London Green Badge and Blue TfL pre-booked stickers have been openly available on EBay for years.
But now the problem of Taxis and minicabs running round with expired plates and TfL roundels are becoming an all too familiar sight.
With the proliferation of older vehicles currently available after the introduction of the Mayor's age limit on Taxis, for just a few pounds, anyone can buy one and could be out there working it as a Taxi.
The problem became apparent back in late 2012, a 22 year old Taxi was regularly spotted in NW1, plying for hire, with a PCO plate a year out of date.
How can this be?
Well it's dead easy...
Current legislation allows Taxi and minicab owners to sell their vehicles to a third party, complete with PCO licence. New owners who are not licensed by TfL then slip under the radar.
Old fairways and TX1s are quite easy to spot, but it's a totally different story with minicabs. It's almost impossible to read the roundel dates without a close up inspection. Even then with tinted windows they can be unreadable.
The reason these vehicles are not being picked up by compliance teams; these drivers just stay away from known ranks where compliance teams are regular visitors...yes it's that easy.
Taxi Leaks strongly believe, the current compliance program from LTPH, is not fit for purpose and need a complete overhaul plus new direction and new leadership. A director who has come from the rank and file of the trade.
Solution:
The way to stop this is incredibly simple.
When vehicles are sold on, whether they be Taxis or minicabs, it has to be a legal requirement that the TfL plates/roundels MUST be surrendered. Change of ownership should be followed by a full NSL inspection, with new plates being issued to the new owner. This should herald a completely new licensed period, just like it was under the Met.
The only thing making this complicated is the bi-annual MOT scheme introduced by Boris Johnson. This should be scrapped immediately, as it is a complete farce. Many garages renting older vehicles do their own MoTs.
The old system was tried and tested over many years and best of all, it worked. Keeping the standards high. Until that is SGS saw another revenue stream in repass fees. Then inspection failures suddenly rocketed. To keep it fair return fees should be scrapped.
Message to TfL...Do the Job properly, or don't do it at all.
Give Taxis and PHVs their own agency.
Yet again, when it comes to the licensed Taxi trade, "The Best Taxi Service in The World", public safety is pushed to the back burner.
