A national solution to the licensing and recognition of Private Hire Vehicles could be trialled in London if an industry association gets its way.
Around ten years after the introduction of the fluorescent disc for operators to display in vehicles, the Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) has revealed plans which were drawn up by Industry legend Bill Edwards, who sadly passed in July.
Labelled “The Bill Edwards National Signage Solution”, the proposed solution has already been presented to the Law Commission, amid the review of the way the industry is regulated nationwide.
His idea is to ensure every licensed vehicle in country displays a ‘P’ on the left hand side of the front and rear index plates (see artists impression above). Therefore, identifying it as a vehicle used for hire and reward (a PHV). The labelling will also carry information about the operators license such as expiry date, passenger capacity, licensing authority and company name etc. This will be backed-up by a tax disc holder on the front nearside of the windscreen containing the vehicle license information and expiry date for the purpose of enforcement and public scrutiny,
Using existing technology such as ANPR and authorities databases, information on any vehicle can be found quickly and easily by any member of the public or Police officer, hopefully cracking down on the number of touts on the road.
In London, TfL already has a database of every Licensed Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle and with their online licence checker the public can already establish Licensing Information within a second of typing in a vehicle registration number. This reveals the Make, Model, PHV Licence Number and expiry date of the licence for the vehicle.
Bill subsequently came up with yet another idea just days before he sadly passed away, when it was being debated that car-hire companies, family members and others, do sometimes use a Licensed Vehicle for hiring to non-industry customers or for family journeys. Therefore, he suggested the new bracket could be engineered to have a cover that slotted in front of it.
The LPHCA has shown the plans to the Department for Transport, TfL, the London Mayoral Team, some Local Authorities and the Law Commission all of whom were apparently positive about the concept. It now intends to show this to safety groups, travel groups, tourist information providers, more Local Authorities and Politicians.