A local taxi company near which has a shall we say erm 'reputation' started using mini cabs with licences from Rossendale which is about 20 miles away. They are hackney plates but being used as a private hire I had to use one last year and the driver had no idea where he was going saying he is not from Manchester.
But lately it has become more bizzare, a lot of their cars are now licensed from West Lindsey council, which is a good 100 miles away in Scun-thorpe!
Are taxi drivers really coming all the way to Manchester to work as a private hire driver, rather than a hackney in their own towns? I am thinking it is a way of getting round the strict rules for Manchester private hire vehicles., They have to be silver or white, and less than 7 years old.
Anybody know why they might be doing this?
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That's exactly what's happening... Certain councils, often in rural areas, are quite relaxed regarding the issuing of hackney carriage plates, and once a vehicle is licensed as a hackney carriage, it is perfectly legal to operate as a private hire vehicle anywhere else in the country.
The council that issues the plates aren't too concerned as they get the additional revenue from license fees without the problem of hundreds of licensed cabs flooding their respective town ranks!
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Don't you actually have to live in the area though where the plates are issued? I am not sure how for example I could get a plate from Lindsey if I don't live there.
And it does create local problems because the council are strict for reason they designed the rules to stop try to stop fake taxi drivers.
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No, you don't have to live in the area... I have a plate on my vehicle from a different local authority to the one I live in.
It does create problems, just not for the council that are issuing the plates!!
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Funny you should mention that, I have noticed a couple of private hires round here (Stockport), fully liveried for one of the local networks yet carrying Rossendale plates.
I didn't think Stockport was a fussy on colour etc as Manchester, but believe they have put up the licence fees recently
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Local taxi company - strange licencing - njgleeds
