h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you use Private Hire Vehicles (Minicabs) to travel round London…
The Congestion Charge should not effect the price you pay, as Private Hire Vehicles WILL BE exempt from the Congestion Charge. If the Congestion Charge works as planned it should improve the service offered to by Private hire Operators by reducing journey times.

You can find out more on Congestion Charging over at http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/congestion/

That's handy HappyDude, have you any idea if it'll effect out of town cabs? I've still got two in the family who drive into London on occasion...

As I understand it, the law gives exemption to vehicles licensed for either Public or Private Hire without specifying the licensing authority so they should be ok. But I would suggest they confirm this by contacting TfL.

also see http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/congestion/exempt.shtml

I'll have to find the official site I think, this mentions London Black cabs, and mincabs on the Mayor's register. Neither cover my dad's cars. Although if he's not exempt for that, he can claim for a disabled badge. And take my grandmother everywhere.

He will have to register for that, if he is quick he can do that for free (otherwise £10).

https://www.cclondon.com/

I've emailed him the link, and as I can't find anything on the site that covers out of town cabs I've emailed in.

There was a lovely man outside the club I was in last night asking me if I wanted a minicab. He was most put out that I wanted a black cab, even telling me that the comapny was licensed, and pointing to a lovely certificate on the wall. But tell me, I was right when I pointed out that he was illegally touting, wasn't I?

depends, if on the public street yes, but it is becoming more common for clubs to have contracts with licensed operators - so, if it was done on the done grounds of the club (which could include a portion of the street outside) with consent then No.

If they are licensed and were touting, you should notify the PCO.

Ah, thanks for that. I think he was on the steps. He obviously had their permission, as the bouncers weren't chasing him off.

As I said, a lot of clubs etc have quite sensibly come to arrangements with licensed operators in an effort to stop the touts and thus helping to ensure the safety of their clients.

It's a good idea, although I wish that he had taken no for an answer a little more gracefully, instead of keep going on about it.

I agree there is no excuse for harassing people (it's one thing that irritates me about the touts when I leave a club). If he was licensed and there with consent of the club you should be able to complain to either or both the club and the PCO if you feel he went to far.


P.S.
I have just started a thread on Congestion Charging over at "Ask h2g2"
F19585?thread=229667

Sorry to but in....

The disabled thing doesn't have a time limit, the £10 exepmtion fee is only worthwhile if you visit London regularly (once a month or more), otherwise you just provide proof of either a disabled badge or DLA eligability when the bill comes and it's written off, the £10 thing just means you never have to bother with it (and is a way of getting £10 off *every* disabled person in the country...we live in dorset but recieved a leaflet from the DVLA asking for the £10 when we only visit london once a yr or less) To be honest I thought this was disgusting, it's only mentioned in the small print that whether you register with them or not you are exempt, I can see a lot of people forking out unnecassarily (theres the £10 DLA christmas bonus gone)

*grumble grumble wonders off to post a similar rant on the Ouch! message board grumble*

I won't report him, he was irritating rather than harrassing. If he was otherwise behaving himself I won't cause him trouble.

Thanks for the tip Pencil Queen, my dad does drive into London that often, but not normally with disabled people. Now if I caould get a badge for my son, I could start driving to work when the roads miraculously clear and everyone piles onto the Tube!

But if you register before December 24th you do not have to pay the £10

and if you don't register you don't have to pay the £10 either

True, but if you do register you only have to do the paper work once a year, and if a person does come into the charging zone often enough to make registering worthwhile they can avoid the £10 for the first year by acting quick.

fairy nuff, we're only likely to visit london once next yr and then we'll park the car and walk to most places...and we might even just pay the charges to be honest, if it goes towards getting the tube even slightly accessable for hubby then it would make my life a hell of a lot easier

I'm just too lazy to do the paperwork, its a shame it can't be done online because then hubby could do it himself without having to rely on someone to fill in the form for him.

hmmm...wonder if anyone's suggested that, knowing the dvla it's already in place they just didn't bother to mention it anywhere.

I know you can print the forms out from on-line but I don't think you can register on-line (although you will be able to pay on-line)

Check http://www.cclondon.com/