Call Sign September 2010 Page 15 - RMT Visit Department for Transport...

Following a request from the Department For Transport (DfT), the RMT's London Taxi Branch recently attended a meeting with Paul Lowry, DfT's Director of Taxis/Private Hire Division at Great Minster House, Horseferry Road. Three delegates attended: Branch Chair John Kennedy, Vice Chair Paul Walsh, and Assoc. Branch Sec Dave Vidgen... M4 bus lane Top of the agenda was the M4 bus lane fiasco. John Kennedy opened up the discussion by reiterating the issue of John Griffin writing to Addison Lee drivers and actively encouraging them to break the law by telling them that should they get any tickets for using the bus lane, Addison Lee would pay them. This was increasing the risk of a serious accident with PH drivers pulling out of a slow moving lane into the faster moving bus lane. If this was done in front of one of the many large coaches used by companies like National Express, it could lead to a serious accident with many causalities and huge access problems for emergency services trying to reach the accident site. Paul Lowry then gave details of a study carried out as to who was actually responsible for enforcement on this stretch of highway. Although the Highways Agency is responsible for the upkeep and general control of the road, they are not an enforcement agency. It seems it is down to TfL and the Met Police to do this. TfL are carrying out research into what methods can be used for enforcement by cameras. Pedicabs The issue of Pedicabs was next on	DaC’s Eddie Lambert (V37) has sent Call Sign this report... RMT Visit Department for Transport...
	the agenda, with the accident in Scotland that lead to the death of a young man in Edinburgh brought up. It is the RMT's position that it is only due to the high level of congestion caused by pedicabs that there have not been more fatalities - not just in London, but other areas too that have become infested with these things. We added that we felt all accidents involving pedicabs should be recorded separately and not as, at present, under cycle accidents as this was making it very difficult to collect and collate details of incidents involving them. We also informed Mr Lowry that we would petition Parliament when the Bill moves back to the Commons. We believe that it is suicidal to any attempt to get these thing banned to agree with any form of licensing with a view to later trying to making a case for banning. Even if there were any merit in this stupid idea (which there isn't), the two taxi organisations adopting this position seem to forget that there will be other consequences that will not go away, even if the pedicabs (miraculously) did. Westminster and other local authorities are prepared to allocate highway space for pedicab ranks. Just look at the changes that have happened to Shaftesbury Avenue recently to see for yourself the preparations that have been made. Once these things gain this privilege (in order to ease traffic flow by moving them out of the actual road whilst looking for work), how long before the Road Tax, insured, CRB checked, income tax paying, licensed Private Hire sector with any number of legal eagles lining up behind them, demand parity at the very least? Once achieved, they will not give this up even if pedicabs are finally consigned to history or at the very least, the parks. John Kennedy then brought up the	DfT's own advice to HMG when the original bill was presented in 2005. This was that a proper licence scheme be put into place, but as this was not forthcoming the bill was pulled. This 2010 bill has no compulsion for rickshaw owners or riders to register, so we are in the same situation as 2005. Paul Lowry said the department would raise the issue with the London Minster. Satellite offices Satellite Offices (SO) were the next subject to come up. The blatant illegal touting that goes on within and outside clubs with satellite offices was mentioned, with the main problem being the allowing of PH vehicles to stand outside the premises creating a rank with no enforcement from the Met Police or any other authority that could move these vehicles on and/or issue tickets. There are many precedents of PH prosecutions with vehicles making themselves available for hire by parking on the public highway and we believe authorities should start taking action. Vocational licenses It also appears that the DfT would look favourably on the issue of Taxi drivers having a Vocational Licence similar to that held by the Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance Services so that endorsements gained whilst working would not appear on a drivers DVLA licence. Unfortunately this would then also be available to PH drivers as well. It's not certain at present how this would work, but we would expect at the very least that it would only be available to holders of a British driving licence of at least 2 years that had also passed a Driver Standards driving test as all London Hackney drivers do before passing out. Eddie Lambert (V37)

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