Sadiq Khan tells drivers they should “seek their own legal advice” to take pre-booked app jobs outsi
Why should regulated drivers need to seek individual legal advice on the topic?
Licensed taxi drivers should “seek their own legal advice” if they plan to take pre-booked app jobs outside of their licensing authority said London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan. The statement comes following a question put to the capital’s Labour mayor by Assembly Member David Kurten. Mr Kurten asked Khan whether London Licenced Taxi Driver can accept pre-booked Radio, Phone or App jobs from an out of London operator in a TFL registered Taxi when physically located in an area outside of London, such as Bishops Stortford or Aylesbury. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Transport for London (TfL) is the licensing authority and regulator for London taxi and private hire services. Licensing areas outside of London are subject to different legislation and how that legislation applies and what is (or is not) permissible in a given situation is not within TfL’s remit. For advice on what is permissible outside of London, such as in Bishops Stortford or Aylesbury, I encourage individual taxi drivers to speak to the relevant local licensing authority and/or seek their own legal advice. “I recognise that taxi drivers would welcome clarity in this area, but whether or not a taxi is plying for hire through a Smartphone app for example does depend on how the particular app works and the particular circumstances of individual cases. A High Court judgment on 7 February 2019 illustrates the complexity of the law in this area and that decisions depend on the particular circumstances of individual cases. However, it did provide a number of criteria that can be considered, including in circumstances where a licensee is engaged via a Smartphone app. “We have called on Government to introduce statutory definitions of “plying for hire” and “pre-booked” so as to achieve more certainty for licensees in such situations. However, the Government recently decided not to proceed with the relevant recommendation in the DfT commissioned Task and Finish Report. “Our position remains that the introduction of statutory definitions would provide more certainty for licensees, and I would urge the government to reconsider its position.”
