Do you want to buy a stretch limousine and start your own business? There are a few things you should know before you commit yourself as they could save you a whole lot of grief!

First of all contrary to what many limo operators will tell you you will need a licence to trade for Hire & Reward!!! What you are doing is no different to the Private Hire taxi guy with an 8 seater people carrier. He needs a licence to trade and so will you!! If you are lucky then your local council/ authority will licence you. If they refuse then this doesn't give you the green light to trade regardless. This is because the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency will licence you under their restricted PSV Operators Licence scheme. The criteria that you will need to meet for both of these licences is extensive so be prepared. A VOSA licence involves a 6 week application period. If you have one or the other of these licenses then you will be trading legally. Have neither then you will be trading Illegally and if stopped by one of the increasing number of checks carried out on limo's by VOSA, the Police and Council officers, you will be looking at one hell of a fine! Until the end of January '08 it was possible to operate unlicensed under a Section 75 exemption. This law no longer exists unless the vehicle is being used exclusively for a wedding or funeral. There are now only two ways to operate legally: PHV from your local council or PSV O Licence issued by VOSA.

Secondly, it is very well documented by VOSA (and mentioned extensively on limo websites) that the operation of stretch limos with the capability of carrying more than 8 passengers is absolutely ILLEGAL!! The law is very clear on this. There are non of these mythical 'Grey areas' that cowboy limo operators witter on about. ANY vehicle that can carry more than 8 people for hire & reward is, in law, classed as a PSV and must be taxed, tested (Class 6 PSV) and most important of all have a Certificate of Initial Fitness (COIF) to prove it is fit for the purpose it is being used for. All minibuses, buses and coaches have them if they are used to carry fare paying passengers. At the time of writing only TWO types of limo are able to pass this test.One is the Executive Coachbuilders Ford Excursion. These are new and thin on the ground. I doubt you'll find one on ebay for a good while yet! Even if you had one of those, you would have to have a PSV Operators Licence to be able to use it.

A 16 seat Hummer based limo, the Hummerzine, has now passed the COIF requirements (Sept. '07) and will available for sale. This will be the nail in the coffin for existing Hummers as if they can carry more than 8 passengers they will be being used illegally as they are being already. Some dodgy operators are offering these, and other mega capacity limos, for hire as Self Drive, then supplying a driver. By doing this, the hire immediately becomes "Hire & Reward" and the vehicle, driver and owner are all breaking the law. So if you intend to buy an 8+ seat limo and hire it out as 'Self Drive' (because it is not certifiable as a PSV) the hirer has to source the driver. Also, self drive regulations only cover up to 16 passengers plus the driver. Once you are over this capacity, you are exclusively in PSV territory so steer well clear of vehicles advertised as being able to carry over that amount. As stated above, those are the only PSV legal spec limousines available.

The same rules also apply to vehicles such as former minibuses, coaches, ambulances, panel vans, old fire engines etc that have been modified to resemble a limousine or the inside of a nightclub. At the end of the day they are still motor vehicles carrying passengers for 'Hire & Reward'. Before buying, check that you will be able to use it under whatever licence you intend to operate under.

There has now been a significant increase in the number of court cases brought by VOSA involving operators overloading their limos or failing to operate with all of the correct licenses. The owners and/ or drivers think that by just saying "No comment" they will get away with it. Wrong! Big fines and a hefty dose of penalty points gets awarded! Reports in the trade press of such cases highlight just how many limo owners and drivers are totally ignorant of passenger transport legislation. If you don't 'know your stuff' before starting in such a line of business, as well as fines and points you could well have the limo seized by the authorities too! 

Remember it is not enough to just have an insurance policy for xx passengers and have a driver with a bus drivers licence. You have to comply with ALL of the regulations ALL of the time and be able to demonstrate the fact. Don't forget, you're running a public transport business not a glorified nightclub on wheels. Unfortunately, many limo operators only have the capability to cope with the latter of those, hence they cannot or will not get themselves properly licensed. If you have not had experience in either professionaly operating Taxis or Buses/ Coaches then you are at a distinct disadvantage.

There is a lot of 'bull' floating around about what is permitted and what isn't. My best advice to someone wanting to buy a stretch limo is this: Go to your local authority or council taxi licensing officer and ask their advice. If they can't help, go to VOSA who will give you what you need to know from 'the horses mouth'. Check their web-site, look under News and Events, then Press Releases for 20th August '07. The Department for Transport have recently put up details on their website for owners and/ or hirers of Limousines that is quite informative. Many legitimate Limousine operators also have details on the legalities of operation for the benefit of prospective customers to deter them from falling prey to unscrupulous, illegal cowboy operators. Read and learn from them! It may also be wise to ask the seller (especially of 8+ seat cars) how to operate them within the law. Chances are, they don't know or try to fob you off with duff information simply to make a sale and pass the problem on to you. If that's the case, walk away! Best of luck!