HINTS FOR HAULIERS.
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The Vexed Question of Licences.
AGREAT DEAL of confusion appears to exist in connection with the licences which must be obtained, and the taxes which have to be paid by whosoever may own a commercial vehicle. Misunderstanding due to this cause is particularly rife amongst those who are now, for the first time taking up the calling of haulage contractor. Many of these, for example, appear to imagine that they must take out some licence before offering their services in their new vocation. Such is not the case when only goods and not passengers are to be carried. All that is necessary in that event is for the vehicle to be registered with the local police at a cost of 11. The driver, of course, must have the usual driver's licence, which costs 5s., and which may also be obtained at the local police offices. At the time of writing there is no annual licence duty payable in connection with a commercial vehicle. The near -future, of course, may ace a change' in this respect. .
Hackney Carriage Licences.
When it is intended to carry passengers, however, the conditions are quite different: Every vehicle which is used to carry passengers for payment of any fare is either a hackney carriage or, as in the case of the London buses and taxicabs, a stage carriage. If the. vehicle is a touring car or a cab, it is then exempted' from the Treasury carriagetax, which became incurn: bent uring 1910, and which is based upon the horse powe&of the engine of the -car. Instead, provided i is less than one ton unladen, the owner pays a hack ney carriage licence of 15s., and registers the vehicle accordingly. Additionally, he must fix, in conjunction with the 'ordinary number plate, a distinctive sign
i which indicates that the car s registered as ahackney carriage. The proper sign to use is a circular plate hearing the words "Hackney Carriage " in plain white figures on a black ground, and this sign is fixed above the usual hum-her plate. A rebate of half the tax of Sd. a gallon on all the petrol used in connection with a hackney carriage may be claimed fnom the Custorns and Excise Officers of the district in which the user resides, as is the` ease with that fuel when it is used on goods-carrying vehicles.
If, however, the hackney carriage weighs over one ton unladen, the owner must pay, in addition to the 15s. which I have already mentioned, a duty of 22 2s. If the vehicle weighs over two tons, the duty is 23 35. The total annual tax on most chars-a-bancs, therefore, is 23 1Es. ; on a small vehicle of this type, which weighs less titan two tons unladen but which is still over one ton, the total tax is 22 17s. As it is in regard to this tax that the greatest confusion exists, it may be worth while to explain how it comes to pass that it has to be paid in the rather peculiar manner indicated. Before 1910. when the licence duties at present in force were imposed on motorcars, every car owner had to pay a carnage tax on his vehicle of 22 Ss. In addition, under the Locomotives on Highways Act of 1896, he had to pay, if the weight of his ear exceeded one ton, but did not exceed two tons, unladen, an annual tax of 12 2s., if it weighed more than two tons, unladen, he had to pay a tax of 23 3s. per annum. Hackney carriages were exempt from the first tax, which was a carriage tax payable under an Act of 1888, under which Act they were called upon to pay 15s., which is still payable. A hackney carriage which was also a motorcar, however, had to pay the other taxes of 22 2s. and La 3s., accordingto weight. When the Finance Act of 1910 imposed the new duties on motorcars, the tax being graded according to the horse-power, it relieved the car owner of the necessity of paying either of the above two taxes. At the same time, however, while the 1910 Act specifically exempted the hackney carriage from the new taxes, it alsdplainly stated that the existing taxes on hackney carriages were to be in no wise affected by the new, law. Hence it is that while the ordinary motorcar is taxed under an act of 1910, the motorcar which is used -to convey passengers in return for payment of a fare. that is to say a motorcar which is also
a, hackney carriage. is taxed under two laws, one of 1588, the other of 1898.
The possession of a hackney carriage licence, however, does not.erititle its owner to pick up fares in the streets, which procedure is known as "plying for hire," This is a special manner of using a hackney carriage, and is subject not only to different taxation, but also to stringent conditions both as to the construction of the vehicle itself, and also as regards the manner of its use and the locality in which it may ply.
In London, the ownerof vehicles which ply for hire must be licensed as such, at a charge of not more than 2s., he must be in possession of a licence to ply for hire in respect of each of his vehicles, the charge in this, case being limited to 5s. per vehicle. Each driver must be licensed, and if the vehicle is such that the services of a conductor are called for, the conductor, too, must be licensed. In London, the maximum charge which may be made for licences to either driver or conductor is 5s. A man who is licensed to drive a hackney carriage which is plying for hire may not act as a conductor, nor may the conductor drive. In special casbs, what may be called a dual-purpose licence can be had,,whereby the holder is entitled to act either as driver or conductor. The fee for that licence, too, is 5s. Space does not permit of my entering into a discussion of all the conditions which govern the granting of these licences. As regards the construction of the vehicles, the reader who lives in or near London will be familiar with its two great classes of hire carriage, the bus and taxi. The regulations governing the behaviour of the driver and conductor
are also somewhat lengthy. A copy of the regulations may be obtained from the Commissioner of Police ; all that I need say is that, on the whole, they are perfectly reasonable.
Licences in Provincial Areas.
Outside London, somewhat different conditions hold. It is commonly stated that the necessity to ob-..„„ tam n licences to ply for hire exists only in those districts to which the Town Police Clauses Acts of 1847 and 2889 apply. As a matter of fact, however, these Acts apply to every urban district in England and Wales, except in the county. of London. The owner of a motor vehicle ivho desires to ply for hire must appeal to the Borough Council or Urban District Council of the place wherein he wishes to ply. If he Intends to ply for hire in more than one such district, then he must obtain a licence for each district. The conditions as regards the licensing of drivers and conductors are the same as those existing in London, those affecting the construction of the vehicle itself are not so stringent. The authorities may, if they choose, refuse to give licences, but they must have good'and proper reasons for so doing. They may not, for example, refuse to entertain all applications except those of certain persons, and they may not enter into agreements with any one proprietor to give licences to him only. The fee for licence to either a .driver or conductor is Is. The proprietor, apparently, does not need, outside London, to take nut a licence himself as such, but he must have a lieence for every vehicle, the fee being 5s. for each. THE SEOTCH.