One over the EIGHT.....
There is a great deal of controversy over the issue of how many passengers can be carried in a stretched limousine, but it is surprisingly simple.
If the Operators' limousines are licensed by the local authority for private hire, the maximum number of passengers that can be legally carried is eight. No argument!
If they are not licensed with the local authority, then this may not matter to them, but it should matter to you. Of course, local authority licensing is not the only option open to legitimate operators, they could also apply for a small bus operators license which is issued by VoSA. However, in spite of what some may claim, they must still adhere to the rules. These state quite clearly that any vehicle that carries more than 8 passengers must have a Certificate of Initial Fitness (CoIF) and because of the costs involved, there are currently less than 20 vehicles in the UK that meet this requirement. If they have got a CoIF, you can guarantee that they will be shouting this from the tree tops, so it will be all over their website and they will not object to providing you with a copy.
In recent months, some more enterprising operators have found another 'legal' way to allow up to 14 passengers to be carried in a stretched limousine, without the need for a CoIF or, for that matter an operators' or private hire license. They simply hire the vehicle to you on a self-drive hire basis, on the understanding that you either have an "appropriate" license or experience, or (most likely to be the case), you use a chauffeur from a 'pool'. From what we can see this may well be legal, certainly none of the authorities seem to be taking any action, but what does it mean for the hirer?
Well, of course, all of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the hirer. For example, if you were to share the costs of the hire, then you would be acting for 'reward', which means you need to be licensed for 'hire and reward', in other words a licensed private hire operator. If there was an accident, then you need to consider who would be responsible for any claims and for paying the excess, would it be you, the chauffeur or the company hiring the limousine on a self-drive basis? If you were to accept payment from a friend, would the limousine be insured, after all, most self-drive policies state that the vehicle cannot be used for hire and reward, and if the insurance company were to extend the insurance to cover hire and reward, would they then be complicit? The bottom line is this remains a complex area, it has not been tested, it may well be legal legal in terms of the current legislation, but in our opinion it is fraught with risk, and from what we can see, most of this will fall on the shoulders of the hirer.
There are many self-professed "experts" from the industry that frown upon any organisation that seeks to detract from their view that this is a perfectly legitimate and legal way to operate. Our view, to which we are entitled, is that even if it does prove to be legal (and this can only be proven through the courts, otherwise it is just 'counsels opinion'), is it is at best morally wrong to operate in this manner given this was never the intention of the original legislation.
Aside from any of the legal implications, hirers would be well advised to consider the fact that the reason vehicles used for hire and reward are required to have a CoIF is for your safety, otherwise, why bother? This method of circumventing the rules to achieve the same end (to carry more than 8 passengers without having a vehicle with the appropriate certification and or license) may prove legal, but it makes the requirement for a CoIF for other passengers carrying vehicles a complete farce.
The industry is placing pressure on the Government and their agencies to amend legislation to allow the carrying of more than 8 passengers and we fully support this move. However, we will not use what we consider to by a 'loophole' to circumvent regulations and laws which were intended to offer some form of protection for fare paying passengers.