Author: Louise Slee
Title: Licence to Bill: Section How to Aquire a Section 19 Permit for Minibus Drivers
Article: You, an enlighted minibus driver, knowing the rules of section 19 of the Transport Act, have already worked out that your organisation qualifies for an exemption to the PSV operator’s licence. The next step is where do you obtain the section 19 permit from and are there yet more rules to be aware of?
The following rules concern who can drive the minibus. These ensure that drivers may use a Section 19 permit because they meet the following requirements.
All permit drivers must be aged 21 or more.
If a driver passed the ‘car’ driving test (category B on a photocard licence) before the 1st January 1997, he or she will hold the automatic category D1 entitlement to drive a 9 to 16 seat minibus. This will allow such a vehicle to be driven under the permit for as long as the driver holds the D1 entitlement.
When the licence expires, the driver, having proved he or she meets the required health standards by passing a compulsory medical examination, may receive a renewal of D1 entitlement lasting 3 years.
If a driver passed the test on or after the 1st January 1997, automatic D1 entitlement won’t have been granted. The driver may drive a vehicle with up to eight passenger seats. However, he or she may drive a 9 to 16 seat minibus if
(a) He or she has held a category B licence for 2 years
(b) He or she receives nothing more than out-of-pocket expenses for driving the vehicle
(c) If aged 70 or more, he or she can pass the medical examination for category D1 entitlement
(d) The minibus’s gross weight is 3.5 tonnes or less, or 4.25 tonnes or less, including specialized equipment for disabled passengers
Now for the practicalities of acquiring a Section 19 permit for a minibus. The first of these is how to apply. A permit is normally granted to a specific group, a scout group, for example. However, it is possible for an individual named on behalf of such a body to be granted a permit. With this in mind, you need to know where to apply and there are several sources of application forms, including
Your area’s Traffic Commissioner
Your local authority
Umbrella originations, which are bodies that assist with or co-ordinate community groups’ activates in the area. Examples include The Scout Association and Age Concern and these umbrella organisations are permitted to issue Section 19 permits to groups that are associated with them.
A designated body. These are national voluntary organisations and in some cases, they can issue permits to other bodies with similar interests.
Schools and other bodies associated with education, provided they fulfil the authority’s duties under the Education Act 1944.
As you can see, tracking down an application form will require some web searches and/or phone calls but there are some aspects of Section 19 permits that are easy to convey. For example, the cost. Currently, a permit sourced via your area Traffic Commissioner seven pounds. Local authorities set their own charge, but the maximum appears to be around the twelve pound mark.
A section 19 permit for a minibus lasts indefinitely and each comes with a disc, to be displayed on the vehicle, in the same way as a tax disc. The rule is one permit, one vehicle at one time but permits can be swapped from minibus to minibus, provided each comes under the small bus parameters mentioned above. You can use your permit on a hired minibus but if another non-profit making organisation rents your minibus, it cannot use your permit(s). It must use its own. Finally, if you lose your permit and/or disc, you can request duplicates. However, if either turns up, you must return them immediately.
In the final analysis, a Section 9 permit is a licence to charge your passengers fairly and legally, without a PSV licence. Taking advantage of this exemption makes sense, just as meeting the regulations to do so is easy. Louise Slee is a Web Marketer and driving enthusiast for over 25 years, with no penalty points to date! See her articles at Minibus Club where she imparts some useful driving and travel tips when you are out and about in your minibus
Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com