Commercial use of a 90

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RogueTrooper

RogueTrooper

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Paper bag in t'middle of road
Does anyone use a 90 or later swb Defender commercially i.e. to carry passengers? I've got a few questions if you do and would be grateful for some input ta. :) UK applicable rules, guidelines, difficulties etc. I know I could occupy myself for many a happy hour :rolleyes: trawling through various online sites for the answers but would prefer to get them from people who're actually using the vehicle commercially - photography, wildlife, 4x4 tours etc.

Thanks in advance.
 
If you want to carry passengers for hire and reward, up to 8 passenger seats you would have to get a Private Hire licence from your local council and get Private Hire insurance. Over 8 passengers you get into the realm of Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) formerly Public Service Vehicle (PSV) the licence for which has to be applied for with the Traffic Commissioners for your area and again the relevant insurance must be obtained. It's all a bit messy but unfortunately has to be done.
 
Upto 8 seats would be under taxi /private hire local regs , would involve inspection extra to MOT , years ago (1980's) I had a 109 stage 1 V8 SW on private hire , insurance was high even back then (even as part of fleet) . Seating numbers are decided on width requirements. Local requirements can vary . A 90 would be quite limited due to interior size No extra driving license requirement . Background check is almost certain requirement .
Financial viability questionable ?
 
Most areas don't ask for an extra driving test but some require you to do an area knowledge test. In our area, if the vehicle is over 5 years old it is required to have 3 council tests per year as well as the ordinary MOT test. Pain in the proverbial.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.
I wouldn't be doing fares as such, they'd be organised, pre-booked tours and there was a specific reason for using the 90 but I realise that it limits me on numbers and space. I'm trying to factor in whether the limited numbers on each 'hire' will justify the expense of 90 preparation and admin. Doing a bit of market research to determine the amount of interest; obviously if lots of people were interested then the return would justify the prep and ongoing maintenance of the 90 (no bad thing anyway to fully bring it up to spec).
Yes, insurance is something I need to get specifics on as well. Think from what you're saying above the Local Authority specific regs need to be looked at closely, possibly may vary with requirements - not a taxi per se but probably similar rules apply. Imagine if it was tricky in the 80s with high insurance then the ruddy Health & Safety muppetry will probably only have made it more tricky now.

Thanks again, much appreciated. Time to contact the Council. :)
Again, if anyone knows someone currently using a 90/109/Defender for tours can you give me a shout on problems you encounter (apart from bits falling off and people chucking up in the back due to being bounced around!)
 
flat said:
Tours of what? I presume off road.

A 110 would be imminently more sensible imo
Click to expand...

It definitely would be! There's a specific link to the use of a 90 in the reason for the tours though, can't say much without giving the idea away, not that anyone else would actually be daft enough to consider it though.:rolleyes: It may just be too daft but I'll run the possibilities before considering a mini bus. If a 90 isn't viable may as well be a better suited vehicle as won't be huge difference with 110 really, 2 more bods at best.
Cheers ta.
 
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