Passengers who Mr Carter states were carried on a goodwill basis must now provide written statements to the fact, before a PSV O-Licence is granted
Cumbrian-based Tony Carter has been required to provide written proof that two parties carried on his 16-seater minibus in April were carried free of charge, plus further financial evidence, before Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Fiona Harrington considers whether or not to grant him a restricted PSV O-Licence.
Mr Carter, trading as Get Away Travel, of Dalton-in-Furness, was seeking a one-vehicle restricted licence.
Maintaining that his taxi business, using a four-seater car and an eight-seater minibus on private hire licences, was his main occupation, Mr Carter said that he had taken on a self-employed driver as he was getting more work which he was having to turn away.
He acquired the 16-seater minibus two years ago for £20,000. DVLA said that he could drive it. He was then told he needed a PSV driving licence. He had thought he could use the 16-seater on a private hire licence but was then told he needed an O-Licence.
He had used the 16-seater to start with until he was told he could not. They had been offered a lot of for work for more than an eight-seater. However, since purchasing the 16-seater, a lot of other operators in the area had acquired similar vehicles and there was more competition out there now. He hoped to get some work when he got the licence.
In reply to the DTC, Mr Carter’s wife Tracy said that the 16-seater was now only used to carry the family around. She agreed that they had been advertising it with leaflets and on social media.
Asked why the post on Facebook said that he had a PSV licence, Mr Carter said that referred to his PSV driving licence.
The DTC said that there were a couple of positive comments from customers posted on Facebook in April, the first referring to a party of 10 women taken to Liverpool and the second to a party of nine taken to Manchester and back.
Mr and Mrs Carter said they had been carried as goodwill gestures as a promotional exercise. After it was said that if they had been doing something illegal they would not have put it on social media, the DTC commented that they had not, the parties carried had.
Reserving decision, the DTC said that she required signed statements from the parties concerned that they were carried free of charge, Mr Carter’s tax return for the year 2015/2016 and the booking diary up to date, all within 14 days.
If she was satisfied with that information she was minded to grant the application with undertakings that the taxi and PSV work would be accounted for separately with the accounts being made available on request, and that if at any time the PSV income exceeded the taxi income for more than two months Mr Carter would apply for a national licence.
