Do you think their should be a legal limit to public/hired vehicle age?

Elemonator

Hi folks,

I wish to get your opinions on the title. I saw a school bus in Dublin this morning that dated from 1988. The bus looked battered and was carrying school children, I mean its older than me. Nonetheless, it must have passed its NCT if its on the road but 27 years is pushing it for a vehicle that carries fee paying passengers/provides a service/not for personal use.

Do you think that their should be a legal limit on the age of a vehicle of its type ie. carrying paying passengers? The same principle applies to taxis, hackneys and other road transportation.

wildefalcon

Absolutely not.

What matters is the standard it was maintained to, the integrity of the operator, and the health and experience of the driver.

I prefer a well maintained old bus with a refreshed driver of some experience, to a newer bus that has never been serviced, and has worn out tyres and a driver who has only done 60 hours driving and all of that in the last 5 days

Where you may have an argument is when the newer bus has better brakes (ABS) and emissions, but is maintained to the same standard.

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

But how come it's ok to have a 27 year old bus on the road yet insurance companies don't want to insure cars over 10 years old.

hognef

It's an interesting question, at least in the context of taxis, as we're expected to pay the same fare whether the vehicle is a new E-class or a 13-year-old Octavia.

Ursus Horribilis

What would bother me more than the age of the bus is the condition it's in. What comes into my mind is that fatal bus crash in Offaly 10 years ago. I accept that buses are expensive to buy and run but I can't help but think that a blind eye is turned to some of the bangers on our roads.

As an aside, commercial aircraft can keep going for a long time. If this article is anything to go by, there is no limit on the years an aeroplane can stay in service. It's the takeoffs and landings they monitor.

Elemonator

Brilliant responses here.

Odus, that's exactly what I was getting at. There are many things that could go wrong unnoticed, internal workings and so on that cannot be checked or monitored easily. I'm not a mechanic though so I will digress.

IsaacWunder

hognef wrote: »

It's an interesting question, at least in the context of taxis, as we're expected to pay the same fare whether the vehicle is a new E-class or a 13-year-old Octavia.

The maximum age for a taxi is 10 years old.

Jawgap

Yes.

Vehicles can be well maintained etc but technology and design progresses all the time - and that effects how they behave in collisions and how much protection they offer their occupants.

Saying that, age limits are arbitrary and a touch unfair, what we should have is progressive quality standards that are updated periodically - if a vehicle can be adapted or modified so it meets the latest standards it can stay in service.

Our big mistake here with SPSVs is that when they executed quantitative deregulation they never introduced qualitative re-regulation - hence the torrent of taxis into the market. They should've ratcheted up the quality standards to help protect consumers and modulate the size of the fleet.

Peppa Pig

IsaacWunder wrote: »

The maximum age for a taxi is 10 years old.

There are exceptions.
No limit for certain older Wheelchair taxis and 15 years for taxis with lower licence numbers.
NTA

Elemonator

Peppa Pig wrote: »

There are exceptions.
No limit for certain older Wheelchair taxis and 15 years for taxis with lower licence numbers.
NTA

I was going to say that. Family friend only got rid of his 02 taxi the other day. Unlike said bus, well looked after vehicle.