Today the Department for Transport announced the commence of its ‘Future of Transport Regulatory Review‘ consultation. The initial call for evidence asks “…how effective existing rules are around flexible bus services, and which other areas of the bus, taxi and private hire vehicle framework should be considered in this review…“.  A submission deadline has been…

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Today Westminster Magistrates Court ruled on an interested parties application in Uber London Limited v Transport for London [2019].  The joint application was brought by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (“LTDA”) and United Trade Action Group Limited (“UTAG”).  In giving judgement, the Chief Magistrate permitted the LTDA, and not UTAG, to join the case. The…

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Today the Court of Appeal handed down its judgement in R (Rehman) v Wakefield City Council [2019] EWCA Civ 2166. It decided the costs of compliance, not just application, are directly recoverable from private hire driver licence fees (under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976).  This re-affirms the financial independence of the driver, vehicle…

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Today the High Court handed-down its judgement in the case of Good Law Project Ltd v HM Revenue & Customs & Others [2019] EWHC 3125 (Admin) on a preliminary question whether HMRC can disclose details of its assessment of Uber London Ltd’s VAT liabilities.  Despite an application for a penal notice, which would prevent onward…

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Today the High Court handed-down its judgement in the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) challenge against the congestion charge in London (R (Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain & Others v The Mayor of London & Transport for London [2019] EWHC 1997 (Admin)). It follows a 2-day hearing, held from 10th – 11th…

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Today Transport for London has issued ‘Taxi Vehicle Age Limits & Exemptions’ Notice 05/19 covering (a) the mandating of maximum taxi operating ages, (b) changes to taxi vehicle age limits, (c) taxi age limit exemptions, (d) liquid petroleum gas conversions and (e) taxi delicensing scheme.  The plans are set to be implemented, starting 1st November…

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Today the Supreme Court handed-down its judgement in the case of Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32 on the application of non-compete clauses in executive contracts. Whilst the Court of Appeal had earlier overturned a non-compete injunction, it was re-instated by the Supreme Court who decided in favour of the Appellant company.  This…

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Today Heathrow Airport has opened its ‘Airport Expansion Consultation‘.  It incorporates a number of ‘Surface Access Proposals: Travelling To & From The Airport‘ which also covers taxi and private hire services. Heathrow Airport’s outline objective, and accompanying methods, are as follows- “We want to ensure that taxis and private hire vehicles can continue to fulfil…

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Today the Air Quality (Taxis & Private Hire Vehicles Database) (England & Wales) Regulations 2019 were approved by Parliament.  It requires licensing authorities to upload, on a central database, specified information about the taxis and private hire vehicles it licenses.  The regulations come into force on 1st May 2019.  A new ‘National Register of Taxi…

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Today the European Union passed Directive 2019/790 on ‘Copyright & Related Rights in the Digital Single Market‘.  The Directive seeks to redress the legal uncertainty concerning- “…both rightholders and users, as regards certain uses, including cross-border uses, of works and other subject matter in the digital environment…“ Implementation, within Member States, will take place in…

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