Thursday 26 April 2012

Legal regulations related to taxi companies



Currently, the various official taxi to Gatwick service companies are offering customers airport minicab and taxi services. Many Gatwick taxis companies aim to make your taxi rides simple, secure and comfortable as possible. The government of United Kingdom is steadfast in its commitment to providing an easily available public transport system in which disabled or handicapped people get the same travel opportunities as other people. Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles or PHVs are the main link in the availability of the transport chain in the UK. According to the 1995 DDA Act, all the land-based vehicles like trains, coaches and taxis must be accessible to the disabled people including those who are in wheelchairs.

In 2003, the Government assured that it would set some principles for taxis which are made accessible for wheelchairs and to also introduce laws that would be applicable mainly to the town local authority areas. These laws and regulations are not applicable for hiring of private vehicles. The Department has currently received so many representations stating that the needs must not be constrained only for wheelchair users but for all disabled people. The Government has been looking into this complex matter since then and no regulations have been materialised so far. At this time, all transport services are exempt from the Part 3 provisions of the DDA Act and it will be further let off by the future legislation.

After these new changes come into effect, where a disabled person can hire a taxi, the driver will have to take them without charging any extra money for the ride. In due course, there will be further rounds of many consultations and meetings regarding the draft regulations. Part 3 of the DDA Act is pertinent by now for all transportation such as buses and railway stations. Other requirements for becoming a taxi operator may include paying a fee for acquiring the license and passing a criminal record check, medical check, knowledge test, and the DSA practical taxi test.



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