Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Hansard, 22 February 1995)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Viscount Goschen)

The Government have today published their response to the Transport Select Committee's Fourth Report on taxi and private hire vehicles. The response, Command Paper 2715, forms the Government's official statement on the outcome of the taxi review.

The most important features of the response are:

Taxis will continue to have the exclusive right to ply for hire (i.e., be hailed) in the street and at ranks. Private hire vehicles, including minicabs, will not be allowed to ply for hire in the street. They will have to be booked in advance as now.

For reasons of public safety, particularly of vulnerable passengers, private hire vehicles (minicabs) in London will be subject to a form of control similar to that operating outside London. This will include criminal record checks for drivers, and may include a test to ensure they have an adequate knowledge of the roads in the area where they are based.

A requirement will be introduced that all taxis shall be accessible to people who are wheel chair users. However, this requirement will be phased in over a period of several years, to give taxi owners time to replace their vehicles. In those places where there are existing target dates for taxis to become wheelchair accessible, they will still be expected to meet them. This requirement will not mean that all taxis will have to be London "black cabs"; local authorities will be able to license any vehicle which is wheelchair accessible and which meets such additional requirements as are considered necessary to meet local conditions.

The power of district councils to restrict taxi numbers will be phased out over a number of years to give some protection to those who have made considerable investment in taxi plates (licences). However, there will be no reduction in quality control. Licensing authorities will be able to apply for a derogation from abolition of number of control from the Department of Transport in exceptional circumstances.

The aim is to replace the existing legislation in due course.

Copies of the response are available from the Printed Paper Office.