Taxi Year of Choice

17/02/2010

2009 proved to be the most momentous year yet in the long struggle to win freedom of choice for all UK cabbies. 

Over the past year, taxi operators in Nottingham, Norwich and Liverpool all won the right to choose a modern hackney taxi.

That means more than 96% of the UK’s local authorities now welcome a range of taxi vehicles.  Put another way, as long as you don’t work in Manchester or London you can be trusted like a grown-up to form your own opinion on the best tool for the job. 

In particular, Liverpool City Council’s hands-down defeat at the High Court in London exposed the nonsense behind licensing conditions designed for the horse-drawn carriages of 1847 and acting today to safeguard a virtual monopoly for particular suppliers.

Trade Support

Encouraged by overwhelming support for the E7 taxi from local trade representatives Norwich City Council Regulatory Committee concluded that, given the High Court ruling, there were no longer any reasonable grounds on which to refuse to license the E7. 

City solicitor Yvonne Blake stated that the committee was satisfied that there was no evidence of safety concerns with the Peugeot E7. As a result, the retention of the turning circle and other conditions that prevented the E7 black cab being licensed could not be legally justified. 

Blackburn Borough Council also came to the conclusion that you can’t defend the indefensible and now license the purpose-built E7 taxi along with traditional London-style cabs.

Costs

In Liverpool the Licensing Committee’s decision of March last year to reject the E7 hackney taxi was quashed by Cab Direct’s successful Judicial Review at the High Court, resulting in a £200,000 award of costs against Liverpool City Council.

In view of the Court’s ruling, Committee Chairman Malcolm Kelly announced: “The committee now recognises that a class of wheelchair users cannot safely access the existing Liverpool hackney taxi fleet, as a result of the dimensions and design of the current (LTI) vehicles. 

“The committee also now recognises that the E7 taxi would be a valuable addition to the fleet.  Although the E7 does not meet the current Conditions of Fitness, following (Justice) Blake’s judgement Article 28 is engaged in relation to the turning circle and there is insufficient evidence on health and safety grounds to justify this breach of the European Treaty.”

Cllr Kelly concluded: “Following Blake’s judgement the committee now accepts that successful usage of the E7 elsewhere is compelling evidence that also allays any other concerns we may have had.”

Last Ditch Attempt

Senior LTI directors attended council meetings in a last-ditch attempt to keep the status quo – and with it their monopoly over new cab sales in both cities.  However, their arguments were resoundingly dismissed by legal opinion for the various Councils. 

Delighted Norwich taxi operator, Paddy Keenaghan, commented: “This has been a long time coming but in the end it’s very simple really – if people want to buy the old-style cabs they still can, whereas many of us have at long last won the right for an alternative choice of vehicle.”

Cab Direct reports a strong surge of sales in the wake of the decisions.  Chairman Gerry Facenna said: “Despite LTI’s best efforts to tell councils that the High Court ruling can be ignored, these decisions show that the law is the law and has to be followed.

“We will now push ahead with the ever-reducing handful of taxi licensing authorities which still stick with ‘London conditions’.”