Is your car treated as a minicab?
Posted by Fiona Birkwood
It is often a running joke within families, calling the car 'Dad's taxi', but until new guidelines were introduced by the government recently some drivers were required to have a minicab licence.
Volunteers, childminders and care workers were hit with costly processes of becoming licensed minicab drivers if they were hoping to ferry people around in their vehicles.
However, new regulations introduced by the transport minister, Norman Baker, will put a stop to this – about time, I'm sure you'll agree.
Under the new rules and regulations people who drive children to school, assist elderly people in their homes or volunteer at a local organisation – all jobs which require them to carry passengers from A to B, will not need a specialist licence.
The government is hoping to make it clearer which cars need minicab licences and which do not, which it hopes will, in turn, remove some of the burden on strained local authorities.
Norman Baker said: "'Dad's Taxi' is often a joke in many families, but we don't need councils perpetuating the myth!
"Clearly parents helping out at a play group or carers getting people to the doctor are not minicab drivers."
Some quite frankly bizarre examples of the confusion caused by the rules and regulations surrounding the minicab licence saw some drivers asked to take the minicab knowledge test by their respective local authorities.
Both the National Childminding Association and the UK Homecare Association have welcomed the plans, claiming that it will remove the unnecessary burdens imposed by the previous rules.
Colin Angel, head of policy and communication at the UK Homecare Association, said: "We hope that councils will agree that these infrequent trips help elderly and disabled people maintain their independence and quality of life, and are not a cab service."
The guidance is the latest part of the government's Plan for Growth, published alongside the Budget in March, which aims to boost the contribution to the economy from the social care system.
Nope, my car is not a mini cab. I’ve never driven any family members, older folks or anyone else in my car except me, myself and I. I don’t really have time nor energy to ferry anyone around in my car. Seems like one of the laws that are just on the books but never enforced.