Hackney carriage and private hire policy - Appendix U - Private Hire Operators Conditions

Private Hire Operators Conditions

A licence to operate private hire vehicles is issued to the applicant subject to the following conditions.

1.(a) The Operator shall enter in a book, the pages of which are numbered consecutively, particulars of every private hire booking and the particulars shall be entered in the book at the time the booking is received and shall include the following:-

  1. The time and date of each booking;
  2. By what method the booking was received, i.e. telephone or personal call;
  3. Journey from _ to _;
  4. The name of the hirer;
  5. The Private Hire Licence Plate number (or radio call sign) of the vehicle which will attend the booking;
  6. An alternative method of record keeping may only be used with the written agreement of the Council, which will specify in detail how the records are to be kept.

1.(b) The records shall be kept for a period of not less than one year, or longer if required to do so by an Authorised Officer of the Council.

1.(c) The records shall be produced, on request, to any Constable or Authorised Officer of the Council.

2.(a)The Operator shall keep at the base of operations details of all vehicles/drivers operated by him/her as follows:-

  1. The licence plate number;
  2. The registration number;
  3. The name and address of the proprietor;
  4. The names and addresses of drivers of each vehicle at any time;
  5. The badge number of each driver;
  6. The Licences for all vehicles and drivers.

2.(b) These records shall be produced on request to any Constable or Authorised Officer of the Council.

2.(c) The Council must be informed, in writing within seven days, of any changes in the particulars mentioned in Condition 2(a) above.

3. The holder of an Operator’s Licence shall not permit any person who is drunk, or is behaving in a disorderly manner, to remain upon the premises in respect of which the licence is in force.

4. No Operator of a private hire vehicle which is licensed by the Authority under this Act shall invite or accept a booking for such vehicle, or control or arrange a journey to be undertaken by such vehicle, without first making available in writing, or giving orally, to the person making the booking, information as to the basis of charge for the hire of the vehicle.

5. Every Operator of private hire vehicles who accepts a booking for a private hire vehicle for an appointed time and place, shall give the booking to a driver, allowing sufficient time for the vehicle to punctually attend.

6. If provision is made by the Operator on his premises for the reception of members of the public proposing to hire a vehicle, the operator shall ensure that his premises are at all times in a clean and tidy condition and that adequate arrangements are made for the seating of customers within the premises.

7. The Operator in his capacity as Operator and without prejudice to any other liabilities imposed under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 shall use his best endeavours to ensure that drivers of vehicles owned, controlled or operated in association with the Operator shall observe and perform the conditions of their Private Hire Driver’s Licence and that vehicles shall conform to their Private Hire Vehicle Licence.

8. The Operator shall not, knowingly or without the prior written consent of the Council, employ or be employed by, engage in partnership with, or allow or suffer any involvement in the management of the operator hereby licensed:-

  1. any person who has been convicted of an offence under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 or any other legislation relating to private hire and hackney carriage licensing
  2. any person who, for the purposes of Part II of the said Act, has been found by any Licensing Authority not to be a fit and proper person to hold a driver’s or operator’s
    licence.

9. The Operator, when accepting bookings under the terms and conditions of this licence shall only operate drivers and vehicles licensed by the Council.

10. The Operator shall maintain a register detailing all staff that will take bookings or dispatch vehicles, and prior to any employment must have sight of a recent Basic Disclosure for all persons employed, and shall record the date of when the certificate was seen.

11. The Operator shall have a policy in place which details employing ex-offenders in roles that would be on the register as above.

Penalties

The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 provides that any person who acts in contravention of the provisions of Part II of the Act, shall be guilty of an offence and may be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 where no other specific penalty is expressed. In addition, such action may lead to the suspension or revocation of an existing licence or the nonrenewal of such a Licence.

Your attention is drawn to the various provisions contained in the 1976 Act which you are advised to obtain and read carefully.

Licensing Committee
14.6.07

Update May 2022

 

 


Last Updated on Friday, September 8, 2023