|
PCO, yellow badge
drivers and radio circuits (continued)…
Judging by the comments I’ve received,
many of you read my article last month
concerning the PCO’s position on
suburban drivers and radio taxi
circuits. Basically, I passed on to you
what the PCO had informed me; that is,
in the future any suburban driver that
was a member of a radio circuit could
pick up in town (if that job was
obtained via the radio) and take the
passenger anywhere they asked for,
providing the radio circuit had
previously registered as a Private Hire
company.
As you could probably tell from the tone of my article, I was
totally opposed to the philosophy, so
much so that I actually read the
legislation. I must point out that I am
no legal expert, but the Private Hire
Vehicles (London) Act 1998 states in
sections 10 and 11 that a vehicle
undertaking a Private Hire booking,
should display a Private Hire licence!
It also prohibits any vehicle equipped
with a taximeter from undertaking a
Private Hire booking.
Consequently, I was at a loss to
understand how the PCO’s proposals could
be implemented without a change in
primary legislation? A letter was
written to the PCO to that effect,
however, they had also read my article
and were in the process of corresponding
with me - and it would appear that our
communications ‘crossed’. Anyway, the
PCO informed me that contrary to my
article, they had not ‘decided’ on the
above course of action but were merely
‘considering’ it. As this topic is now
in the public domain having subsequently
read about it in other trade
publications who had taken up this story
after it appeared in Call Sign,
my guess is that this topic will not
progress any further unless there is a
change in legislation – something I
doubt will happen.
Finally, I would like to apologise to the PCO for entering this
topic into the public domain before they
had actually ‘decided’ to do it!
However, if it stops the above scenario
from proceeding any further, then I must
say I am extremely pleased…
Roy Ellis
Roy Ellis, Principal Officer at the PCO,
is due to retire in October this year. I
have had many dealings with Roy over the
years and have always found him to be
honest, with a good understanding of our
business. We have not always agreed on
every topic we’ve discussed, but
everything was always conducted in a
very amicable and professional manner.
As Roy is now retiring, I can go into
print with my views as I cannot be
accused of seeking any favours for
Dial-a-Cab! I just hope the new lady at
the PCO, Mary Dowdye - the new Head of
Standards and Regulations - enjoys as
much respect within the industry as Roy
commanded. Roy’s number two, Sandy
Kennedy, retired earlier this year so we
are at the beginning of a new era.
Finally I would like to wish Roy a very happy retirement and hope
that both he and his wife Geraldine
enjoy their extra time together. No
doubt our paths will cross in the
future, as I do not believe a man with
his experience will be allowed to fade
away, after all, he is still a young man
– good luck Roy. |
Pedicabs and the Tuk–Tuks
I have always
felt that our industry was making a big
issue regarding Pedicabs, when I felt
that they did not propose any real
threat to our livelihoods. Yes I will
agree they are a nuisance in the West
End, especially when the theatres ‘turn
out’ and they are parked across
pavements preventing public access – but
did they really take much work from us?
Did people really hire them to go from
the West End to Chiswick or Stratford?
However, I have now changed my mind
because in Brighton they have introduced
the Tuk-Tuk, which is basically a
motorised rickshaw or the big brother to
the pedicab.
I am now becoming concerned that the Pedicab could be replaced by
the Tuk-Tuk, which could then be a real
threat to our business with Private Hire
companies doing the longer rides and
Tuk-Tuk’s the shorter ones – so where
would that leave us?
We will be watching the outcome closely in Brighton and then take a
view on what should be the appropriate
course of action.
New Building
Just to keep you informed regarding our
new building, we have now employed the
services of an independent company to
act as Project Manager to oversee the
construction and move to the new
premises. We are now in a position where
we will be inviting companies to tender
for our business and I must say that I
am rather looking forward to that little
exercise as normally the boot is on the
other foot and we are tendering for
business! Hopefully by the next issue of
the magazine, the successful contractor
will have been selected.
Who’s who in
touting?
Earlier this month, the PCO released
figures regarding ‘Touting and
Associated Matters’ for the period
January 2004 to July 2006. They make
shocking reading, but it is the tip of
the iceberg because as we all know,
hundreds of misdemeanours are committed
every weekend. However, my biggest
concern regarding the figures is that
they apply to ‘Holders of, Private Hire
or Taxi Driver Licences’ so it would
appear that the authorities have
included any misdemeanours from within
our industry to be included with the
Private Hire industry. And that, in my
opinion, is totally incorrect, they
should be separated. However, I
have decided to publish the information
as I would be extremely surprised if the
figures contained a high proportion of
Taxi Drivers – let’s hope I am not
proven wrong!
During the above period, the Metropolitan Police Service
|
including Transport Operational Command
Unit (TOCU) notified the PCO of
2437 cases involving convictions /
cautions for ‘touting’ and associated
matters. Of these, 1095 related to
applicants for, or holders of, Private
Hire or Taxi Driver Licences or Private
Hire temporary permits. The Licensing
Authority has considered the fitness of
these to be, or remain, licensed.
Of the 1095 cases considered:
145 resulted in revocation of the
licence / temporary permit
593 licences / temporary permits were suspended
142 individuals were issued with a warning
46 applications were refused
169 had no further action taken. For example, they had withdrawn
their application; it had been abandoned
by the PCO; the licence had previously
been revoked.
As I wrote earlier, I believe the vast majority of the above
applies to Private Hire driver’s ie
temporary permits etc, but it would be
nice to know for certain. If my
suspicions are proven to be correct, can
you just imagine how the problem would
be exacerbated by the introduction of
exterior signage on Private Hire
vehicles? The authorities should heed
these figures and deny the Private Hire
industry the right of exterior signage –
the price in public safety would be
enormous!
Ed’s note: After receiving the Chairman’s report, I emailed the PCO
and they confirmed that the number of
Licensed Taxi drivers referred to were
indeed in a tiny minority with just 13
out of
that 1095 total being directly linked to
the licensed taxi trade. As a result, I
have written an official complaint to
the PCO re the press release…
ComCab and the LTDA
Over the years, I have had a few public
disagreements with my colleagues Steve
McNamarra and Barry Hooper of the LTDA,
but we all get on very well and
hopefully there is some mutual respect -
well there is from me. Of course, I do
understand their position when they take
a different view to me on some topics
because although we are in the same
trade, we undertake differing jobs.
However, I really do feel for them at
the moment because I know that both
Barry and Steve are very anti-Private
Hire - and so they should be for men in
their positions. So I can only imagine
the embarrassment they must have felt
when it was announced that City Fleet,
which also owns ComCab, have purchased a
minicab company in Docklands called
FlightLink. As you probably know, the
LTDA own a 20% stake in ComCab who
subsequently come under the same
umbrella as FlightLink! So as I say, it
must all be very embarrassing for them!
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
