HACKNEY CARRIAGE

AND

PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS

CONDITIONS OF LICENCE

January 2016
Conditions to Hackney Carriage Driver's Licence

Hackney Carriage Drivers are required to comply with the following conditions of licence as required by the Council's Hackney Carriage Byelaws, The Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

Hackney Carriage Byelaws

  1. Display of Hackney Carriage Licence Plates
    A driver of a hackney carriage shall:

a)not wilfully or negligently cause or suffer any such number to be concealed from public view while the carriage is standing or plying for hire;

b)not cause or permit the carriage to stand or ply for hire with any such painting, marking or plate so defaced that any figure or material particular is illegible.

  1. Use of Taximeter
    The driver of a hackney carriage provided with a taxi meter shall:

a)when standing or plying for hire, keep the key, flag or other device fitted in pursuance of the byelaw locked in the position in which no fare is recorded on the face of the taximeter;

b)as soon as the carriage is hired by distance, and before beginning the journey, bring the machinery of the taximeter into action by moving the said key, flag or other device, so that the word "HIRED" is legible on the face of the taximeter and keep the machinery of the taximeter in action until the termination of the hiring;

c)cause the dial of the taximeter to be kept properly illuminated throughout any part of a hiring that is during the hours of darkness, as defined for the purposes of the Road Transport Lighting Act 1957, and also at any other time at the request of the hirer;

d)a driver of a hackney carriage shall not tamper with or permit any person to tamper with any taximeter with which the carriage is provided, with the fittings thereof, or with the seals affixed thereto.

  1. Conduct of Driver

a)The driver of a hackney carriage shall, when plying for hire in any street and not actually hired;

i)proceed with reasonable speed to one of the stands fixed by the byelaw in that behalf;

ii)if a stand, at the time of his arrival, is occupied by the full number of carriages authorised to occupy it, proceed to another stand;

iii)on arriving at a stand not already occupied by the full number of carriages authorised to occupy it, station the carriage immediately behind the carriage or carriages on the stand and so as to face in the same direction;

from time to time when any other carriage immediately in front is driven off or moved forward cause his carriage to be moved forward so as to fill the place previously occupied by the carriage driven off or moved forward.

Under Section 63 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, he stands appointed by the Council for hackney carriages are as follows:

Description / number of
carriages
Corporation Street (Main Rank) / 19
Bolebridge Street (west side) the head of the rank being 18 metres south of the junction of Bolebridge Street and George Street / 4
PART - TIME RANKS
Part time rank - 8.00pm to 3.00am
Lower Gungate the head of the rank to be positioned between 49 and 51Lower Gungate / 4

b)A driver of a hackney carriage, when standing or plying for hire, shall not, by calling out or otherwise, importune any person to hire such carriage and shall not make use of the services of any other person for the purpose.

c)The driver of a hackney carriage shall behave in a civil and orderly manner and shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of person conveyed in or entering or alighting from the vehicle.

d)The driver of a hackney carriage shall not at any time when in his vehicle smoke tobacco or like substance.

e)Play a wireless set, except with the consent of the hirer.

f)The driver of a hackney carriage who has agreed or has been hired to be in attendance with the carriage at an appointed time and place, shall unless delayed or prevented by some sufficient cause, punctually attend with such carriage at such appointed time and place.

g)The driver of a hackney carriage when hired to drive to any particular destination shall, subject to any directions given by the hirer, proceed to that destination by the shortest available route.

h)A driver of a hackney carriage shall not convey or permit to be conveyed in such carriage any greater number of person than the number of persons determined by the Council and specified on the plate attached to the outside of the carriage.

i)If a badge has been provided by the Council and delivered to the driver of a hackney carriage he shall, when standing or plying for hire, and when hired, wear that badge in such position and manner as to be plainly visible.

j)The driver of a hackney carriage so constructed as to carry luggage shall, when requested by any person hiring or seeking to hire that carriage:

i)convey a reasonable quantity of luggage;

ii)afford reasonable assistance in loading and unloading;

iii)afford reasonable assistance in removing it to or from the entrance of any building, station, or place at which he may take up or set down such person.

k)Every driver of a hackney carriage who knowingly conveys in the carriage the dead body of any person shall immediately thereafter notify the fact to the Medical Officer of Health.

l)The driver of a hackney carriage shall not permit the exhibition of any advertisement in or upon such carriage, unless it shall have been previously approved by the Council.

  1. Rate of Fares to be Paid for Hackney Carriages within the District
    The proprietor or driver of a hackney carriage shall be entitled to demand and take for the hire of the carriage the rate of fare which may from time to time be prescribed by the Council in accordance with the provisions of Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
  1. Display of fare rates in the Licensed Vehicle
    The driver of a hackney carriage bearing a statement of fares in accordance with this byelaw shall not wilfully or negligently cause or suffer the letters or figures in the statement to be concealed or rendered illegible at any time while the carriage is plying or being used for hire.
  2. Lost Property
    The driver of a hackney carriage shall, immediately after the termination of any hiring or as soon as practicable thereafter, carefully search the carriage for any property which may have been accidentally left therein.
  1. The driver of a hackney carriage shall, if any property accidentally left therein by any person who may have been conveyed in the carriage be found by or handed to him:

b)carry it as soon as possible, and in any event within 48 hours if not sooner claimed by or on behalf of its owner, to the office of the Council, and leave it in the custody of the officer in charge on being given a receipt for it;

c)be entitled to receive from any person to whom the property shall be re-delivered an amount equal to five pence in the pound of its estimated value (or the fare for the distance from the place of finding to the office of the Council, whichever be the

greater) but not more than five pounds.

  1. Penalties for Contravention of Byelaws

Every person who shall offend against any of these byelaws shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding Level 1 and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding two pounds for each day during which the offence continued after written notification of the offence.

Requirements of Licence under Town Police Clauses Act 1847

  1. Driving Whilst Unlicensed
    No person shall act as the driver of any licensed hackney carriage without being the holder of a current hackney carriage driver's licence issued by the Council. Any person contravening this requirement is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
  1. Refusal to Carry the Prescribed Number
    A driver may not refuse to carry in the vehicle any number of passengers up to the maximum permitted by the vehicle licence and marked on the licence plate attached to the vehicle.
  1. Refusal to Drive
    A driver may not, without reasonable excuse, refuse to drive any hirer of the vehicle to any place within the area of Tamworth Borough. A driver contravening this requirement will, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.
  1. Demanding more than the Agreed Fare
    A driver who by prior arrangement with the hirer agrees to carry out any hiring for less than the rate of fare prescribed by the Council shall not demand more than the agreed fare.
  1. Agreement to Pay more than the Legal Fare
    No agreement between the hirer and driver to pay more than the rate of fare prescribed by the Council shall be binding on the hirer, who may refuse to pay any amount over and above the prescribed fare, or any hirer, having paid the additional fare, may, on complaint to a Magistrate, be entitled to receive back the additional fare.
  1. Agreements to Carry Passengers a Discretionary Distance for a Fixed Sum
    If the driver agrees to carry a hirer a distance at the discretion of the driver, for a fixed sum, the driver is not permitted to carry the hirer for a distance less than the hirer would have been entitled to travel according to the rates prescribed by the Council, for the sum agreed.
  1. Deposits for Hackney Carriages required to Wait
    When the hirer of a hackney carriage requires the driver to drive to any place and wait for him there, the driver in addition to the fare for the journey to the place, may demand from the hirer, in advance, the fare prescribed by the Council for the period of time he is requested to wait, but if the driver goes away or permits the carriage to be taken away before the expiration of the time for which the deposit has been paid, the driver is guilty of an offence.
  1. Penalty for Overcharging
    Any driver convicted of taking from a hirer more than the rate of fare prescribed by the Council shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
  1. Persons Riding with the Consent of the Hirer
    The driver may not allow any person to ride in the carriage without the consent of the hirer.
  2. No Unauthorised Person to Act as Driver
    The driver may not permit any other person, whether licensed or not, to act as driver of the hackney carriage, without the consent of the proprietor of the carriage.
  1. Carriages Left Unattended in any Street or Public Place

The driver must not leave the carriage unattended in any street or public place.

20. Obstruction of Other Hackney Carriages
The driver shall not position the hackney carriage vehicle opposite or alongside any other

hackney carriage so as to obstruct any hackney carriage or hinder the setting down or taking

up of passengers.

Requirements under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976

21. Production of Licence on Request

The driver of any hackney carriage licensed by the Council shall at the request of any

authorised officer of the Council or of any police constable, produce for inspection his driver's

licence either forthwith or:

b)in the case of a request by an authorised officer, at the principal offices of the council before the expiration of the period of five days beginning with the day following that on which the request is made;

c)in the case of a request by a constable, before the expiration of the period aforesaid at any police station which is within the area of the council and is nominated by the driver when the request is made.

If any person without reasonable excuse contravenes the provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence.

  1. Suspension or Revocation of Licence
    The driver shall on suspension or revocation of the hackney carriage driver's licence, return to

the council, on demand, the hackney carriage driver's licence. Failure to do so will on

conviction incur a maximum fine of level 1 of the standard scale.

  1. Fares for Long Journeys

Where the hackney carriage is hired for a journey ending outside the area of Tamworth

Borough and where no fare or rate of fare was agreed before the hiring commenced, the driver

shall not demand for the fare more than the rate of fare prescribed by the council and shown on

the vehicle taximeter.

  1. Fares for Hackney Carriages Used for Private Hire
    If the hackney carriage is used for a private hire booking, the driver shall not charge for that hiring a fare more than the fare rates prescribed by the Council and the fare shall be calculated from the point in the district at which the hirer commences his journey.
  2. Prolongation of Journeys
    The driver shall not, without reasonable cause, unnecessarily prolong the distance or the time

of the journey for which the hackney carriage has been hired.

26. Obstruction of Authorised Officers
The driver shall not:

a) obstruct any authorised officer or constable carrying out hackney carriage licensing

enforcement.

b) without reasonable excuse fail to comply with any properly made requirement of such

authorised officer or police constable.

d) without reasonable excuse fail to give such authorised officer or constable such

assistance or information as may be reasonably required in the performance of his

duties.

27. Convictions

The driver shall, within 7 days, notify the Council in writing of any criminal or motoring

convictions imposed on him/her during the period of the licence. The notification shall

contain the following details:

a)Nature of offence.

b)Date of Conviction.

c)Court where heard.

d)Penalty imposed.

28. Penalties

a) Town Police Clauses Act 1847
Unless otherwise indicated, any driver contravening the requirements of this Act will be

liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

b) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976

Unless otherwise indicated drivers convicted of any offence under this Act are liable

to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

29.Disclosure of Information

Under Section 42 Town Police Clauses Act 1847, Tamworth Borough Council is required to maintain a register of hackney carriages, which are available for inspection by members of the public:

Conditions to Private Hire Driver’s Licence

Conduct of Drivers

1.The driver of a private hire vehicle shall:

a)Wear the driver's identification badge issued by the Council in such a manner so as to be plainly and distinctly visible on the chest region of the driver and in no other position.

b)Be required to carry in the vehicle passengers luggage of a manageable nature.

c)Give all reasonable assistance with loading and unloading passengers' luggage.

d)Be at all times clean and respectable in person and dress and without prejudice to the generality of this requirement shall not wear shorts, singlets or vests as outer clothing.

e)Behave in a civil and orderly manner and shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of persons entering or alighting from the vehicle and, in particular, shall give proper consideration to the needs of all disabled, infirm or elderly passengers when alighting from or entering the vehicle.

f)At all times drive in such a manner as to have regard to the comfort and safety of passengers conveyed in the vehicle and so as to show proper consideration to other road users.

g)Ensure that the private hire vehicle is maintained at all times in a clean and roadworthy condition.

h)Ensure that the number of passengers that the vehicle is licensed to carry, and marked on the vehicle's licence plate, is not exceeded whilst the vehicle is being used for private hire purposes.

i)Provide, at the request of the hirer, a written receipt for the payment of the fare.

j)Unless otherwise requested by the passenger take the most direct available route for the journey.

k)When required to attend to a booked fare at a specified time attend to that booking punctually unless delayed by unforeseen circumstances beyond the driver's control.

l)Immediately after the termination of a hiring carefully search the vehicle for any property that may have been accidentally left therein and, should it not be possible to immediately restore the property to its rightful owner, hand any such property to the Private Hire Operator.

m)The driver shall have the discretion to refuse to carry any passenger who will not, on request of the driver, agree to refrain from smoking in the vehicle for the duration of the journey.

The driver of a private hire vehicle shall not:

n)Smoke tobacco or any like substance when driving a vehicle.

o)Play any radio or other audio reproducing equipment in the vehicle, other than for the purpose of sending or receiving messages in connection with the operation of the vehicle, except with the expressed consent of the hirer.

p)At any time cause or permit any radio or other audio reproducing equipment or any radio communication equipment, on the vehicle which he is driving, to be a source of nuisance or annoyance to any person whether inside or outside the vehicle.