273.Section 265 amends the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (“the 1981 Act”) and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (“the 1994 Act”) in relation to vehicles which may be used as public service vehicles or private hire vehicles.
274.The effect of the amendment to the 1981 Act is that (subject to the limited exception mentioned below) a small public service vehicle (“PSV”) called a “small bus” in the section, can no longer be used for private hire work by virtue of its operator being licensed under the PSV operator licensing system. Instead, to undertake private hire work, the vehicles and their operators will need to be licensed under the Private Hire Vehicle (“PHV”) licensing system.
275.By virtue of Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 and certain local legislation PSVs in general are exempt from the licensing requirements of those enactments which are otherwise applicable to PHVs. PHVs are vehicles adapted to carry no more than 8 passengers which are provided for hire with the services of a driver for the purposes of carrying passengers otherwise than at separate fares (i.e. the vehicles are hired a as whole). PSVs are divided by section 1(1) of the 1981 Act into two categories, small PSVs being vehicles of the same size as PHVs used in the course of a business to carry passengers for hire or reward at separate fares (i.e. passengers pay individually as on a bus). Operators of small PSVs are required to be licensed by the traffic commissioners under the 1981 Act but PHVs and their operators are required to be licensed by local authorities.
276.Subsection (2) adds a new section 79A to the 1981 Act which provides that, save in one case, a small PSV vehicle which is being used to carry passengers otherwise than at separate fares is not to be treated as a PSV for the purposes of gaining exemption from the PHV licensing requirements. The exception applies where the vehicle is provided in the course of a passenger-carrying business all but a small part of which involves the operation of large PSVs (which are vehicles having more than 8 passenger seats and are described as “large buses”). Subsection (1) makes a consequential amendment in section 79 of that Act.
277.Subsection (4) amends the prohibition on touting for the hire of taxis and PHVs in section 167 of the 1994 Act. That section currently provides a defence to someone accused of touting if the vehicle is a PSV, however it is to be used at the relevant time. This subsection limits the defence so that it only applies if the vehicle in question is to be used to carry passengers at separate fares
Commentary on Sections Part V: Miscellaneous and Supplementary Provisions Section 265: Vehicles subject to regulation as private hire vehicles