Major shake-up proposed for “out-of-touch” private hire licensing

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Sweeping changes to private hire licensing could be introduced under proposals set out by the Law Commission for England and Wales, which is reviewing the current laws relating to taxis and private hire vehicles.

Among proposed changes outlined in a consultation document are national standards for private hire licensing, and mandatory licensing of stretch limousines, bicycle rickshaws and motorcycle taxis as part of new national minimum safety standards.

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Addison Lee boss tells drivers - ‘I want you to use the bus lanes’

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PD-P8-John-GriffinADDISON LEE CHAIRMAN JOHN Griffin has told his drivers to use London’s bus lanes—a move that has sparked a furious response from Transport for London.

Griffin has written to its 3,500 drivers, promising to indemnify them against any fines they incur. He said legislation that allows black taxis to use the bus lanes but not minicabs is “anti-competitive” and wants to bring the matter to court.

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Mercedes-Benz launches new chauffeur website

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mercedes websiteMERCEDES-BENZ UK has launched a dedicated chauffeur website as part of a new campaign with support and specific offers, designed for the professional driver market.

Mercedes-Benz has also launched a special offer ona three-year S-Class S 350 BlueTEC L model Contract Hire rate of just £639 for chauffeur firms (six months’ advance rental plus 35 further payments). The package also includes complimentary products and services including a welcome pack, TRACKER vehicle recovery unit, and enhanced mobility support, highlighting the Mercedes-Benz’ commitment to the market.

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TfL outsources driver and operator licence management

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TRANSPORT FOR LONDON (TfL) has finally awarded an outsourcing contract to manage 160,000 licence records of taxis, taxi drivers, private hire opera- tors and private hire vehicles in the Capital.

The announcement was due five months ago, but now the £62.7 million contract has gone to to NSL Ltd, which will install a new computerised system to replace the outdated in-house IT operation that supports TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire Directorate (TPH). “Current operations are based largely on the use of hard-copy records, which severely limits operational efficiency,” said a TfL spokesman. 

TPH carries out field work activities to inspect the records of over 2,000 operators, as well as delivers on-street compliance activities for drivers and vehicles. NSL will now deliver an end-to-end IT system to support these services for 10 years, and TfL believes it will make the licensing process quicker and more effieicnt. 



Enhanced CRB check now applies to all drivers

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All Taxi licensing authorities can now request enhanced criminal record checks before issuing licences to taxi and private hire vehicle drivers, the Home Office has announced.

New rules came into force at the end of March, which mean licensing authorities can find out if someone is barred by the Independent Safeguarding Authority from working with children or vulnerable people before issuing a licence.

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BMW delivers first cars for Olympic fleet

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mercedes websiteGET USED TO THESE BRIGHTLY- coloured BMWs. If you work in London, you’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the Summer—they’ll be speeding past you in the dedicated Olympic “ZIL lanes” while you and your frustrated customers are stuck in a traffic jam.

These are the cars that BMW is supplying to the London Olympics as executive shuttles for athletes and dignitaries. More than 4,000 of the cars, including many BMW 3-series and 5-series saloons as well as smaller cars including electric and hybrid vehicles—have been liveried with the London 2012 logo. The overall fleet will achieve the Olympic organising committee LOCOG’s strict 120g/km CO2 emissions target, BMW says.

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