Agenda item

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report seeking approval for the Ford Procab to be licensed as a hackney carriage.

The Committee is recommended to approve the Ford Procab, which is not fully compliant with the conditions of fitness, to be licensed as a hackney carriage provided that Members accept that the benefits of licensing outweigh the disadvantages outlined in paragraph 5 of the report.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report seeking approval for the Ford Procab to be licensed as a hackney carriage.

The Committee was recommended to approve the Ford Procab, which was not fully compliant with the conditions of fitness, to be licensed as a hackney carriage provided that they accepted that the benefits of licensing the vehicle outweighed the disadvantages outlined in paragraph 5 of the report.

The Licensing Team Manager presented the report and drew attention to the two areas where the vehicle was not compliant with the existing conditions of fitness.   These were :-

a)         The overall width of the vehicle is 1986mm, which exceeds the maximum width of 1845mm specified in Appendix 1.

b)         The top of the tread for any entrance is shown to be 0.56m, although Appendix 1 specifies a maximum of 0.53 metres above ground level when the vehicle is unladen.  However, the manufacturers comments that the vehicle is fitted with a side step with a height of 0.22m.

c)         The manufacturers had been asked to address these deviations from the conditions of fitness and their response would be reported verbally at the meeting.

The vehicle had been checked by Licensing Enforcement Officers on 13 July 2017 and it was reported that the details provided by Allied Vehicles on the vehicle compliance form were correct.  The Enforcement Officers had made two observations that the location of the wheelchair anchorage was different to other vehicles and that the intermediate step which automatically extended from underneath the vehicle when the side door opened would stop automatically if it hit an obstruction.  The step could be manual overridden by the driver if necessary. 

In addition a certificate of European Whole Vehicle type approval had been provided for the vehicle. 

The Chair then invited Simon Guilliatt and Lucy Bradley from Allied Vehicles to outline the reasons for the company’s application.  It was stated that:-

·         The company were asking all councils to approve the vehicle for use as a hackney carriage.

·         The vehicle offered 6, 7 or 8 seat variations for a standard price of £34,000 for the manual transmission.  An automatic transmission option was available for an additional £1,500

·         The vehicle had a full EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval certificate.

·         A number of Councils had already approved the vehicle for use as a hackney carriage.

·         The vehicle met the Euro 6 emissions standards    

At 17.46 pm the Chair adjourned the meeting to enable Members to inspect the vehicle, which was parked outside of the City Hall.

Members inspected the vehicle and experienced entering and leaving the vehicle and seating arrangements.   Members also observed the operation of the automatic step and wheelchair ramp and observed the wheelchair loading procedure and anchorage points.  

At 18.07 pm the meeting was reconvened with all Members present who were present when the meeting was adjourned. 

Following the inspection of the vehicle, Members asked questions of the representatives of Allied Vehicles and the following responses were received:-

·         Although the top of the tread was 0.03m above the Council’s specification, the intermediate step height was 0.25m from the ground and the height to the top of the tread was then 0.31m.  The intermediate steps had LED lights at the edge for passengers’ safety. 

·         The ramp for wheelchair access to the vehicle was an integral part of the design of the vehicle and was longer than most vehicle ramps because of the extra width of the vehicle. The integral ramp had been incorporated to save storage space.  As the ramp was longer it reduced the gradient of the ramp for loading a wheelchair.

·         There was a four point wheelchair securing system with a 3 point wheelchair passenger belt.  When secured in place the wheelchair was backward facing.

·         The additional width of the vehicle meant that there was extra space between each of three bucket seats behind the driver’s bulkhead. 

·         Although the width of the vehicle exceeded the Council’s maximum width by 141mm, the vehicle was no wider than the commercial Ford Tourneo Transit van on which it was based.   

The solicitor to the Committee provided legal advice on the application.  Members were informed that they could depart from the current requirements provided they felt that the benefits of licensing the vehicle outweighed the disadvantages outlined in paragraph 5 of the report, and that they gave justifiable reasons for doing so.   

Members discussed the merits of application and,

RESOLVED:

That the application for the Ford Procab to be approved for licensing as a hackney carriage vehicle be approved.

The reasons for the Members making their decision were that the two areas where the vehicle was not compliant with the Council’s Conditions of Fitness for Hackney Carriage were considered to be minimal differences.  The vehicle met the needs of passengers and drivers and had some extra features which were beneficial.  It was felt that there should be a range of vehicles operating in the City as hackney carriages to cater for the differing needs of both drivers and passengers.