Licensing authorities remain responsible for ensuring that the drivers they license remain fit and proper throughout the period of the licence. Any complaints about a driver can be investigated by the authority responsible for issuing the licence, regardless of where the driver was working at the time.
If vehicles from neighbouring areas present a problem, licensing authorities can work together to take joint enforcement action against all vehicles and drivers licensed in their combined areas. For example, in Merseyside, five licensing authorities allow each other to enforce against all vehicles and drivers across all of their areas.
Legislation allows taxis to provide pre-booked journeys outside the area in which they are licensed, without a separate PHV licence. The Government considers that it is in the public interest to encourage taxis to accept fares that may take them out of the area in which they are licensed, for example to airports or train stations.
This concession has, in the past been open to abuse, with taxi drivers working predominantly accepting pre-booked fares outside the area in which they were licensed. The courts, while careful not to direct how a licensing authority should exercise its discretion to grant licences, have commented that it would be “difficult” to justify granting a taxi licence where a licensing authority knows the applicant has no intention of plying for hire in its area. It is the local licensing authority’s discretion as to whether or not to license such a vehicle, however to remain within the spirit of the legislation, the authority should consider the intended use of the licence.
Local licensing authorities are therefore able to address any local concerns that there may be about this issue. A number of local licensing authorities have already introduced a taxi ‘intended use’ policy when considering licence applications.
These policies are reducing the number of taxis working predominantly on pre-booked fares in other areas. If there are particular concerns in a specific area, these should be raised with the relevant licensing authorities.
Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament
6 comments:
But the public still use them.
If TfL don't act it's proof positive they are complicit
Uber don't have a pre-booking facility, it's been established that they are instantly hailed by the customer thru the app, bypassing their non existent operating center.
Caught with their hand in the till?
Who will carry the can on this ?
My guess is Emmerson will be hit by the buck 😂
I received this response this morning, and was flabaghasted. One issue i have is why there are only 10,000 signatures. That means less than half of all London cabbies have bothered. Also, Why would a TFL licenced PHV be sitting in Southend unless they were 'waiting' for a job, or more to the point, why would a PHV driver from Manchester be in London. However much they talk about Poober being pre-booked, it is not, so how do you stop a PHV from outside the area being in London, unless they have a pre-booked job (which they cant have)
With you on this Marcus, I read this blog with great interest although I am a Hackney driver in Bristol we all seem to be suffering at the hands of TFL and Uber. I signed the above petition and had the automated reply this morning, but like you I am surprised and disappointed with the amount of signatures considering there are approx 25000 of you in London!
My insurance is due for renewal this month and whilst chatting to my broker the cheapest renewal price couldn't be honoured as it increased on my working area postcode. My point is ( and one I made to the broker) , is if I'm being penalised for working in the central Bristol postcode as apposed to the one I live in how do the TFL licensed cars manage to have valid insurance for working in areas other than that where the license was issued? Seems like another grey area in this sorry state of affairs, so in the scenario that a TFL car has a major RTA in Bristol would the insurance company be entitled to wriggle out of the claim as the driver is working full time in an area that the car is not licensed in?
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