If you caught our article last week, you’ll already know that ‘plying for hire’ is a convoluted and ongoing debate in the taxi and PH industry. At present, Hackney Carriage licence holders are the only drivers legally entitled to ply for hire. This means they are the only people who can carry passengers after being hailed on the street or at a taxi rank. While this might sound like a cut and dry definition without room for confusion, it’s not that simple.
Plying for hire does not currently hold a formal legal definition. The phrase’s use in the extensive body of case law on the topic is often ambiguous and, in some cases, conflicting. It is fair to call it a ‘legal fiction’ as this term seems to have been created solely for the purpose of discussing the issue in court. This however doesn’t make it any easier to help those actually working in the industry.
The current debate has been reignited since tech giants like Uber have effectively used technology to circumvent rules about plying for hire. The latest issue stems from Uber’s proposed ‘Pick-Up Points’.
What’s the Issue?
Pick-up points in theory sound like a good idea. According to Uber, the app “suggest[s] convenient pickup locations, especially in busy areas where finding your driver can be difficult.”. They introduced them as a way to make catching a ride more streamlined for both the passenger and driver. On the surface this sounds like it makes a lot of sense, why wouldn’t you have pre-determined pick-up locations?
The point of contention for the taxi industry as a whole is that these pick-up points arguably already exist, they’re called taxi ranks. In the UK, airport taxi cab ranks serve the purpose of allowing Hackney Carriage licensees an area where they can queue up and ply for hire. These are usually in high traffic areas such as train stations, airports and events venues. The key issue here is that taxi ranks are reserved for Hackney Carriage drivers, Uber on the other hand is a private hire operator.
Private hire drivers, like anyone who drivers for Uber, can only engage in pre-booked journeys. This means they cannot just pick people up off the street, all bookings must be confirmed and paid for through the app. The potential issue caused by these pick-up points is that they will likely encourage drivers to park up in these areas and wait for work. Whether this can be considered plying for hire is down to legal professionals, but as previous court cases suggest, it is inherently difficult to enforce.
The Industry Response
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) and United Cabbies Group (UCG) have urgently requested Transport for London (TfL) to investigate, following Uber’s announcement of three more pick-up points in well-trafficked areas of London. General Secretary of the LTDA, Steve McNamara, commenting on the matter said:
“[last week] we became aware of emails, text messages and ‘push notifications being sent by Uber to their customer base. They advised that due to the road closures in and around Soho, they would be organising ‘Pick Up Points’ in Wardour, Romilly and Archer Streets.
“What Uber call ‘Pick up Points’ we call ranks! As soon as we became aware of Uber’s intentions I immediately contacted senior licensing officials at TfL and made them aware, raised our concerns and asked that they take immediate enforcement action if Uber go ahead”
Representatives from the industry are also seeking clarification about whether pick-up points will be something that is accessible to all the other private hire operators in London. According to TaxiPoint magazine, there are a total of 1,968 private hire operators in the capital which includes big names like Addison Lee and Bolt. It is understandably concerning that one private hire operator could be subject to different requirements to the other nearly two thousand strong private hire operators in the capital. It remains to be seen how TfL will approach this issue.