Call Sign March 2008 - Page 7 - ATM CASHPOINT TAXI BREAKTHROUGH?

Dial-a-Cab driver Paul Jenner (L19) has passed onto Call Sign an astonishing document from a licensed taxi driver who received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for waiting whilst his passenger went to an ATM machine because he did not have enough cash to pay the fare.
   The driver decided to appeal and went in person to Haymarket SW1 to put his case to an Adjudicator, in this instance to Mr Michael Nathan who is appointed to that position within Section 73(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1991.
   In Call Sign’s view, this sets a precedent that should be followed up. After hearing the driver put his case, Mr Nathan’s adjudication went as follows:
   "This is a personal hearing attended by the Appellant, who is a licensed London cab driver. The authority did not appear and was not represented. It is claimed that the Appellant stopped where prohibited on a red route or clearway outside 203 – 207 Earls Court Road on 18 May 2007 at 16:10 hours. The applicable restrictions prevent stopping at any time, with a loading exemption for a maximum of 20 minutes. This is not in dispute.
   The facts of this case are straightforward and have been clearly explained by the Appellant in his written evidence and at the hearing and supported by the Authority’s video evidence. The Appellant had been hired to take three passengers to Earls Court Road. Upon arrival, and not before, he learned they had no funds to pay him. He stopped in a red route loading bay and to enable

ATM CASHPOINT TAXI BREAKTHROUGH?

Could PCN's be a thing of the past for stopping at cashpoint machines?

them to pay the fare, two of the
passengers went to a nearby cash machine and then returned approximately 4 minutes later.
The Authority has helpfully provided a copy of the relevant traffic Management Order, The
Kensington and Chelsea Priority (Red) Routes (No.2) Traffic Order 2000, which provides at Article 9 that the (red route) controls do not apply in respect of a person causing a vehicle to stop if that person is using the vehicle under a licence under section 6 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 to stop for so long only as may be required to enable a passenger to get on or off the vehicle. They acknowledge that the Appellant falls within this exemption as a Hackney Carriage licence holder, but claim that the Appellant was not dropping off a passenger, but had stopped for an extended period.
It is an implicit and essential part of the contractual arrangement between a cab driver and his passenger that payment must be made at the

end of the journey. The
exemption recognises that a
passenger may get off the vehicle and, as this process must involve payment of the fare, a reasonable period must be allowed for the exiting and payment process. In this particular case, the Adjudicator finds that the period of four minutes was not unreasonable in all circumstances, and that the exemption therefore applied.
Accordingly the appeal is allowed."

Michael Nathan
Adjudicator appointed under Section 73(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1991
What the above means is that if your passenger tells you in advance that they need a cashpoint, it is up to the driver to find one where he can safely stop without restrictions. However, if the destination is arrived at and the passenger finds that he/she does not have enough funds, then a brief visit to an ATM to get the rest of the payment should not be penalised by a PCN.
Interesting times…

LEZ GOES LIVE!

Drivers going into London on 4 February from the suburbs suddenly noticed signs informing them that they were entering a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). From that day, all lorries weighing more than 12 tonnes had to meet Euro III emissions standards to avoid a Ł200 per day charge. Non-payment means a Ł1,000 penalty.
   From 7 July, the charges will apply to smaller lorries weighing between 3.5 and 12 tonnes together with buses and coaches. Being in force seven days a week, 24 hours every day, the hope is that the UK’s first LEZ will reduce air pollution in the capital.
   The registration numbers of large vehicles will be captured via CCTV and these will be checked against the DVLA database. Vehicles entering London from outside the UK will have to be registered with TfL to avoid the penalty charge. However, a TfL spokesperson told Call Sign that because many of the European lorries covered huge distances, most of the fleets were regularly replaced and were already compliant with the Euro III standard.
   October 2010 will see the LEZ extended to cover smaller diesel-engined vehicles and as of January 2012, emissions standards will be tightened even further to Euro IV. No coughing will be allowed at the London Olympics!
   The first day of the LEZ saw 22,000 vehicles over 12 tonnes entering the zone. Of those, 1,600 failed to meet the standards but were given an extra 28 days to retrofit or replace vehicles before the charges kick in. This period of grace wasn’t expected to be permanent.

Call Sign Home Page

Page 10