian wigley,
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