Black cabs retain exclusive right to use London bus lanes
Minicab drivers are barred from using the capital’s bus lanes, a European
court has ruled.
Eventech, a subsidiary of Addison Lee, challenged Transport
for London at
the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over their policy of banning private hire
cars from bus lanes. But the ECJ said only black cab drivers are allowed to
share the bus lanes because they were distinct from mini cabs and did not give
them an economic advantage.
TfL has argued that taxis are allowed to drive in bus lanes because they can ply for hire, whereas minicabs cannot, and are required to be wheelchair-accessible. Allowing tens of thousands of minicabs to drive in bus lanes would also affect the reliability of bus services, it added. The case was previously heard by the High Court and the Court of Appeal before being considered by the ECJ. It will now return to the Court of Appeal. Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "Our policy on bus lanes was upheld by the High Court. We welcome the opinion from the Advocate General and now the European Court of Justice, but ultimately await the decision of the Court of Appeal. "As this process continues, we are maintaining our well-understood and effective policy that helps to keep London moving in the interest of everyone."
VOSA targets increased
TfL has argued that taxis are allowed to drive in bus lanes because they can ply for hire, whereas minicabs cannot, and are required to be wheelchair-accessible. Allowing tens of thousands of minicabs to drive in bus lanes would also affect the reliability of bus services, it added. The case was previously heard by the High Court and the Court of Appeal before being considered by the ECJ. It will now return to the Court of Appeal. Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "Our policy on bus lanes was upheld by the High Court. We welcome the opinion from the Advocate General and now the European Court of Justice, but ultimately await the decision of the Court of Appeal. "As this process continues, we are maintaining our well-understood and effective policy that helps to keep London moving in the interest of everyone."
VOSA targets increased
VOSA
(Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) are set to tackle buses and
lorries in 2015, after a record number of complaints from bus drivers
and lorry drivers were logged in 2014 regarding the safety and quality
of vehicles their respective companies were issuing.
Last
year VOSA logged over 1,233 complaints from bus drivers and lorry
drivers regarding safety issues about vehicles which were issued by
transport companies. This has led to further investigation being
carried out by VOSA to try and get ‘to the root problem’ behind these
complaints.
VOSA
are to commit more of its workforce to VOSA checkpoints and ‘dawn
raids’ in an effort to uncover the true extent of the allegations
logged. Their goal is to ensure that drivers are correctly logging
defects with vehicles and that operating companies are actioning on
them.
A
VOSA worker who did not want to be named said “VOSA have received a
record number of complaints last year, with many drivers insisting their
companies are forcing them to take vehicles which are defective or
otherwise unsafe for use on Britain’s roads. Vehicle safety is the main
concern of VOSA and there are significant plans in place to perform
more spot checks and dawn raids in order to crack down on companies
operating outside of VOSA regulation.”
“If
drivers do not want to be penalised for defective vehicles then it is
up to the driver to stand up to their company and refuse to take
vehicles which are not fit for purpose. If a vehicle is defective not
only becomes a hazard to the driver but anyone around them if something
were to happen. The sole blame then lies with the driver with the
companies often pointing to official paperwork.”
“The
only way to tackle this problem is direct on the companies doorstep
with a surprise attack. It will ensure unsafe vehicles are not released
on the roads and also protect drivers from feeling forced to take a
defective vehicle”.
