Call Sign December 2007 - Page 14 - BUS / TAXI LANE SENSATION…

The shocking development began when Dial-a-Cab driver Barry Spear (Y16) wrote to Call Sign attaching some photos he had taken of an out-of-town taxi from Sevenoaks using the M4 bus and taxi lane. Barry took offence at this and Call Sign said it would check to get official confirmation that no taxis other than those licensed for London could use them. So Editor Alan Fisher asked Transport for London to confirm that only London taxis could use London bus and taxi lanes. "I was shocked," said Alan "when they told me that any licensed taxi from anywhere in England or Wales could use our taxi lanes. I’d always believed that the opposite was the case and that if I was outside the Met area – Dartford for example - then I couldn’t use their taxi lanes. Yet according to TfL, I had been wrong all these years!" So Call Sign spoke to Luke Richard, the PCO’s Senior Strategy Integration Officer, to confirm that the TfL spokesperson had got her facts wrong. But no! They were correct and any licensed taxi from anywhere in England or Wales CAN use our taxi lanes – unless there is a specific sign saying London taxis only and we haven’t see many of them. Mr Richard was very helpful and gave us a full reply, stopping to	BUS / TAXI LANE SENSATION… Any taxi from anywhere in England or Wales can use them! *This Sevenoaks taxi is legally using the M4 bus / taxi lane*
	answer any questions we had along the way. But the end result hasn’t changed. Mr Richard told Call Sign: "The regulations for this are part of the national regulations, so whether the bus lane comes under TfL on a Red Route, the London boroughs as a normal bus lane, the Highway Agencies for the M4 or any authority outside of London that is responsible for the bus lanes, the national definition of the signs means that the word TAXI applies to any taxi licensed by any authority in England or Wales and they can use that bus and taxi lane. It does, of course, also mean that London taxi drivers can use bus and taxi lanes anywhere in England or Wales	too, provided the bus lane sign has just the word taxi on it. The definitions come from the various licensing acts – the 1846 act for outside of London and the 1869 act inside London. This applies only to taxis and NOT private hire who cannot use bus lanes." Call Sign went on to ask Luke about coaches using bus lanes and the answer was that yes, their licence is the equivalent to a Hackney Carriage and provided they are licensed for at least 8 passengers and the driver, they can use all bus lanes. This magazine is still shocked and doubts that many in the trade knew about the regulations and out-of-towners – but it’s true and now we all know…

WE’VE BEEN TELLING THEM FOR YEARS…

Congestion Charge Crooks become "cabbies!"

Call Sign – and in fact the trade press as a whole - have been telling everyone for over a year that London car owners are registering their vehicles as private-hire vehicles in order to evade the Ł8-per-day congestion charge. But it is only now that the national press and motoring magazines have picked up on it, that anyone is taking notice.
All that is needed is an Ł82 application fee plus a Ł27-per-yearly licence and easy medical, and car owners can claim exemption from the Ł8-per-day charge. And it isn’t just ordinary car owner and (!!!) window cleaners in their vans who have cottoned on to the scam – luxury car owner also seem to need the saved Ł8!
According to one respected motoring magazine, up to now an Aston Martin, two Maserati Quattroportes, 31 Bentleys, 18 BMW X5s, 52 Range Rovers, three Maybach 62s and eight Rolls-

Royce Phantoms are said to have been registered as
PH. And to prove how stupid the current regulations are, the same magazine claims that there are also eight Mercedes SL models currently registered as private-hire vehicles - yet these cars do not even have a back seat!
On behalf of Transport for London, it is the PCO’s job to track around 50,000 private hire vehicles. It can’t be easy, but as they seem to have ample staff to check out licensed taxis at various London ranks, we wonder whether they should be employed looking after the private hire section, who seem to have learned more tricks than we ever have in our 320 years! Because very soon, if the Mayor has his way, these same crooks will be using bus and taxi lanes and more than likely using our ranks!

Alan Fisher
Call Sign Editor

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