Private hire vehicles act 1998
11. Prohibition of taximeters
(1)No vehicle to which a London PHV licence relates shall be equipped with a taximeter.
(2)If such a vehicle is equipped with a taximeter, the owner of that vehicle is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(3)In this section “taximeter” means a device for calculating the fare to be charged in respect of any journey by reference to the distance travelled or time elapsed since the start of the journey (or a combination of both).
TfL's argument is that the vehicle is not equipped with a Taximeter, as it's a mobile device, it's the driver that's equipped.
We believe this argument would not stand up in court, taking for instance the many burglars who have been prosecuted for going equipped, having had breaking and entering tools found in vehicles they have been stopped in by police.
It's not the burglars that were equipped, as the tools could be argued are mobile and found in the vehicle.
If TfL were to win their case, then every burglar who had been found guilty of going equipped would have a case to appeal against their verdict.
This could start a new plague of cold calls
"Good morning, going equipped lawyers for you: Have you ever been found guilty of Going Equipped? Were you in a vehicle? Then our lawyers can help you claim"
Apparently Uber Doesn't Trust Its Own Drivers!
