SIX POINTS AND YOU’RE OUT: Taxi driver association brands TfL policy as ‘unfair and ineffective’
A London taxi association has labelled Transport for London’s (TfL) controversial new ‘six points and you’re out’ policy for taxi drivers “unfair and ineffective”.
Taxi drivers in the capital have shown widespread dismay at a new driver policy change. The new policy, which arrived in Spring 2022, means cabbie licences could be SUSPENDED or REVOKED for totting up just 6 driver’s licence penalty points.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) has welcomed dialogue with the transport regulator on the topic, but still claim TfL are playing “judge, jury and executioner”.
Steve McNamara, LTDA General Secretary, said in TAXI Newspaper: “Last week, I met senior people from TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire Team to discuss ‘6 points and you’re out’. We also discussed changes to the way TfL's reconsideration hearings work, with TfL now basically playing judge, jury and executioner, which have made the process completely unfair and ineffective. We are calling for them to reinstate the old system and exploring legal avenues in case they fail to do so.
“We’ve been lobbying on all of this since early 2022, when the changes were first introduced.
“I’ve discussed it with the new boss of TfL, Commissioner Andy Lord (and his predecessor) and raised it in pretty much every meeting we’ve had, with anyone with any influence in the past year. TfL do seem to be listening, but they continue to claim that they aren’t seeing evidence of a negative impact of these policy changes, when it is plain to see. The team here has never been busier, and this policy is the reason why. It’s become much easier for simple mistakes to cost drivers their licence and put them in a much more vulnerable position. One mobile phone offence (KEEP YOUR PHONE IN A CRADLE!!) or four speeding tickets in three years, and you’re toast.
“I have now provided TfL with an anonymised schedule of all our members, who have been affected by the changes, whose licences we are working hard to protect, to demonstrate the scale of the problem.”
What are the controversial changes made by TfL?
Changes to the new policy include:
For an offence of driving without reasonable consideration, if the courts award 6 or more points, the penalty from TfL could be a licence revocation. If the courts gave less than 6 points TfL could issue a three-month licence suspension.
For an offence of using a handheld mobile phone, which carries a mandatory 6 points TfL could revoke a licence.
More than one conviction for a major driving offence within the last five years would merit a licence refusal and no further application would be considered until at least seven years after the most recent conviction.
Any driver accumulating nine or more penalty points will receive a warning that incurring additional points is likely to result in the loss of their taxi licence.
Licensed taxi drivers who accumulate 12 penalty points on or after 20 December 2021 will have their taxi licence suspended for six months regardless of whether they are disqualified from driving and lose their DVLA driving licence or not.