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Some of the Legal Aspects of Hire-car Operation

2nd February 1945
Page 32
Page 35
Page 32, 2nd February 1945 — Some of the Legal Aspects of Hire-car Operation
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

IN a previous article I referred to the regulations controlling the operation of taxicabs in London, and it was then stated that they covered 96 closely printed pages of a refIsonably sized handbook. That book is known as the " Abstract of Laws Relating to Proprietors; Drivers and Conductors of Public Carriages within the Metropolitan Police District and the City of London and its Liberties.'' It is edited by a barrister-at-law and is obtainable from H.M. Stationery Office. At one time the Commissioner of Police used to present a cab driver with a copy_of the Abstract when he gave him his licence, and the driver was supposed to carry it about with him. That practice has, for some years, ceased to prevail.

It should be appreciated that these laws are in addition to, and must be read iii conjunction with, those governing the use of motorcars generally.

Now, as-1 have already stated, it is not practicable to reproduce the whole of this informatidn in the form of an article or a series of articles in " The Commercial Motor "; neither is it netessary, because the cost of the publication is only a few pence. It is of interest, nevertheless; briefly to mention some of the outstanding points so that those who are interested in the subject may appredate some of the conditions with which they nnist comply if they have in mind operating in London either as taxicab drivers or proprietors.

The first essential is that the proprietor of the cab must obtain a licence from the Comraissioner of Police to ply for hire with a public carriage. At one time the cost of -; this licende was £2, and was additional to the ordinary exeise licence. Nowadays, the road-fund licence covers the two. A point about this licence, and tins I shall have occasion to refer to subsequently when I turn to the conditions goVerning ordinary hire cars, is that, for a cab or hackney carriage, its cost is less than that in respect of an ordinary car,

Hire-ear Taxation Rates In the cas.e of a private ear,. the tax, as is well known, is based on horse-power assessed in accordance with the R.A.C. rating, whereas, for a cab or hackney' catriage, it is based on sea ting..eapacity. For a hire car having seats for four persons it is £40, and for one having seats for six, £12.

A man desirous of obtaining a licence to drive a taxicab • must apply to the Public Carriage Officer, New Scotland

Yard. He will have to present a certificate of fitness and he will have to be photographed for identification purposes. He will'have to obtain the recommendation of two householders, the signature of his last employer and, in the case of a cab driver, will have to pass a topographical examination as well as one for driving proficiency.

Moreover, this examination of proficiency to drive relates only to one particular make of cab. For example, if at his first examination he passes while driving an Austin vehicle and, subsequently decides to change to a Morris, then he mast pass an examination to drive this make of cab before being given a licence, These licences are in force for one year and the fee is Sc. At the time he receives his licence he is also given a metal ticket upon which is marked an indication as to his employment, and a number corresponding to that inserted in his licence. Every driver must, at all times during his employment, and when required to attend before any ▪ Justice, wear his ticket conspicuously upon hi's breast, in such a manner that the writing thereon be distinctly legible ASO

and must, when required, produce it for inspection and permit any person to note what is written on it. Under peace-time regulations the driver of a cab in London is compelled to drive to any place, whether public or private, which is within six miles of the starting place. He need not drive for more than six miles if by distance, or for more than one hour if by time. A point Which is of particular interest to those who use taxicabs is that the driver is not compelled to register on the taximeter any amounts which Are due for the carriage of extra passengers or the conveyance of luggage.

Agreement on the part of the -passenger to pay more than the legal. fare is not binding, and any sum -paid beyond the legal fare may be recovered. On the other hand, if the driver agreed beforehand to take anything less than his legal fare he cannot exact more: A driver must not ask or receive any sum by way of back fare.

The licence to drive a taxicab, which I have already mentioned and which costs 5s., is additional to the ordinary driver's licence, It is an essential condition of the licence that the cab and all its furniture and appointments be kept in perfect order and repair. Cabs are examined annually for fitness, and practically every taxicab in London undergoes an overhaul each year in ofder to bring it up to the requisite standard of fitness. •

The licence may be suspended by a Justice of the Peace, or by the Commissioner if the driver has been guilty of -misconduct in the exercise of his calling, or is unable to exercise it without risk to the public,

Responsibilities of Owners and Drivers

It is the responsibility of the own& of the cab to have painted at the back of his vehicle and on the outside the number ,of persons which the vehicle is licensed to carry, and if the cab carries a. number of persons in*excess of this, both the driver and proprietor—the latter if he be cognizant of the fact—commits an offence. It is an offence, too, for a driver of a cab to permit any, other person to be On the driving box.

Every cab must be fitted with a taximeter of a type approved by the Commissioner, and no taximeter must he affixed to any cab unless the mark or seal of the Commissioner he affixed thereto. There is a considerable number of clauses relating to the conditions of fitness of cabs.

Each new type of motor vehicle intended 'for licensing must he presented at New Ecotland Yard for inspection. If after inspection, the vehicle be approved, such approval may extend' to all vehicles of that description; and others of the sante -type may not have to be presented. All that is necessary is for the proprietor to take the new, cab of the type already approved to the passing station of the•district and submit a certificate from the maker showing

that it is in evety respect similar to that already approved. At the same time, if, after a type has been passed, defects develop, the Commissioner has every right to withdraw his approval either entirely, or until the defects have been remedied to his satisfaction.

A certificate from the owner of the cab, stating that there has been no alteration in the design since the previous inspection, must be presented with each cab submitted for renewal of licence. Should any alteration be made, full particulars must be stated and the same course may be required as Mr a first inspection.

There must be clearance between the under parts of the vehicle and the road of not less than 10 ins. The total length of the machine, complete, must, in no case, exceed 14 ft., nor • must. the width be greater than 5 ft. 9 ins, Each.cab must be able to turn on each lock and proceed in a contrary direction within a roadway not more than 25 ft from kerb to kerb. In turning, the wheels must not foul other parts of the car.. Every cab must carry firerdinguishing appliances.

In addition, there is a number of minor considerations relating to the width of the doorway, knee space, seat

width, depth and length, method of fitting the folding or " cricket " seats, and provision. for steps into the cab if

the floor be more than 19 ins. from the ground. The material for the padding and covering of the seats is stipulated.

It has many times beensuggested that the design of London's -taxicabs is antiquated and Should be .revised so that more comfortable and more ornate vehicleS—mOre

modern in appearance—can be used. . have never, personally, been able to appreciate 'Why all this fuss is made about the design of the London cab and, at the risk of being regarded as being reactionary, I am going to say that, in my, opinion, most of the provisions ate ,reasonable and right, -haying in: mind the purpose for which the vehicle is intended–fin the main, for short runs within the Metropolitan. area. • _ Perhaps the crucial point is the stipulation that it must be able to turn in a road 25 ft. wide, and it seems to me that no thinking person, having in mind the congestion' of traffic in London streets and the frequency with which, when a cab is required, it is on the wrong side of the road, can be otherwise than of the opinion that this condition is a necessary one.

Luxurious Types Unnecessary

I have done quite a good deal of cab -riding in provincial towns where there are no restrictions and where they use • Rolls-Royce and Daimler limousines as cabs, and it has always seemed to me to be ridiculous that vehicles of that sort should be put to such use. The comfort is there, but nine timesout of ten, by the time you have settled yourself comfortably in the deeply upholstered seat you have arrived at your destination and have to struggle to get out of the seat and out of the cab. I see no point and no advantage in advocating that luxurious vehicles of this type be put to taxicab use in London.

In many large cities the regulations governing the operation of taxicabs are the same as those in London. Actually, it might be a good thing if the orders relating to construction were universal throughout the country, in which case the manufacturers would have a bigger market and might possibly be able to .reduce the price of the standard product.

In point of fact, it is the regulations concerning constractien, dimensions, and so on, which are the *first to go in those towns which do not deem it necessary to apply, with hi the area, conditions so strict as are deemed necessary in London and the big cities. In-most townships, hOwever, control is exercised as to places where cabs may aand, * the fares that may be charged, the use of taximeters, and general regulations as to the conduct and licensing of drivers, and so on.

It appears necessary, now, to differentiate between what is now commonly known as a hire car and a taxicab, . The function of the latter, which defines it, is that it "'plies for hire," and a rough and non-technical definition of that term is that the vehicle stands at prescribed ranks in the streets of a town, or runs along those streets, 'offering the services of the vehicle to anyone desirous of hiring it. In return for liberty to' do this the authorities concerned with the licensing of taxicabs apply the conditions which have been mentioned. •

• It' is perhaps opportune now to give die legal definition of a. hackney carriage.This definition was part of the 'Custom and Inland Revenue Act, 1888, and it still stands. It is as follows:— " Hackney Carriage " means any carriage standing or plying for hire, andincludes any carriage let lot hire by a coaChinaker or other person whose trade or business it is to sell carriages or to.' let carriages for hire, provided that such carriage is not let for a period amounting to three Months or more.

Carrying of Hackney-carriage ,Plates

Reading this definition and without' fully understanding its intention, it would appear that all cars, which are let-out on-hire, whether with-or without driver, must be hackney Carriages and, as such, Must .carry the hackney-carriage plate stipulating the number of passengers which it is entitled to convey,. The reader would be inclined to ask, therefore, why ail drive-your-self hire cars are not fitted with a hackney-carriage plate as, according to the definition given, they are undoubtedly hackney carriages.

The fact of the matter is that, although they come within that definition, they are not hackney „carriages unless the,proprietor chooses to license them as such.

The key to this seeming 'contradiction in terms is that the Act in whichthat definition is given is a Finance Act. Its purpose is to define those carriages which, would be allowed to be licensed and taxed at a rate less than that for an ordinary car in the hands_ of a private owner.

A 20 hp. car pays, to-day, a tax of £25 per annum: the same car, registered as a hackney carriage, wonld. have to pay nnly, per annum. It is the registratiOn of the vehicle which determines whether it is a hackney. carriage of .not. If the owner is proposing to use it as a hackney carriage and to let it otit oh hire he comes within the £12per-annum taxation schedule, but must carry a hackneycarriage plate. If be .wishes to hire-out the car, as, for example, in the case of a drive-yourself hire business, but feels that the Service which he is'about to offer would not be so popular if the car carried a hackney-carriage plate; then he will pay the £25-per-annum tair, but is not (Or thatreason prohibited from hiring-out the car.

In_ point of fact, as we have seen, the differentiation in taxation does not arise in connection with most driveyourself hire-car businesses, because the . most popular vehicle is one of 10 h.p. and the difference in..taxation is, in the case of a hackney-carriage licence for four people, £2 10s. per annum, and in the case of a hackney-carriage licence for six people, no more than 10s. -per annum.

A point that does arise from all this is that an operator is 'at liberty to let-out cars on hire without registering them as hackney carriages unless-he so Wishes.. In actual fact, it is usually the hire-car proprie7 tor who, for the purpose of his business, finds it more convenient to use high-powered cars of upwEirds of 25 h.p., who registers them as hackney carriages and pays, as a rule, the £12 tax.

Beyond the necessity of carrying the hackney-carriage plate, there is very little in the way of restrictive legislation which affects hire Gars which are not taxicabs.

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Locations: Austin, Reading, London

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