Drivers face £200 fine if caught even touching their phones behind the wheel
Drivers could be fined £200 if they are caught even touching their phones behind the wheel under plans announced by the Government. Current legislation only forbids using a mobile phone for ‘interactive communication’ while driving, meaning it is an offence to make or receive phone calls or send text messages or emails. It is also […]
CLIPPER CAB: New technology turning diesel black taxis into electric green machines
17th October 2020 As industries are being encouraged to move to greener fleet vehicles, the taxi industry may have found an interim solution to make some of its iconic taxis more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Clipper Automotive, a start-up technology firm set up by two experts in their field, Dr Alexander Howard and Janosch […]
Fife taxi driver gets Facebook hijack revenge as fare-dodger leaves phone in car
A taxi driver’s revenge on a passenger who absconded without paying went viral. Kirkcaldy-based JJ Taxis used the runaway’s mobile phone, which she left behind, to post a humorous message on her Facebook profile. Before it was taken down only an hour later the post had received almost 2,000 comments, with people poking fun at […]
A Tale of Two Cities or Two Taxis – 7th
Good Practice Driving Visually Impaired People Jonathan Martin (Licensing Manager) and I recently met with the members of the Sight Loss Council to talk about their experiences of using taxis. Although many visually impaired or blind people have established very good relationships with a particular regular driver or operator, and report an excellent service, it […]
Bristol Airport Waiting Zone
Bristol Airport have advised that as part of the ongoing development of the Airport a free-of-charge space for taxis and public that are dropping off and collecting passengers has been provided. The Waiting Zone area is located close to the entrance of our Silver Zone car park and will clearly be sign posted upon entering […]
Disclosure and Barring Services Checks – Get it right!
Changes at the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) mean that any DBS checks they receive which have errors or missing information will no longer be bounced back to be corrected but will be cancelled and the fee lost. Where this happens applicants will have to start again with a new form and pay again. Please […]
Bigger, better electric vehicle charging network launches
A new West of England partnership has formed to revamp the region’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network and accelerate the take-up of zero or low emission vehicles. Bristol City Council, along with local authorities for Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, will be upgrading the current ‘Source West’ EV charging point […]
Do you know your license conditions?
Private Hire and Hackney Carriage licences all have a number of conditions attached (with the exception of Hackney Carriage Drivers, who must still comply with the Hackney Carriage Byelaws). These conditions are printed on the pages which are attached to your licence and can also be found here. It is important that you read and […]
Electric charge-points for Hackney Carriage Vehicles
The Council has been awarded a grant from the Department for Transport to install 4 rapid charging units in Bristol for the use of Hackney carriage drivers. These will become part of the public charging network for the West of England, known as Revive. We are keen to hear your views on switching to electric […]
Licensing/Taxi Cop Outreach – on the road
PC Patrick Quinton and an Officer from the Licensing Team will be back out on the road again in a mobile police station. You are welcome to come and see them (no appointment necessary) to discuss any concerns or licence queries. They will be out on the 20 December 2019, 4 February 2020 and 7 […]