Driver Terms & Conditions
Sussex Airports Taxis Driver Agreement

1. Agreement Between Driver and Sussex Airports Taxis

These Driver Terms & Conditions apply between Sussex Airports Taxis trading as Sussex Airports Taxis and any driver who applies to work with, receives work from, or provides passenger transport services in connection with Sussex Airports Taxis.

By applying to drive, accepting a journey, using any driver app, receiving booking information, or carrying out work allocated by Sussex Airports Taxis, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to these Driver Terms.

1.1 Definitions

• “Company”, “we”, “us” means Sussex Airports Taxis trading as Sussex Airports Taxis.
• “Driver”, “you” means the licensed private hire or hackney carriage driver accepting work from us.
• “Journey” means any passenger transport booking accepted, allocated or arranged by Sussex Airports Taxis.
• “Passenger” means the customer or person travelling on a journey.
• “Licensing Authority” means Lewes District Council or any other relevant licensing authority applicable to the driver, vehicle or operator.
• “Driver App” means any mobile app or dispatch system used by Sussex Airports Taxis to allocate, manage or communicate bookings.

1.2 Independent Status

Unless confirmed otherwise in writing, drivers are independent self-employed contractors. Nothing in these terms creates an employment relationship, partnership, agency relationship or guarantee of work.

1.3 No Guarantee of Work

Sussex Airports Taxis does not guarantee any minimum number of journeys, earnings, hours, bookings, airport transfers or local jobs.

2. Licensing, Documents and Legal Requirements

Drivers must comply with all licensing rules and conditions issued by their Licensing Authority. Where work is carried out under Lewes District Council licensing, the driver must comply with Lewes District Council’s hackney carriage and private hire licensing guidance, driver conditions, vehicle conditions and operator requirements where applicable.

2.1 Driver Licence

• You must hold a valid private hire driver licence, hackney carriage driver licence, dual driver licence or other appropriate licence accepted by the relevant authority.
• You must carry or display your driver badge as required by your Licensing Authority.
• You must not lend your badge, licence, account or driver app access to any other person.
• You must produce your licence or badge when lawfully requested by an authorised officer or police officer.

2.2 Vehicle Licence

• The vehicle used for private hire work must be properly licensed by the relevant Licensing Authority.
• The vehicle must display the correct plates, door signs, notices and markings where required by the Licensing Authority.
• You must not conceal, damage, remove, obscure or alter any required licence plate, door sign, badge, notice or council marking.
• You must not use a vehicle for private hire work if the vehicle licence, plate, insurance, MOT or compliance status is expired, suspended, revoked or invalid.

2.3 Insurance

• You must hold valid hire and reward insurance for the vehicle and type of work being undertaken.
• You must also hold any other insurance required by law, your Licensing Authority, your vehicle licence or your operator.
• You must provide insurance documents when requested by Sussex Airports Taxis.
• You must immediately stop accepting work if your insurance becomes invalid, cancelled, suspended, restricted or unsuitable.

2.4 Right to Work and Fitness

• You must have the right to work in the United Kingdom.
• You must remain medically fit to drive and comply with DVLA, licensing and medical reporting duties.
• You must not drive while tired, unfit, under the influence of alcohol, drugs, medication that affects driving, or any condition that may affect passenger safety.

2.5 Document Updates

You must provide up-to-date documents when requested. This includes driver licence, vehicle licence, insurance, MOT, road tax, badge details, DBS or any other document reasonably required for compliance.

3. Driver Standards and Conduct

Drivers must behave professionally, safely and respectfully at all times. This applies when accepting work, communicating with customers, waiting at pickup points, driving, collecting passengers, handling luggage and completing journeys.

3.1 Professional Behaviour

• You must behave in a civil, orderly, respectful and professional manner.
• You must take reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of passengers entering, travelling in or leaving the vehicle.
• You must not use abusive, threatening, discriminatory, racist, offensive, aggressive or inappropriate language or behaviour.
• You must not carry weapons or allow weapons in the vehicle.
• You must not harass, intimidate, embarrass, pressure or cause unnecessary anxiety to any passenger.

3.2 Appearance and Vehicle Cleanliness

• You must be clean and tidy in appearance while working.
• You must dress appropriately and wear suitable footwear for driving.
• The vehicle must be clean, tidy, roadworthy, safe and suitable for passengers before each journey.
• The vehicle must not smell strongly of smoke, fuel, food, alcohol, damp, pets or anything likely to affect passenger comfort.

3.3 Driving Standards

• You must drive safely, legally and responsibly at all times.
• You must comply with speed limits, road traffic law and highway rules.
• You must not use a mobile phone while driving unless it is lawful hands-free use.
• You must not drive recklessly, dangerously or in a way that makes passengers feel unsafe.
• You must follow the shortest or most efficient reasonable route unless the passenger requests otherwise, traffic conditions require an alternative route, or the journey has been pre-agreed differently.

3.4 Noise, Smoking and Comfort

• You must not smoke or vape in the vehicle.
• You must not allow any passenger to smoke or vape in the vehicle.
• You must keep music, radio, phone calls and sound systems at a reasonable level.
• You must turn down or turn off music or radio if requested by the passenger.
• You must not sound the horn to announce arrival between 23:30 and 07:00 unless there is a lawful and necessary safety reason.

4. Bookings, Allocation and Passenger Confirmation

Sussex Airports Taxis accepts and manages customer bookings. Drivers may be offered or allocated journeys through the dispatch system, driver app, phone, WhatsApp, email or other approved communication method.

4.1 No Plying for Hire

• Private hire drivers must not ply for hire or make the vehicle appear available for immediate street hire.
• You must not stand or wait in a way that suggests you are available for street hire unless legally permitted by your licence type.
• You must not accept a passenger unless there is a valid booking in place through Sussex Airports Taxis or another properly licensed operator.

4.2 Confirming the Passenger

• Before allowing a passenger into the vehicle, you must confirm that the passenger matches the booking details.
• You must check the name, pickup location, destination, booking reference or other identifying information where appropriate.
• If there is doubt about the passenger identity or booking, contact Sussex Airports Taxis before starting the journey.

4.3 Attendance at Pickup

• If you accept a booking, you must attend the agreed pickup time and location unless delayed or prevented by sufficient cause.
• If you are delayed, you must notify Sussex Airports Taxis immediately.
• You must keep the driver app online where required and respond promptly to dispatch instructions.

4.4 Cancellations and Refusals

• You are not guaranteed any particular journey or amount of work.
• If you accept a journey and later cannot complete it, you must notify Sussex Airports Taxis immediately.
• Repeated late cancellations, unexplained cancellations, customer complaints or failure to attend may result in suspension or removal from the system.

4.5 Passenger Details and Destination

You must only use passenger details for the purpose of completing the booking. You must not contact passengers for reasons unrelated to the journey, marketing, personal communication or any unauthorised purpose.

5. Passenger Safety, Assistance and Accessibility

Passenger safety is the priority. Drivers must take reasonable care to assist passengers and operate in a safe, lawful and respectful manner.

5.1 Assistance with Passengers and Luggage

• You must provide reasonable assistance to passengers entering or leaving the vehicle where required.
• You must provide reasonable assistance with luggage, provided it can be carried safely and properly secured.
• You must help load and unload luggage where reasonable and safe.
• You must not carry more passengers than the number permitted by the vehicle licence.

5.2 Assistance Dogs

• You must carry assistance dogs when required by law unless you hold a valid exemption certificate issued by the relevant authority.
• You must not charge extra for carrying an assistance dog.
• You must treat passengers with assistance dogs respectfully and without discrimination.

5.3 Wheelchair and Accessible Vehicles

• If you drive a designated wheelchair accessible vehicle, you must comply with your legal duties and licensing conditions.
• You must provide reasonable assistance to wheelchair users where required.
• You must safely secure any wheelchair where the passenger remains seated in the wheelchair and the vehicle is designed for that purpose.
• You must not charge extra for carrying a wheelchair or providing required assistance.

5.4 Safeguarding and Vulnerable Passengers

• You must act with extra care when transporting children, elderly passengers, disabled passengers or vulnerable passengers.
• You must report safeguarding concerns to Sussex Airports Taxis immediately.
• You must not behave in a way that could exploit, pressure, intimidate or place a vulnerable passenger at risk.

5.5 Lost Property

Any lost property found in the vehicle after a journey must be reported to Sussex Airports Taxis as soon as possible and handled in accordance with company instructions and licensing requirements.

6. Fares, Payments, Commission and Records

Fares, commission, payment method and driver payment arrangements may vary depending on the type of booking, customer account, platform, contract or agreement in place.

6.1 Fare Information

• The customer may be quoted a pre-booked fixed price, estimated price or account price.
• You must not demand more than the fare agreed with the customer or operator unless an authorised change has been agreed.
• Additional stops, diversions, waiting time, parking or changes may be chargeable only where permitted and agreed by Sussex Airports Taxis or the booking terms.

6.2 Cash, Card and Account Work

• Some bookings may be paid by the customer directly to the driver.
• Some bookings may be paid online, by account, by payment link, through the app or directly to Sussex Airports Taxis.
• You must follow the payment instructions shown in the driver app or given by Sussex Airports Taxis.
• You must not ask the passenger for payment where the booking is marked as prepaid, account or paid online unless instructed by Sussex Airports Taxis.

6.3 Commission

• Sussex Airports Taxis may retain commission or operator fees from bookings allocated to drivers.
• Commission rates may vary depending on the booking type, account, contract, platform or agreement.
• By accepting work, you agree to the applicable commission or payment arrangement communicated to you.

6.4 Receipts and Records

• If requested by the passenger, a receipt must be provided where appropriate.
• You must keep accurate records of journeys, fares, payments and expenses where required for tax or compliance purposes.
• Sussex Airports Taxis may keep booking records, driver records, vehicle records, payment records and customer communication records for compliance and operational purposes.

6.5 Tax

You are responsible for your own tax, National Insurance, accounting, VAT position, business expenses and HMRC obligations. Sussex Airports Taxis is not responsible for your personal tax affairs.

7. Personal Data, Confidentiality and Customer Information

Drivers may receive customer names, phone numbers, pickup addresses, drop-off addresses, flight details, booking notes and other personal data. This information must be handled carefully.

7.1 Use of Passenger Data

• You must only use passenger data for completing the journey.
• You must not store passenger data for personal use.
• You must not share passenger data with unauthorised people.
• You must not contact passengers after the journey unless authorised or necessary for lost property or journey-related reasons.
• You must delete or remove passenger information when it is no longer required.

7.2 Confidentiality

• You must keep company information, customer information, account work, pricing, contracts and operational details confidential.
• You must not publish booking details, screenshots, passenger names, addresses, phone numbers or journey details on social media.

7.3 Complaints and Incidents

You must report any complaint, accident, dispute, safeguarding issue, passenger incident, police matter, lost property issue or unusual event to Sussex Airports Taxis immediately.

8. Reporting Duties, Suspension and Termination

Drivers must keep Sussex Airports Taxis informed of anything that may affect their ability to work safely, legally or professionally.

8.1 Reporting Changes

• You must notify Sussex Airports Taxis immediately if your driver licence, vehicle licence, insurance, MOT, right to work or medical fitness changes.
• You must notify the relevant Licensing Authority where required by licence conditions.
• You must notify Sussex Airports Taxis of any change of address, contact number, email address, operator, vehicle or licence status.
• You must notify Sussex Airports Taxis if you are charged, cautioned, convicted, investigated, suspended or restricted in a way that may affect your suitability to drive.

8.2 Suspension or Removal

Sussex Airports Taxis may suspend, restrict or remove your access to bookings or the driver app where there are concerns about safety, compliance, documents, customer complaints, conduct, insurance, licence status, fraud, non-attendance, poor service or breach of these Driver Terms.

8.3 Immediate Removal

Sussex Airports Taxis may immediately remove a driver from work where there is a serious concern, including but not limited to unsafe driving, invalid insurance, invalid licence, dishonesty, violence, discrimination, safeguarding concerns, police involvement, fraud, misuse of passenger data or serious customer complaint.

8.4 Ending the Relationship

Either party may end the working relationship by written notice. On termination, you must stop using the driver app, stop representing yourself as working with Sussex Airports Taxis, and return or delete any confidential or customer information where required.

9. Final Terms

9.1 Compliance with Law

You must comply with UK law, road traffic law, equality law, data protection law, safeguarding requirements, licensing rules, insurance requirements and any conditions attached to your driver licence or vehicle licence.

9.2 Lewes District Council and Other Authorities

Where a journey, vehicle, driver or operator activity falls under Lewes District Council requirements, you must comply with Lewes District Council hackney carriage and private hire licensing guidance, driver licence conditions, vehicle licence conditions and any lawful instruction from authorised officers. Where another Licensing Authority applies, you must comply with that authority’s rules.

9.3 Conflict Between These Terms and Council Rules

If there is any conflict between these Driver Terms and a legal duty, licensing condition or council requirement, the legal duty, licensing condition or council requirement will take priority.

9.4 Updates to These Terms

Sussex Airports Taxis may update these Driver Terms from time to time. Drivers may be notified by email, website, WhatsApp, app message or written notice. Continued acceptance of work after an update may be treated as acceptance of the updated terms.

9.5 Governing Law

These Driver Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

9.6 Contact

If you have any questions about these Driver Terms, contact Sussex Airports Taxis using the contact details on our website.