#London private hire vehicle drivers
#London private hire vehicle driver

See the whole of the PHV session followed by evidence from the black cab trade on the webcast here.MMA Transfers TР°xС– Private Hire CРѕmСЂР°nСѓ С–С• a UK based transfer СЃРѕmСЂР°nСѓ. The London Assembly transport committee is investigating how best to support London taxis and private hire vehicles.

вЂњWe think next April there could be a loss of 15-20,000 perfectly good people.вЂќ вЂњPeople are being driven out of the industry,вЂќ he said. You need to be able to help human beings improve themselves.вЂќД®xplaining that he hopes to meet London Mayor Sadiq Khan next February to discuss the situation, Wright said he doubted it would be satisfactory by then, even though there had been some recent improvement in TfLвЂ™s performance as regulator, in his view. It shouldnвЂ™t be about jumping through hoops. They should be empowered by training and development.

#London private hire vehicle drivers

Noting that many PHV drivers come from non-English speaking backgrounds, Wright added: вЂњWhen people havenвЂ™t got the skills, they shouldnвЂ™t be forced to take a ridiculous test thatвЂ™s expensive. вЂњTests need to be fit for purpose,вЂќ he said, stressing that drivers need simply to вЂњbe able to communicate in plain English.вЂќ

Wright, who told the committee he had been in the PHV business for nearly 50 years, said that he lacked any of the certificates TfL is now demanding and would therefore have to pass one of the tests himself if he wished to return to driving. Under an initial transitional process to the new system, they have until 30 April next year to show that they have met the standard.

#London private hire vehicle driver

Since October 2016, applicants for a licence to be a private hire vehicle (PHV) driver have been required by TfL to be able to communicate in English to a B1 standard, which can include a GCSE English certificate, equivalent vocational skills qualification or a Secure English Language Test pass, which is demanded for settlement or naturalisation visa applications. Wright said that the current regulatory situation is causing вЂњunnecessary angst for perfectly good companies that are going out of business,вЂќ citing as вЂњa classic exampleвЂќ a new requirement to demonstrate competence in spoken and written English brought in under the MayorвЂ™s Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan. Uber had been asked to attend, but committee chair Caroline Pidgeon AM told the meeting that they had вЂњrefusedвЂќ. вЂњThere is no customer care, they are very sterile, money-making offshore entities coming in with massive subsidies and tax arrangements undermining what was working perfectly well prior to their arrival,вЂќ he said.Д®vidence about the future of private hire was also given to the committee by Robert Scott of the Greater London Hire company and by Andrew Wescott of Addison Lee. Wright said he believed that a different type of regulation should apply to what he called the вЂњapp-onlyвЂќ private hire firms, pointing out that their business models and practices are different. Steve Wright, who chairs the Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA), told the London Assembly transport committee that a lack of compliance by newcomers to the sector had resulted in additional вЂњregulation and cost thrust upon usвЂќ when what he called вЂњthe bona fide industryвЂќ had long co-operated with the rules, and that there has beenВ вЂњno real expertise in taxis or private hireвЂќ within TfL in recent times. Traditional private hire companies in London are being driven out of business by new regulations designed to deal with the influx of ride hailing services such as Uber and by a lack of expertise at Transport for London, according to the leader of the industryвЂ™s trade body.