Cabbies’ backlash at council’s bus lane ban (From Gazette)

Why should they be allowed to. We have to go on the normal roads. We would all like to use the bus lane as they are quicker and easier.

"If you allow one kind of taxi, you must allow the other."

I have to say I agree with that. I suspect that Essex County Council are breaking the law unde European unfair competition rules, so expect a legal case and another bill for the taxpayers due to incompetence of some annoymous official.

Ive never thought it fair that Taxi"s and Buses should have their own lanes. Its sooooo unfair. It just causes congestion. Not that its enforced anywhere anyway! Im sure the camera on Nayland Rd is a dummy!

Licensed taxis yes, private hire no way they should bus lanes!

Taxi and Mini Cab Drivers are doing a job and earning a living. They are in business, just like delivery drivers and many other groups but these not allowed to use bus lanes so there is no logical reason to allow taxi's access....It's a BUS LANE, intended to keep public transport flowing and not designed as a short cut for taxi drivers who regularly, are in the car on their own or carry just one or two passengers only.

??? is anyone else having problems with this website. It's now an absolute pain if you edit before posting?

Private Hire vehicles are not Taxis, Private Hire vehicles are not normally allowed to use bus lanes.
Licensed Hackney Carriages (Taxis/Black Cabs) are usually allowed to use bus lanes because they are classified as public transport under the law. Private Hire Vehicles are just that, privately hired and thus are not public transport.
Panther cabs and Hawaii Five-O are not Taxis and it is illegal to describe or to advertise them as Taxis.
The owners/operators of these private hire companies know this.
The owners/operators of these private hire companies also know that they are responsible for driver training and for ensuring that they comply with the requirements of the minimum wage, they try to get around this by claiming that their drivers are self-employed while still requiring their drivers to wear company uniform and dictating the excessively long hours their drivers work. The law does not allow employers to require drivers to work up to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week anywhere else in the transport industry and they get around this as well by claiming that their drivers are self-employed.
Neither Taxis nor Private Hire vehicles are emergency service vehicles and should not be used as such although the Police are empowered to commandeer a Hackney Carriage (Taxi/Black Cab) and its driver in the event of a proper emergency. I do wonder what sort of "emergency" makes people book a private hire vehicle which by law has to be booked at least 5 minutes in advance ?
Taxis and private hire vehicles are segregated by law, they operate under different acts of parliament and the legal operating requirements of both differ far more than the use or not of bus lanes or "picking up off the street".
Private hire vehicles are allowed to pick a customer up "off the street" providing that the customer has booked the private hire vehicle at least 5 minutes in advance either in person at the private hire vehicle's registered office or by telephone call to the private hire vehicle's registered office.
Private hire drivers are not allowed to pick up people who approach them in the street or who flag them down. Private hire drivers are not allowed to ask persons in the street if they want a cab or to hand people business cards or flyers in the street either, because this constitutes "Touting" and that is illegal as well.

Well said Mick, although I had lost the will to live half way through :0) on a personal note, I myself didn't realise that Bus\Taxi lanes were not to be used by private hire cars. When I was a driver at 5 7's nobody ever stopped me using them, even the police used to wave you through. Anyway, I think that the bus\taxi lanes should be de-regulated after 7pm anyway, as there is no real need for them after that time. The rules need some serious looking at as far as the highways Dept are concerned, a driver was booked to pick an old chap up & take him to Serpentine road & was fined by the police for trying to drop the old boy off at his own home, because you aren't allowed access before 9am! Just to elaborate on mick's comment about private hire, did you know that if you get in a private hire cab without prior booking & you have an accident & end up crippled, then you are not covered on their insurance & you could end up with NO compensation at all, because it wasn't pre-booked.

The best solution is to ban all taxis from all bus lanes, maybe only till 7 pm as Taximan suggests.
Bus lanes should be reserved for buses and emergency vehicles only.