It is quite wrong that at major sporting events, fashion shows, film premieres, air shows and much more, licensed drivers are challenged for documentation and the requirement to comply with current licensing regulations, whilst an unlicensed, illegal, element remains doing the same job unchallenged alongside the regulated industry.

Steve Wright writes:

For those who worked so hard to get the licensing of Private Hire Operators, Vehicles and Drivers, it is not just a question of inclusion, but a fundamental principle of safety and fairness that when Acts of Parliament are introduced for the benefit of the safety of the travelling public, they are enacted, then enforced.

The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 (also known as the 98 Act) and the Road Safety Act 2006 brought all embracing requirements and responsibilities to Local Authorities big and small. From 31 March 2008 the transition from unlicensed to licensed ended, so why have some Local Authorities not yet met their obligations by licensing all who operate in Private Hire?

When I started as a young minicab driver in London I was absolutely astonished that all I needed was a car and a driving licence. Whilst the company who engaged me wanted to see my Hire & Reward Insurance when I started - that was it!

Once I started, in the next two years I was never again asked for sight of my Driving Licence, an MOT or further Insurance Certificates, all of which were purely down to my conscience to have.

Many of the reputable Private Hire Operators of the day Campaigned for Licensing, alongside many sensible voices, not only in London but Nationally.

The upshot was the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Part II, which covered the Licensing of Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles. Sadly, and not to their credit, a section of the Hackney Carriage Taxi trade in London was successful in lobbying to exclude the capital from Local Authority regulations that would bring Licensing to Private Hire as well as the Hackney Carriage Taxi Trades Nationally.

The anonymity created an unsafe and wholly unregulated Private Hire Industry in London, which took a further 25 years to redress.

An exemption under section 75 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 had allowed 'an operator to use a vehicle to carry passengers for hire or reward under a contract for hire of the vehicle for a period of not less than seven days without the need to obtain a licence'.

The Department for Transport recognised that this was a loophole that drove a coach and horses through safety requirements and fair competition needs. Furthermore the loophole had been exploited by people who were clearly providing Transport for Reward (payment) in Privately Hired Vehicles on the Public Road network.

Sadly, yet another potential loophole loomed in the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, whereby the word 'Public' was duplicitously exploited as not meaning people at events, shows, hotel guests, school children, club customers etc, so the Government needed to re-think and introduce 'all embracing' regulation.

The LPHCA, as an industry body that campaigned for Licensing to be 'total' by covering EVERYONE taking passengers for reward, were dismayed that schoolchildren, people at major events, hospital patients and the travelling public were still not fully protected. It was morally wrong that these groups and others were not being protected by legislation and the licensing process. It was ethically wrong that contracts for councils, hospitals and various events (some sporting and high profile) were being awarded on cost rather than a safety basis. This undermined the legitimate Private Hire Industry as the costs of licensing drivers, vehicles and operators, with all its associated management and record keeping - made those doing things properly uncompetitive in tender and procurement opportunities. In a world where price is a primary consideration contracts were being lost and passengers (often the most vulnerable) were being compromised, simply because Licensed Operators were uncompetitive.

So the Government finally acted in 2006 by introducing the Road Safety Act 2006, which meant closure for those avoiding regulation. To be generously fair the Government gave Licensing Authorities the mandate to enact these regulations over a 'reasonable period of time', to enable all to comply and more than enough time for those remaining outside regulation to get their act together. Section 53 of the Road Safety Act 2006 removed what was known as the '7 day rule or exemption' and Section 54 removed beyond doubt the fact that everyone other than those providing any vehicle whose use as a private hire vehicle is limited to use in connection with funerals or weddings, would be in scope for licensing.

A letter of assurance was given to an LPHCA Member by the PCO in London. The PCO also issued a Notice 36/07 in October 2007 warning of the changes.

What is clear which is supported by the LPHCA's independent legal advice is that anybody transporting passengers for reward except those specifically exempted in regulation (Wedding and Funeral Vehicles) must comply with licensing requirements.

Furthermore, Operators and their Operating Centres, Vehicles and Drivers must also comply. This means that School Runs, Hospital Passenger Transfer, (other than in an ambulance) or with an unpaid volunteer, Council, Corporate, and all other events including, Sporting, Air Show and Fashion, etc., etc., must be fully licensed.

So why, at the recent fashion week, were unlicensed and unchecked drivers seen regularly picking up passengers in unlicensed vehicles?

LPHCA Members and indeed the LPHCA itself has raised the question of illegal activity and non compliance specifically at the Department for Transport and the PCO with specific regard to passengers being Transported at Sporting and Other Events.

Event Management Companies and Transport Organisers that are clearly paying a driver to take passengers for reward in unlicensed vehicles either have no concept of what their legal obligations are or simply ignore them for cost, profit or other reasons.

According to the LPHCA's legal advice - any such entity will be in breach of legal requirements by taking bookings and operating illegally and criminal offences will be committed.

It is quite wrong that at major Sporting Events, Fashion Shows, Film Premieres, Air Shows and much more, Licensed Drivers are challenged for documentation and the requirement to comply with current Licensing Regulations, whilst an unlicensed, illegal, element remains doing the same job unchallenged alongside the regulated industry.

As representations have been unsuccessful to date, the LPHCA's Platinum Chauffeur & Executive Committee, in conjunction with the Chauffeur & Executive Association, are now engaging with Government and Licensing Authorities and others, to take immediate action where licensing compliance is not being effected.

We will be seeking compliance across the board and expect prosecutions and action where compliance is not being met by Local Authorities everywhere. They have a duty of care to the public and a moral obligation to those who comply.

A longer version of this article is available in Private Hire News (Edition 49).