Conditions applicable to taxi licences (city zone)

Any reference in these conditions to “the Act” means the Civic Government (Scotland) Act, 1982.

Any words used in these conditions should be given the meanings assigned to them in the Act, so far as applicable to part II and Schedule 1 of the Act. In particular, where, in these conditions, any word is used which is defined in the Act and such definition is applicable in relation to “taxi” or “private hire car” as defined in the Act, the meaning of such word in these conditions shall be interpreted in accordance with the definition in the Act.

Subject to the foregoing, the following words or phrases shall have the meanings set out below:

• “Aberdeen Airport” means the aerodrome known as Aberdeen Airport to which the Scottish Airports Bylaws, 1986, apply.
• “Constable” means any Constable as defined in the Police (Scotland) Act, 1967 being a member of the Police Force of the Grampian Region.
• “duly authorised officer of the local authority” means a person, authorised by Aberdeen City Council either generally or specifically to act in matters of any specified kind or in any specified matter relative to these conditions and the Act relative to taxis and private hire cars.
• “exclusive” as applied to the hire of a taxi, means that a single fare is payable by any one passenger for the whole hire of the taxi, and as applied to the hire of a private hire car, means that a single fare is payable by any one passenger, in either case whether or not more than one passenger is carried; and “exclusive hire” shall be construed accordingly.
• “licensed area” means the area of The City of Aberdeen.
• “licensing authority” means Aberdeen City Council.
• “luggage” includes all items which the hirer or passenger wishes to be carried in the vehicle, whether his own personal baggage for the journey, or being carried for business or otherwise, and shall also include animals or pets which reasonably may be accommodated within the vehicle.
• “shared”, as applied to the hire of a taxi or a private hire car, means that each passenger is carried at a separate fare, payable to the driver; and “shared hire” shall be construed accordingly.
• “taxi-bus” means a taxi which is being used, under a special licence granted under Section 12 of the Transport Act, 1985, to provide a local service which is or requires to be registered under Part I of that Act, has been previously advertised and which has a destination and route which are not entirely at the discretion of the passengers.
• “The Taxi” means the taxi to which these conditions apply.

This licence is valid within the whole of the licensed area, except Aberdeen Airport. When the taxi managing agent, in consideration with Aberdeen Airport Limited and Grampian Police illuminates the green light, and only when the green light is illuminated, this condition will not apply.

3. The number of passengers which the taxi shall be permitted to carry shall not exceed the number specified in the licence.

4. The holder of this licence shall ensure that the taxi, including all body work, upholstery and fittings is safe, serviceable and in a clean condition and at all times ready and sufficient for hire, subject to prevailing road conditions.

5. On receiving the requisite notice in writing from the licensing authority, the holder of this licence shall produce his or her taxi for examination at such time and place as may be reasonably required by the licensing authority.  Thereafter the taxi will be required to pass two inspections per annum.

6. The holder of this licence when the taxi is damaged in a vehicular accident or by any other means shall report the damage to the Civic Enforcement Officer as soon as practicable, and if the taxi is roadworthy he shall present it for examination (by appointment only) within the following two working days (being days on which the testing facilities operate) after the occurrence.  It shall be at the discretion of the Civic Enforcement Officer if he considers the taxi unroadworthy, to issue an instruction that the taxi shall not be used until the repairs have been completed and the taxi re-examined.

As soon as the repairs to the taxi have been completed(which shall be within a period of twenty-eight days, except in exceptional circumstances) the taxi shall be re-examined. In the event that the repairs cannot be completed within the period specified above, the licence holder shall apply in writing to the licensing authority for an extension thereto.

7. The holder of this licence shall not ask a driver of a taxi to do anything which would result in the driver contravening any law or committing a breach of the conditions attached to the grant of the driver’s licence.

8. The holder of this licence shall keep an up to date list of the names and addresses of all taxi drivers employed by him and shall produce this list on request to a duly authorised officer of the licensing authority or to a Constable at all reasonable times.

9. The holder of this licence shall be bound to fulfil or cause to be fulfilled at the time and location specified an engagement to hire his taxi which he has accepted.

10. The holder of a taxi or private hire operator licence must be the owner of the licensed vehicle, the named keeper on the V5 registration document and the named Insurer on the vehicle insurance certificate.

The only exceptions to this are:

• Licences in the name of Partnerships, where the owner/keeper and insurance may be in the name of one of the partners.
• Where a vehicle is leased from a recognised leasing company or purchased on finance, the leasing company or finance company may be the registered keeper or owner of the vehicle.

Any change of insurer, or insurance cover, must be intimated forthwith to the licensing authority.

11. The holder of this licence shall ensure that while the taxi is licensed as a taxi any plates or other things, which have been issued by the licensing authority for the purpose of indicating that the vehicle is a taxi are secured at all times in positions approved by the licensing authority, and that the proprietor or driver of the taxi does not change the approved position of or remove, deface or alter the plates or other things so issued.  Without prejudice to the foregoing generality, the Civic Enforcement Officer at his sole discretion may at the request of the holder of this licence remove from the taxi any such plates which have been secured on the exterior of the taxi and retain the plates in his possession, but only until such date as may have been fixed in advance which date shall be not more than twenty-eight days following the date on which said plates are removed from the taxi.

12. The holder of this licence shall not obliterate or deface any plate or other thing which has been issued by the licensing authority for the purpose of indicating that the vehicle is a taxi and which is fixed to the taxi.  If any such plate or other thing becomes obliterated or defaced so as not to be distinctly visible or legible or if any such plate or other thing is lost, the holder of this licence shall report this to the Civic Enforcement Officer as soon as practicable in order to obtain from the licensing authority a replacement plate or other thing.

13. The holder of this licence shall obtain from the licensing authority a notice or notices detailing the approved maximum taxi fares and charges appropriate to exclusive or to shared hire of the taxi and shall display the notice or notices as appropriate in the passenger compartment of the taxi in such a position that it or they will be readily visible to the passengers being carried which notice or notices shall incorporate a provision to the effect that the taxi may be operated on shared hire only with the consent of the first hirer or passenger;  and (subject to condition 24 below) no other notice or notices of fares and charges shall be displayed.

14. The holder of this licence shall, if the cost of the journey is not regulated by a licensing authority fare structure, and if the taxi is not being used as a taxi-bus, take steps to ensure that any potential hirer of the taxi is informed, prior to acceptance of the hire (a) that the fare is not so regulated and (b) the cost or the method of calculating the cost of the proposed journey.

15. A licensed vehicle must have a current Pass Certificate issued after the vehicle had passed its last vehicle inspection.

If a Pass Certificate has expired the vehicle cannot be used as a taxi or private hire car until a new Pass Certificate has been obtained.

16. The holder of this licence shall display upon the roof of the taxi a sign of a type approved by the licensing authority for the purpose of identifying the vehicle as a taxi, which must be illuminated when the vehicle is available for hire and must be extinguished on the meter being switched to the “hired” or “stopped” position; and while the taxi is available for shared hire the licence holder shall display on the taxi in a position approved by the licensing authority a sign of a type approved by the licensing authority for the purpose of indicating that the taxi is available for shared hire, which sign shall be visible from the front of the vehicle, shall display the words “shared hire” on an orange background, shall be illuminated, and shall be extinguished only when the taxi is being engaged in the exclusive mode.

17. The holder of this licence shall at any time when the taxi is being used as a taxi-bus, cause to be displayed on the taxi, in such a position and in such a form as may be prescribed by the licensing authority, a notice which indicates that the taxi is being used as a taxi-bus, which notice must be visible from the front of the vehicle and must be used only when the vehicle is operating as a taxi-bus and not when the vehicle is being used in any other mode of operation.

18. The holder of this licence shall have affixed to the taxi a taximeter which has been approved by the licensing authority as appropriate to the type of hire (whether exclusive or shared) for which the taxi is available or on which it is  engaged.  This condition shall not apply to any taxi while it is in use as a taxi-bus.