Justin Robertson talks to Mark Burgess from Broad Oak Asset Finance regarding the various finance options available for the transport industry…

Burgess explained that the options are wide and can seem at first seem very complex. However, it is vital that the limousine industry takes the time to understand all the options and make the right decision for their businesses.

The most common form of finance is straight forward hire purchase — with fixed capital and interest payments over a pre-set period. In some case hire purchase is the most appropriate funding option, however other finance schemes can be more cost effective in certain circumstances.

For example, if the transport operator regularly changes his vehicle fleet and therefore settles the agreement before the end of the contract term, with hire purchase there is likely to be interest penalties to pay. In this case, a balance payment scheme may be preferable, where interest is calculated daily and therefore early settlement of the loan does not attract early settlement penalties.

Also, in some cases rather than making equal capital and interest payments throughout the loan, it may make sense to offset an element of capital to the end of the loan. This has the effect of reducing the monthly payments so improving cash flow throughout the term of the loan — and the balloon is payment is set so that the value of the vehicle comfortably covers the element of capital remaining at the end of the agreement.

Also, transport companies should give consideration to finance lease as oppose to hire purchase. Normally with a lease agreement the entire payment can be off set against taxable income (as oppose to HP where just the interest element of the payment can normally be offset against taxable income).

Burgess explained that at Broad Oak, a series of questions are asked in order to gain an understanding of each individual transport business. Only by understanding elements such as the monthly vehicle budget, the VAT position and the frequency with which the vehicles are changed can the best advice be given. The decision regarding finance is vitally important and picking the wrong option can be costly.

The most obvious consideration is obtaining the lowest interest rate. However, it is also vital to consider all the various finance options in order to find the right finance deal for the individual company.

Rolls-Royce has hand built 25 bespoke cars called Phantom Black which are aimed at demonstrating the best in Rolls-Royce design, engineering, craftsmanship and emphasise the Phantom’s impressive performance and dynamic character — and the bad news is that they are all sold!

High lustre metallic Diamond Black paint is used on the body, complemented by twin silver coach lines. 21-inch alloy wheels come fitted with high performance Goodyear run flat tyres and feature unique black detailing and centre caps with RR badges, engineered to stay upright even at speed. At the rear of the Phantom Black, visible tail pipes hint at the car’s performance.

Under the bonnet the 6.75 litre V12 engine has been treated to gloss black inlet manifolds, chrome plated top covers and new black Rolls-Royce badges. The near silent motor provides 453bhp, enough to propel the Phantom Black from 0-60mph in just 5.7 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 149mph.

Inside, soft black leather upholstery is edged with Seashell piping, black ash wood veneers are used throughout and while dark in finish, still allow the natural grain to show through. The dashboard is finished in special black metal foil with a finely embossed diamond pattern and a slightly thicker rimmed steering wheel adds to the dynamic spirit of the Phantom Black.

Graeme Grieve, Sales and Marketing Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, “Phantom Black uses a number of new bespoke finishes and materials to create a contemporary car that blends aesthetics and engineering, emphasising the dynamic character of the car.”

All 25 of the limited run of Phantom Black cars have already been allocated to customers around the world.

The Phantom Black specification was created through the Bespoke programme at Goodwood. Bespoke allows Rolls-Royce customers to individually specify their car precisely to their own tastes.

Some interesting results have been revealed following the recent launch of the first survey into the chauffeuring and limousine industry.

The survey which was first given out at the Royal Ascot event has been distributed to thousands of chauffeurs and limousine operators and the result have certainly raised a few eyebrows. Questions such as the way you operate, the vehicles you use and other topics like insurance, cleaning and views on the industry are all covered in the biggest survey of its kind ever conducted.

However, there are some results that were expected such as the most popular vehicles both in the executive area and the limousine business. So far the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the most used executive car and the Lincoln Town Car limousine also comes out on top.

Most of the results will not be published until the end of the survey period which is expected to be around the middle of 2007, but some of the obvious facts such as 94% of the industry is male dominated and 79% of those surveyed are company owner/drivers.

Other interesting facts have been discovered, such as a very small percentage of the industry use computerized booking systems for their business and less than 10% of clients use a website to book their journeys — even though a massive amount of companies are geared up to take them through their websites.

The survey is a great opportunity to air your views and opinions about the industry as all of them will be compiled at the end of the survey period and published in the magazine which is read by all the appropriate authorities.

Managing Director of Today Publishing Limited which runs The Chauffeur magazine, Paul Gibson commented; “It is amazing and I thank all those who have taken some time out of their busy schedules to complete the survey and help compile the industries biggest record of exactly what the business is all about”.

H e added, “The magazine has invested a lot of time and money into developing this survey and I would like to also thank all the sponsors who have helped to make this happen. It proves that these companies like the magazine are dedicated to sorting out the problems the industry has and give those involved with it the opportunity to air them.”

Every completed survey will be in with the chance to win an excellent Clarion 360 GPS unit worth £300.

A taxi service, said the be the first of its kind in the UK is starting in Brighton using Asian tuc-tucs — three-wheeled vehicles. The vehicles are environmentally friendly, running on compressed natural gas with super-low emissions, however, Taxiwise would like to see a minimum safety standard set.

A new tuc-tuc service introduced in Brighton and due to be rolled out in cities across the UK could be putting passengers at risk. That’s the view of Taxiwise, the nationwide campaign for the safer use of taxis, after the service was launched last month.

Twelve of the novelty vehicles, popular in India, are now available to carry passengers around the city and are touted as being fun for passengers and good for the environment.

However Taxiwise, which wants to see minimum standards set for the type and safety of any vehicle used as a taxi, argues that the vehicles offer practically no protection in the event of an accident and represent a backwards step in the standard of vehicle available for passengers.

“It is of particular note that one of the main safety features on the imported vehicles highlighted at the launch was the inclusion of driver and passenger seatbelts,” said Celeste Clarke, spokesperson for Taxiwise.

“Seatbelts have been a legal requirement for more than 20 years. Every vehicle has to have them. If that is being highlighted as a main safety point, maybe questions should be asked about the appropriateness of these vehicles for English roads.

“They offer little or no protection in the event of an accident, so passengers could be at risk of serious injury, and they are not accessible to wheelchair users.

“I would also like to know if drivers have to go through the same standard police checks that ordinary taxi drivers do.

“The introduction of these vehicles to our streets is a step backwards in terms of the quality of vehicle that passengers can use. We would like to see any vehicle licensed to carry passengers meeting a strict set of safety an accessibility standards, along the same lines as the black cabs do in London.”

Dominic Ponniah from TucTuc Limited commented; “The vehicles, as required by the terms of our license, have all been modified to comply with UK safety requirements. These modifications include the addition of side impact protection, roll-bars and seatbelts.”

He added, “We have taken every precaution to ensure the safety of our passengers and drivers whilst in the vehicles. Further to this each of our drivers have undergone extensive training in the vehicles prior to taking to the road.”

The company says that various improvements have been made to each TucTuc which include the replacement of brake pipes, anti-rolls bars, seat belts and side impact protection. All vehicles have been converted to CNG — Compressed Natural Gas — to make them more environmentally friendly.

Doctor Limo has now opened the surgery for all your problems, but please try and keep them limousine orientated!

I own a Lincoln Town Car stretch limousine on a V-Plate. The car runs fine but I find it hard to change the gears as the gear lever is a bit stiff. Would you know the areas that might need lubrication to resolve this problem? Please help!

All of the Lincoln Town Cars of this era use a similar design of shift cable, that runs from a lever at the base of the steering column to the neutral safety switch at the side of the transmission case, passing through a couple of brackets & guides along the way.

Since very little of the cable is actually exposed to the elements, it seems unlikely that lubrication is the culprit. If you do want to lubricate it, you will need to force oil/grease between the inner & outer parts. There used to be pressure devices to do this, but to be honest I haven’t seen one for a long time. The problem you are describing is quite possibly due to a totally different reason though. It is very common for the engine grounding to fail and as a result, the shift cable is a nice an easy path for the electrical system to take. This often results in the cable becoming sticky or even solid. If this is the case, it will need to be replaced and the failure of the earth strap investigated and repaired.

We have a problem with our 120 Lincoln Town car 1998 model. The problem has come totally out of the blue. The vehicle will overheat mainly when laden with passengers and going up hill. The temperature gauge shoots up to hot and drops straight away when you switch the heater on to full heat, so in affect you can play with it a little.

We have had a new temperature sender, thermostat, electric fan, radiator cap and the engine management checked. The gearbox has been checked but still no one can shed any light to the matter. Please help!

The answer lies in the fact that the problem is at least (partially) curable by operating the heater. The heater incorporates a small radiator (heater core) into the system, so when the controls are set to full heat, the engine coolant passes through this additional radiator which allows more heat to be removed from it.

Therefore, the most likely cause is a partially blocked or in some other way defective radiator. Although you didn’t mention it, it’s quite feasible that the radiator could have been repaired or re-cored some time in the past. In my experience, cores sourced in the UK simply do not provide sufficient capacity for the requirement of an American vehicle. A limo conversion obviously puts more strain on the system too. The radiator could also have internal corrosion which will cause it to be less effective at dissipating heat. It is essential that a coolant containing a reasonable percentage (30%-50% should be okay) of good quality anti-freeze is used at all times. Replacing with the correct American radiator using the correct coolant will almost certainly cure the problem.

Hi Doc, Hope you could help me with a few problems I am experiencing with a 1999 Lincoln Town Car.

Problem Two. We are experiencing a battery vampire. After every trip, short or long our battery seems to discharge itself. Not immediately however, but if you leave it 12 hrs or so and try to start it the car will not turn over. A new battery was fitted recently but the problem has not gone away. The alternator is putting out enough charge as this has been checked, there are no lights on the dash to indicate a charging fault, so I suspect something is draining the battery. Could you please help as these faults are not only annoying they have recently become embarrassing.

A utomatic transmissions used in later model vehicles are a lot more complicated than the older ones, which tend to soldier on forever with little attention or problems. Your description of “stuttering” is a little hard to interpret, but I take it you are experiencing some interruption in drive?

Problem One: Since the problem primarily happens once warm, the viscosity of the fluid could be playing a role. The first thing I would do would be to change the filter and re-fill with the correct fluid for the transmission concerned. I doubt whether this will completely cure the problem, but these transmissions are very pernickety when it comes to fluid type. If this only partially clears the problem, chances are you have some internal leakage around the seals. There are proprietary additives available to help transmission sealing, which again may provide some respite, but chances are you will need to have the transmission tested and repaired by a specialist.

Problem Two: Parasitic current drain is also a major problem on the newer cars as so much electrical equipment is now fitted and much of it requires battery backup at all times. You will need to enlist the services of an auto-electrician who will have the sensitive equipment to find out where the drain is occurring.

So you’re thinking of starting a limousine company? So many people start out with the impression that all you need to do is buy a limousine, park it on your drive and the neighbours will knock and make you an instant millionaire.

If only that was true! In reality, you have more chance of the neighbours resenting your new venture than hiring your limo. Finance is often secured on the vehicle so unlike most new start-up businesses where you would have to prepare an in depth business plan and present it to your bank manager, finance on a limo is very easy to get.

You purchase the car and then you’re on your own! Limo Trade Limited based in Coventry has developed a unique program aimed at giving new limo operators a much needed helping hand if they decide to go into business. The company has aimed to cover all the points which are normally overlooked by new businesses and to avoid trouble at a later stage.

Dave Packwood from Limo Trade commented; “As this industry grows, it is extremely important that the new operators deal with the correct and experienced dealers within the limousine sales network.”

He added, “We see it so many times, when operators just go out and find a limousine which suits their budget and hire it out. Then, as they become successful they find they haven’t put any thought into all the other aspects of the business like promotions and licensing etc.”

The company has secured fifteen top quality 2003 new shape Lincoln Town Cars as featured on the front page of the Limo Fever calendar.

All the vehicles have SVA certificates and are being offered with one year free insurance, a free website for 12 months and £100 of free pay-per-click advertising. The package doesn’t stop there as Limo Trade is also including business stationery, a wedding package including ‘roll out red carpet’, Free Garmin satellite navigation system and a free warranty.

All this is being offered to new businesses for £29,995. Dave commented; “We also have similar packages available for purchasing brand new limos including Chrysler 300s and Hummer H3s. Our finance is very flexible and for those who are VAT registered we can even defer the VAT for three months in order for you to claim it back before you’ve even paid it. Rates from 3.85%, No deposit and nothing to pay for a whole year are just some of the schemes we can offer at the moment.”

Leading limousine manufacturer Binz, famed for its extended chassis E-Class limousines, is stepping up a grade with an all new S-Class limousine concept vehicle.

THE S-CLASS Mercedes-Benz based Binz is designed to continue that tradition of excellence established since 1936 when Michael Binz first started coachbuilding with Mercedes-Benz sourced chassis units. Production of the E-Class Binz continues but it is proposed that this will be complimented by the much larger and more sophisticated Binz S-Class which will initially be available to special order only.

The 6-door S-Class is a real ministerial car that will make an impact wherever it goes. It will have a presence which dominates the road and makes a positive statement about its occupants. With this vehicle, Binz will be bringing European style and class back into a sector that has of late become devalued by pressure from ostentatious over-stretched pseudo-limousines.

Binz ís flawless extension of the chassis — designed with access to full Mercedes- Benz S-Class design and test data — will be complemented by sculpted central doors with electric windows. Inside, passengers will relax on leather seating and keep their cool thanks to the car ís middle-eastern specification air conditioning. Available options include in-car entertainment from video screens set into the rear of each headrest, and privacy blinds. Power will be courtesy of the S320 V6 common-rail turbo-diesel, with the S350 petrol 24 valve V6 optional.

As always with a Binz the extended chassis S-Class will have a fully functioning engine management system controlling the brakes, steering and suspension, fine tuned to suit not only the extended length of the vehicle but the additional gross weight with a full passenger occupancy.

Binz UK CEO Peter Smith explains, ”With the latest incarnation of the S-Class, Mercedes-Benz have raised the bar yet again as regards standards of passenger safety, and ride comfort. To retain full Mercedes-Benz engineering approvals for our extended chassis limousine version, means precise recalibration of interrelated on-board electronics controlling adaptive intelligent ride air suspension, vehicle stability control and now the Pre-Safe occupant restraint facility.”

The Binz S-Class is a Limousine that makes no pretensions — it quite simply doesn’t have to, it is the real thing. The S-Class oozes confidence; it has a street presence without having an ungainly stretch or a lurid paint scheme, or an overdose of chrome plated plastic. This is truly travelling first class, in a first class vehicle with first class workmanship.

On most expensive cars, the high sticker price is just the start of your worries. Nick Gibbs talks to limo fleets and residual value experts to find out the best ways to acquire, run and dispose of luxury cars.

“Ideally I’d run it into the ground,” says Bill Hasan of the Mercedes S-class. “Per pound I’d benefit much more if I kept it until it fell apart”. But Hasan, like most limo bosses who run executive cars, doesn’t have that financial luxury. The last thing he wants is for the clients for his exclusive London-based chauffeur business, Le-Tour Limited is to start noticing the twice-updated version beside them at the lights.

So Hasan is forced to sell and risk getting the financial wind knocked out of his business from depreciation of skyscraper proportions. But, as you’d expect from a man who can boast a Maybach and a Rolls Royce Phantom on his fleet, he has a few tricks up his sleeve. Apart from Hasan and his near million-pound fleet (well, bought new it was), we also cast the net wider to track down experts best placed to advise the limo boss peering into the chasm of a new executive car purchase. Then, hopefully, when the boss calls for a Bentley, the company finance won’t be rocked quite so violently.

More likely though, it will be a BMW 7-series. The big Beemer is by far the biggest selling luxury saloon, shifting just over 2000 models largely thanks to the 730d — a canny purchase you might think? Just a year after it gets delivered, price experts CAP say you’ll get less than £30,000 for the £48,500 BMW, a drop of just over 40 percent. After three years and 60,000 miles later, expect the dealer to offer up a mere £16,500. Recently, auctioneers at BCA brought the hammer down on a three-year, 47k mile 730d SE at just £23,400. That disastrous fall is the big reason why the SE version will cost 71ppm to run, and that’s relatively ‘sensible’ money in the world of prestige motoring.

Worked out by a company called TopCalc, which works closely with fleets to get accurate running-cost predictions, the pence per mile figure is arrived at by adding service costs, depreciation and fuel bills and assuming 60,000 miles over years, and it can be the most useful finance figure for any limo company.

CAP predicts that the new Mercedes S500, will lose a massive 49 percent of its value in the first year, which is actually more than the model it replaced (mainly due to its higher sticker price) but worst of all is the Bentley Arnage, which loses a incredible £100,000 in the first 12 months of its life, equating to a drop of 49 percent from the plushest RL’s start price of £191,000. Two pounds every mile, reckons TopCalc.

“There’s a new owner hit, as you get with most cars. Trouble is it’s so much greater with expensive cars,” says Mark Norman, managing editor of CAP’s price predictor, Monitor. “The S500 for example, virtually as soon as you drive it out of the showroom you wave goodbye to the best part of £20,000. It doesn’t matter what you do.”

It’s a feeling the boss of London-based Le Tour Chauffeur Drive knows well. “Our Rolls-Royce Phantom is just over a year old, but it’s lost 35 percent already,” says Bill Hasan. “For the price of what that’ll lose, you can buy a whole business and perhaps a nice little house too.”

Watch the spec Worse still, the price of those extras your clients insist on — the air conditioned seats, the rear DVD player are likely to be wiped off completely. “Most of what you pay extra for, you’ll take an absolute hit on,” says CAP’s Norman. “It’s nice having a fridge in the armrest, but how many are people will be willing to pay extra for that later on?”

So spec is the first step in shoring up your residual dam. The one option that often can’t be ignored by chauffeurs is the longer wheelbase version, which can add around £4000 to the price. However, while you don’t get any extra back come resale, they do maintain a price gap against the standard car, says CAP (see box) In other words, some of the extra cash you spent will find your way back into your pocket.

But not all prestige values melt faster than an ice swan in July, just most of them. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur for example might cost £118,000 new, but a year later it’s still worth £77,000, says CAP. The extra glamour factor that comes from being related to the ultra-desirable Continental GT has slowed up deprecation to the point it’s one of the few limos that doesn’t drop more than 40 percent in its first year.

Four-wheel-drives are another class of car to consider, but only with the diesels. For example the Range Rover Vogue with the 4.4-litre V8 follows a path very similar to the saloons — huge first year drop then steady decline. However the 3.0 TD6 costs around four grand less to buy, but four years later according to CAP’s calculations it’ll actually be worth more than the petrol.

TopCalc’s prediction is that, for example, the Jaguar XJ Sovereign with the V6 diesel engine will cost 15p per mile less than the V8 petrol. That’s taking into account cheaper servicing, cheaper fuel bills and a smaller residual drop.

But Bill Hasan, like many chauffeur bosses, won’t go diesel for his top-end limos and he’s not about to swap them for 4x4s, so he’s forced to deal with huge drop in value. His solution is to keep them as long as possible – not run into the ground, but long enough to take advantage of a slowdown. “The major deprecation comes in the first three years, and they will hold their prices after that,” he says. “You still get the same quality. A five-year-old S-class is not so different to the three-and-half-year-old car.

Hasan also makes sure he extends the warranty with Mercedes dealers. It costs him £1000 a year, but says it’s worth every penny. “We’ve just had £5000 of warranty work done on the five-year-old S-class that we paid nothing for. And if you have some of the warranty left when you come to sell, the person who is buying the car has more peace of mind.”

Having owned his cars from new, Hasan either sells to other chauffeur firms, or angles for good part-exchange prices with Mercedes dealers. “There’s so many choices where to buy, it’s worth it to haggle and say so and so gave me this deal. Their pockets are very deep,” he says. It is advice echoed by Mark Norman at CAP: “Bargain hard as possible. All of them will do something.”
Getting a decent price when you sell can be hard, but auction houses like BCA are geared up for prestige cars.

“The key to remarketing high-value product is exposure to the right buyers and this takes a little more time,” says BCA general manager Graham Smith. Their solution is dedicated Top Car sales that keep out the usual fleet riff-raff in favour of high-end sports cars and limos. It was in this rarefied atmosphere that they established a UK auction record for a current model, selling a Rolls-Royce Phantom in Nottingham for £189,000.

Instead of buying you could lease it, but — as you probably feared — there’s a premium. For a start, the leasing companies can get nervous at the top end, and for finance houses, nerves always mean higher prices. “With cars like the Maybach, it’s such a risk for us,” says John Porter at Lex. “We’d take a more prudent view on used values and the rentals would be high for the customer.”

Of course, if you’re not buying new, this almost catastrophic drop in price plays right into your hands. Wait a year and there’s £20k saved, providing you pick the right car. BCA’s dedicated Top Car auctions are a good place to hunt down the deals close to the prices we’ve been talking about.

The CAP prices quoted throughout are trade-in figures, ie what a dealer would give you, not what they’d sell for. For example your Bentley dealer might offer just £98,000 for your year-old Arnage RL, but he’s going to put it on the forecourt for a whole lot more. The cheapest 05 model we saw was going for £127,500 (although still a long way down from £190,000). When buying new, there are a few tricks limo bosses can learn to contain the residual damage when selling up, but it’s a bit like holding a bucket to a dam burst. Instead, you’ve got to work out how to best go with the flow.

Working for billionaires

With 16 years in the chauffeur business, Bill Hasan of Le-Tour Chauffeur Drive has learnt a thing or two about running a limousine fleet. His first piece of advice is to go Mercedes — of the eight cars on his fleet, all but one is either a Mercedes or Mercedes-built.

The Rolls Royce Phantom is his one concession to other makes. “They say Mercedes is a poor man’s car, It might be expensive to buy but you can run it for nothing.” He admits this isn’t entirely true, what with that depreciation, but the combination of low-mileage and on-the-button servicing allows him to wring maximum use and around five years out of his S-Class cars.

That’s because they’re hired most for “directed work”, ie they stand about a lot. His E-Class cars on the other hand can spend their life running to Heathrow and back and rack up around 150,000 in three years.

It’s a different story when it comes to the Rolls-Royce and Maybach though, “They’re very exclusive cars,” Hasan shrugs. “Some clients are after the latest car, like Russians and the Arab royals and they don’t mind paying for them”. Despite the potential fuel savings, he draws the line at Mercedes S-Class diesels. “What’s next a Rolls diesel, a Bentley diesel?

It has been confirmed that another Limousine which has been built from scratch in Europe will be making its debut at the show.

A Chrysler 300 will be unveiled which is said to have the strongest chassis in its class and promises to show amazing attention to build quality and detail.

The company, UK based BC Coach has been working closely with the Mercedes-Benz and BMW approved coachbuilder to develop the left-hand drive “diesel” 300 which is set to stun crowds at the forthcoming event. The coachbuilders have said that right-hand drive and petrol versions will be available.

The 120 inch stretched vehicle is fully rust proofed both inside and out and will come with a 3 year anti corrosion warranty. The exterior will boast a fully painted raised roof and a full Chrome package including large wheels.

Inside, the 300 will feature full leather and a stainless steel bar, five televisions, a built in battery charger to avoid the vehicles power being lost and a class leading air-conditioning system. The vehicle will be making its first appearance at the show, so don’t forget to take a look at Europe’s first stretch Limousine on the BC coach stand.

The vehicles highlighted in this magazine are an amazing step forward for the European limousine industry as a whole. The future will be looking very bright with the ever increasing expansion of American coachbuilders, and various new companies being created throughout Europe.

Early indications show that prices of the Euro built limousines will compare to those build in America, but this is yet to be proved as the development of these vehicles continues over the coming months.

Does a chauffeur hire firm working solely for one of two account customers on a pre-booked basis paying on invoice need to be licensed? John Stenning discovers the facts and talks to the Public Carriage Office to find out…

I have always believed that most operators doing their own account work and do not accept bookings from the public, don’t have to have an operators license, for example the drivers do not need licenses and the vehicles do not have to be tested. However, they can be tested to obtain congestion charge exemption.

If the operators drivers are licensed and the cars have been tested to obtain congestion exemption, they could make them available to any licensed operators as a sub contract vehicle. The PCO use the threat of a change of legislation to close this loophole to keep operators licensed. I wondered if in fact the government will find the time to deal with this or will it just be held as a threat?

I live outside London and owned business premises since 1989. I would like to give up these premises and to continue to have an operator license, but I need a London address with relevant planning permission. Most people operating from home addresses obtain permission from their local council station and don’t realise they need planning permission to run a business from their home.

On a recent inspection from my PCO officer, he mentioned that planning permission has to be obtained, and not just a letter stating they thought planning permission is probably not needed. This means that all home businesses will have to obtain planning permission or a letter saying the business was operating with Certificate of Lawfulness of proposed use.

I now feel it would be possible to set up one address for many people to register at one operating base, so if any one man band company is interested, please get in touch. The whole area of licensing is open to how the PCO wants to interpret things to suit their financial earning potential. For example, I have just renewed my license after the first five years and had to pay £637 for the application! Why should we be charged this to renew?

I contacted Kathleen Ryan from the Operator Licensing Section, Public Carriage Office to find out, and the letter I received was as follows…

The term ‘operator’ means as a person who makes provision for the invitation of acceptance of, or who accepts, private hire bookings and a ‘private hire booking’ means a booking for the hire of a private hire vehicle for the purpose of carrying one of more passengers (including a booking to carry out as sub-contractor a private hire booking accepted by another operator).

During the course of licensing London’s private hire industry, a number of companies who provided their services on a contract basis to local authorities and hospitals etc. challenged the requirement to be licensed. They asserted that as their vehicles were not available for hire by the public their businesses did not fall within the scope of the Act.

It has always been held by the Public Carriage Office that the Act was intended to be all inclusive other than for the specific exemptions specified therein (i.e. taxis, public service vehicles and vehicles whose use as a private hire vehicle is limited to use in connection with funerals and weddings). However legal advice supported the contention that operators, vehicles and drivers solely undertaking contract work did not need to be licensed.

With that in mind I would say that it is possible for a person who provides a chauffeur service to operate without being licensed, provided that he can demonstrate that there is a genuine limitation on the use of vehicles.

You should however be aware that this position may change if and when paragraph 44 of the road Safety Bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons on 30th November 2004, is enacted. For your information paragraph 44 of said Bill made provision for the definition of a private hire vehicle to be amended by removing the phrase ‘to the public’