Taxi fare powers stay with council - Wigan Today

WIGAN revellers can continue to enjoy some of the cheapest taxi rides home in the county – despite changes to regulations on cabbies.

The new rules will give greater powers to council officials to work with other authorities but won’t remove their powers to set fares.

Council chiefs will also be able to continue to control the number of licensed taxis allowed to operate in its area, following new recommendation by the Law Commission.

Wigan Council’s director of environment Terry Dunn said the proposals do suggest freeing-up cross-border working for private hire vehicles.

Operators should no longer be limited to using drivers and vehicles from their own licensing area, the report says.

Nor should they be restricted to only inviting or accepting bookings within that licensing area or be restricted to only inviting or accepting bookings within that area.

Mr Dunn added: “Under the Commission’s recommended regulatory framework, licensing district boundaries lose much of their importance in relation to private hire vehicles.

“National standards for private hire, set by the Secretary of State following consultation, will ensure uniform standards.

“This will allow consumers to expect, as a minimum, the same level of safety and quality where ever they are and will remove the incentive for both taxi and private hire applicants to seek licences in an area with less exacting standards.”

The Commission’s draft Bill also defines a lawful private hire booking as one where the pick-up point and destination are recorded by the operator and where advance price information is available on request.

Customers will be able to continue to “approach or hail” a Hackney cabs for a journey beginning there with no need for arrangements in advance.

Although local authorities like Wigan will continue to administer licenses applied for in their area, they will do so on the basis of national standards, pointed our Mr Dunn.

It will have no discretion to vary the criteria for private hire vehicles and drivers licences.

Once licensed, providers will be able to work nationwide and find themselves subject to enforcement action by officers of any licensing authority.

Wigan has regularly topped nationwide for the best value taxis.

http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local/taxi-fare-powers-stay-with-council-1-6798381
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BRISTOL

Avonmouth Conservative Councillor Matt Melias is set to grill Mayor Ferguson over what measures can be taken to detect and deter taxi drivers currently operating illegally in the city.

The move follows reports that private-hire vehicles originating from outside of the area are openly competing for business with Bristol's own Hackney Carriages and private-hire cabs.

As a result, concerns have been raised within the trade that rogue operators are giving legitimate cabbies a bad name through overcharging customers, displaying a lack of local knowledge and driving effectively without proper insurance cover.

Now, Cllr Melias is raising this issue directly with the Mayor at the next Members' Forum, scheduled for Tuesday, 16th September 2014.

Cllr Melias (Con, Avonmouth & Shirehampton) said: "It is really important that the regulating Authority - Bristol City Council - gets a grip on this situation and nips it in the bud.

"This illegal trade is not only having an effect on the livelihoods of Bristol-based drivers, it also represents a real health and safety concern for the travelling public.

"I already have two constituents who allege that they have been on the receiving end of serious physical assaults by cab drivers.

"The night-time economy makes a significant contribution to the city's economic and cultural prosperity and anything that undermines or threatens this must be taken seriously.

"Professionals have suggested the best way forward in dealing with this menace, better or more rigorous enforcement, and I think we should trust their judgement and take this action.

"I am looking forward to hearing what the Mayor is doing to protect the Bristol Blue cabs brand and restore the confidence of customers."
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NEW YORK

City to sell 6,000 new green taxi permits

The city’s plan to more than double its fleet of popular green cabs has been given a green light, The Post has learned.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission this week began selling 6,000 permits for the next wave of lime-green cabs, which serve residents of upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

The new batch of street cabs will be added to the 6,000 or so green cabs currently rolling around underserved city neighborhoods, bringing the total up to 12,000, the TLC said.

Demand for the $3,000 permits was sky-high, according to a TLC spokesman, with a wait list of about 6,300 drivers hoping to get their hands on one.

The agency has plans to meet with hundreds of applicants this week, the spokesman added. If approved, the livery-car owners would be allowed to give their cars that trademark coat of green paint and equip them with credit-card readers.

The city was supposed to start doling out the permits in June but pushed back the date in order to engage more with stakeholders.

“We know that a lot of drivers are interested in the new permits and have been waiting patiently for us to start the second round of sales,” said TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi.

“And I know they’ve been popular with riders, so this is good news all around.”

The city said it plans to eventually release a third wave of green cabs sometime next year, bringing the fleet up to 18,000 with 50-percent wheelchair accessibility.

The first permits for 6,000 green cabs were issued by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg last year, to the delight of transportation starved residents.

Despite being a champion of the outer boroughs, Mayor de Blasio has been critical of the rollout of the green taxis, a position supporters link to the more than $350,000 in campaign funding he got from yellow-taxi interests during his run for mayor last year.

As public advocate, he worked with the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade’s failed attempt to stop Bloomberg’s plan to allow the green cabs to pick up passengers in outer boroughs.


Green cabs can only pick up hails in the outer boroughs and above East 96th and West 110th streets in Manhattan, while yellow cabs mostly serve Manhattan and the city airports.