The Questions
1) What’s the difference between a taxi and a private hire vehicle?
2) Why can’t I just hire myself and my historic vehicle out whenever I feel like it?
4) Surely, no one will bother to check up - but what are the penalties if I do get caught out?
5) Where can I find some more background?
The Answers
1) What’s the difference between a taxi and a private hire vehicle (PHV)?
The distinction is less important than it once was as many local authorities set the same standards for both. Broadly, though, a taxi is a vehicle with driver that can be hailed in the street or picked up at a taxi rank and whose charges are based on an approved scale (usually metered) whereas a private hire vehicle is pre-booked with the hire charge being determined by agreement.
2) Why can’t I just hire myself and my historic vehicle out whenever I feel like it?
The simple answer is that the law says so. The answer to the obvious follow-up question, ‘why?’, is rather more complicated and goes back into the pre-Victorian era. Briefly, though, the intention is to protect the public from physical danger by setting standards of competence for drivers and standards of maintenance for vehicles.
With one or two limited exceptions, any vehicle that is used for private hire purposes must be licensed for the purpose, the driver must hold a PHV licence and the operator (i.e. the person responsible for arranging the bookings, who may also be the driver) also needs to have a PHV operators’ licence. All such licences are issued by the relevant local authority, and the terms and conditions (over which local authorities have an element of discretion) are quite onerous. Some authorities refuse to licence older vehicles for PHV purposes.
3) Are there any occasions when I can use my car to earn a few pounds to help with maintenance costs? For instance, I see photos in the local paper of kids being taken to school proms in historic cars, not to mention old cars being used for weddings etc.
Hiring your car out for self-drive is outside the scope of the PHV regulations, so technically you can do that without PHV licensing but the implications for insurance etc. make it a totally impractical idea on anything other than a proper commercial scale. The only exceptions to the general PHV rules are for weddings and funerals where licensing is not required, but beware, you do need to make sure your insurance covers this use.
There is, of course, nothing in the PHV regs to stop any private individual using his car to take someone to a school prom, a golden wedding party or for any other purpose provided they take no reward for doing so. The courts would certainly take a dim view of anyone who sought to avoid the legislation by asking for payment in kind: that would still be considered a reward. Receipt of an unsolicited bottle after the event, however, is unlikely to be so considered.
4) Surely, no one will bother to check up - but what are the penalties if I do get caught out?
Don’t be so sure. Local authorities, who charge professional PHV operators substantial sums for licensing, are under an obligation to prevent unlicensed operators taking business from those who have taken the trouble to follow the correct procedures. While it is unlikely that a one-off occasion will be discovered, the penalties can be quite substantial and may include confiscation of vehicles as well as four figure fines.
5) Where can I find some more background?
The subject of Private Hire Vehicles and the background legislation was covered extensively in FBHVC Newsletters in 2007/8
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