Hackney carriage and private hire news and information

1. Driver medicals

A short reminder about our new medical requirements, please make sure you are aware of this.

The medical requirements are now as below 

A group 2 medical assessment will be required at the following frequencies

• (i) On submission of a new HC or PHV driver licence application
• (ii) At age 45 and thereafter every five years until the age of 65
• (iii) At age 65 and thereafter on an annual basis
• (iv) In the event of a disability or medical condition which may affect an applicant’s ability to drive being disclosed to the Council’s licensing section whilst the grant of a licence is in force.

2. Forums

The first forum this year took place at the Hythe Centre Egham on Wednesday 12 July 2023.

Updates were given on fares, fees, driver numbers and medicals. Turnout was poor but my thanks to those who were able to attend.

The next forum is again at the Hythe Centre Egham on Wed 25 Oct 2023, 11 - 12. Please come along and support your trade.

3. Disability Awareness Training

If you have not done your disability awareness training yet, please get it done asap.

A big thanks to all of you who have done this.

Some drivers/operators have still to do it and have been allowed a bit more time, till 9 September. The licensing team will be contacting you by phone, be email and by letter to encourage you to do it.

We try to avoid suspensions whenever we can but having been given extra time to do it, if you still have not done it by 9 Sept your drivers/operators licence may be suspended.

4. Uber and Sefton

The Uber and Sefton, it is a case about contracts following the Uber and workers rights case in London last year, this latest case now stating that those principles apply in the provinces outside London for licences issued under the 1976 Act.

In 2021, the ADCU defeated Uber in a similar action in the High Court under separate legislation covering only London. As a result, Uber has been forced to change its business model contract directly with passengers rather than misclassifying itself as an agent. This has helped confirm driver status as workers with statutory protections. And since Uber becomes the principal rather than the agent, it is now liable for VAT. By incorrectly designating their drivers as principal for the last decade, no VAT has been paid on Uber services since drivers do not earn enough to meet the VAT threshold of £85,000. This changed on 31 October 2022 when Uber announced that it had reached a settlement with HMRC for back VAT payment of £615 million in unpaid tax.

In order to level the competitive playing field nationally, Uber sought a declaration at the High Court to the one imposed on it for London to cover the rest of England and Wales. This was opposed by the Veezu Group, Delta Merseyside and a coalition of operators they claim to represent.

Large app-based operators such as Uber, Bolt and FreeNow have already made these business model changes across England and Wales, as well as London. This judgment ensures that all other operators must now follow the same regulations.

Some PHV firms outside of London are concerned that they could now be forced to raise their prices by up to a fifth as the ruling will likely mean paying VAT on journeys. Ride-hailing firms will be hoping that the VAT owed will not amount to 20%, with a more ‘marginal’ rate of tax applied.

For more information on what it means see PHTM, Taxi Point and on the Institute of Licensing

5. A message from Gatwick Airport

As you may be aware, Gatwick Airport has introduced a Taxi and PHV Waiting Area on site to provide a cost-effective and comfortable place for drivers to wait to pick up airport customers. This was introduced in response to local community concerns about antisocial and inappropriate behaviour by a minority of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers in residential areas, to try to move drivers away from local streets and onto the airport campus. The site has been well-received by drivers and feedback from representatives of the local communities around the airport has also been very positive. Gatwick are keen to continue to promote this to drivers from the wider region, to raise awareness and continue to minimise the impact of airport-related journeys to local residents.

The area is located in the South Terminal long stay car park, just a few minutes’ drive from both terminals. The site costs £1.50 for up to four hours wait time and provides toilet and waste facilities, hot and cold food, seating and a smoking area. We have also recently made the facility free-flow to reduce delays on exit and continually work to improve the facilities available to drivers. More information can be found on our website here: Private Hire Vehicle waiting area | Gatwick Airport

6. Police information

Surrey and Sussex Polce Economic Crime Unit have devised an initiative called Op Recover. The aim of Op Recover is to target criminals who are committing a courier fraud utilising a specific method, namely traveling into Sussex and Surrey by train and then using taxi networks.

An Organised Crime Group or OCG for short will contact possible victims via telephone pretending to be from the police or their bank, telling them that there has been fraudulent activity on their bank account, and they need the help of the victim to investigate it.

They will ask the victim to attend a branch of their bank and withdraw a requested sum on money or purchase a valuable item and tell them that a courier will attend and collect it. A courier, sent by the OCG will then travel into Sussex or Surrey using the train network and hire the first taxi at the railway station taxi rank. They will ask the taxi driver to take them to the victim’s address, the taxi driver will be asked to wait outside, and the courier will return minutes later and be driven back to the train station in possession of the victim’s money or the valuable item.

The Police aim to educate all Sussex and Surrey taxi drivers about this crime and are asking them to remain vigilant around this type of offending and report to police using the term Op Recover if they suspect they may have a courier on board, by calling 999. We have designed an education video and leaflet to assist in delivering this message, both of which are attached. A screenshot of the leaflet is also shown below.

• Sussex and Surrey Economic Crime Unit – OP Recover Courier Fraud Trigger Plan

7. Enforcement

Transport for London enforcement officers joined us again in July while Ascot races were on and carried out enforcement in the Egham and Virginia water area. The focus was mainly on TfL licensed vehicles working in our area.

We will be carrying out another enforcement day with them very soon