London Minicab And Chauffeur Companies Bosses Simply Say "No"!

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London Minicab And Chauffeur Companies Bosses Simply Say "No"!

One of the items on the agenda to be discussed at last month's LPHCA (Licensed Private Hire Car Association) held at London Heathrow's Marriott Hotel, Bath road, was the consultation paper issued by the LTPH (London Taxi and Private Hire Directorate) formerly the PCO (Public Carriage Office).

Many issues were raised, discussed and ultimately rejected and here are the main items:

PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS PROPOSALS (including London chauffeurs, car service and minicab drivers)

NVQ training was suggested but turned down as being a "too expensive" an idea. A requirement of at least a three year UK residency was also turned down being that a lot of minicab companies in London are recruiting a lot of their taxi drivers from Eastern European agencies. This would not affect the London chauffeur companies so much and would in fact be appreciated by most due to the issues facing the industry. Certificates of good conduct issued in some countries are not worth the paper they are written on and in no way are they as good as the CRB (Criminal Record Bureau). A suggestion to have an enhanced driving test was also refused on similar grounds to the above ones but once again this may be necessary to be reviewed in the future. The banning of engaging in talk of sexual nature or flirting with passengers was completely refuted by Mr Wright the chairman of the LPHCA (Licensed Private Hire Car Association) on the grounds that this is an issue relating to touting and touts and not the legal minicab driver or chauffeur who is driving a client on a pre-booked journey. Additional ID was also rejected on the rounds of expenses and the fact that it didn't add any value to a pre-booked journey carried out by the London chauffeurs or minicab drivers.

PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES PROPOSALS (includes London's minicabs, executive sedans/saloons and chauffeur driven cars)

A suggestion to change the license disc and red route signage that allows the driver of a minicab or chauffeur driven car in London to use the bus lanes and red routes for the pickup and drop off was discussed but no decision was made being that there are big differences between the job a driver of a chauffeur driven Mercedes Benz S class or Rolls Royce Phantom does and that of a driver of a minicab or car service. The signage does not really befit the image and prestige of most chauffeur driven cars used in London such as the Range Rover Vogue, the Mercedes Benz S class, the Rolls Royce Phantom and both the Bentley Arnage and the Bentley Flying Spur.

It was suggested in the consultation paper that the private hire companies of London are to use only one type of car and that this car should have a single colour. There are 50000 private vehicles on the roads of London today and to have all of them changing to one colour or one make and model must be one of the most ludicrous suggestions the licensing authorities at TFL (Transport For London) could come up with. Once again, LTPH (London Taxi and Private Hire) are demonstrating clearly that they have clue as to how to distinguish between the need for a Mercedes Benz S class for a chauffeur driven client in Central London and a minicab or car service sedan / saloon that is just used for a simple transfer from the airport to the city center.

PRIVATE HIRE OPERATORS PROPOSAS (includes London minicab and chauffeur companies) "No" was once again was the answer coming from the panel of the London private hire and chauffeur companies owners sitting in the consultation when to the suggestion came up that all premises will need a planning permission to obtain a private hire license. A suggestion that all private hire operators should have a minimum of 10% of vehicles in their fleet with wheelchair access was also rejected on the ground that most private hire companies in London especially chauffeur companies may well have a lot of self employed drivers and therefore making it impossible to implement such an idea.

CRB checks for operators is to become a necessity in the future and it is surprising that the PCO (Public Carriage Office) didn't put this in their requirements from day one when the licensing of minicab offices and chauffeur companies started. By default, London private hire operators will be privy to so much confidential information about their clients including their address, credit card details and movements. Such information could be used by an unscrupulous operator who may have been in prison for fraud prior to becoming an operator. Joe Royle of the London MET police commended the support he has been given by the LPHCA (Licensed Private Hire Car Association) especially on the main task he and his force TOCU (Transport Operational Command Unit) are working on which is clearing the West End of London from any illegal activities such as touting for private hire passengers. He mentioned that that LPHCA has been a critical friend and that the 1300 arrests last year would not have been possible had it not been intelligence led with the help of the LPHCA. In August 99 touts were arrested in the West End of London and 82 were found guilty of the offences. TOCU 1300 arrests in 12 months , 99 charged in august

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