The government is considering plans that would reduce ‘out-of-area’ working for taxis and increase passenger safety.
It has launched a consultation on plans to “simplify the taxi licensing system and improve enforcement to increase safety and reduce unfair competition”.
Licensing loophole
Out-of-area working by private-hire vehicle drivers has been a contentious issue since regulations were changed more than a decade ago. The Deregulation Act 2015 created a loophole which allowed private-hire drivers to choose whichever of the 263 different licensing authorities they wanted to register with. With varying prices, many were driven by cost and chose the cheapest.
Drivers have also chosen to register with particular authorities because of the speed in which applications are processed, with some citing delays in their own area making them to go elsewhere.
But as well as giving drivers choice to suit their business, it also means checks are more difficult to carry out, potentially putting passengers and other road users at risk.
The Department for Transport is now proposing to create 70 local transport authorities to replace the current 263 to “simplify the licensing system, improve enforcement and tackle out-of-area working”. The consultation notes that when drivers licensed in one area operate mainly in another, it creates “safety risks and unfair competition”.
Under the new rules, the Transport Secretary would have the power to introduce national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing.
This would see all drivers and vehicles subject to the same robust checks wherever they are in the country, in addition to having the correct taxi insurance in place.
Out-of-town objections
In Greater Manchester, where mayor Andy Burnham has long been a vocal opponent of out-of-town working, recent figures show that more than one in five PHV drivers operating in the region are licensed outside the area.
Last year, Mr Burnham unveiled the Backing Our Taxis campaign to address the issue of out-of-town working after revealing that the 10 local authorities that make up the region were “barely” licensing the majority of the taxis operating in the area.
The changes proposed in the consultation are aimed to make it more difficult for drivers to apply for a licence from an authority with less-stringent rules while operating in an area with tougher requirements in place.
In areas such as Greater Manchester, which currently has 10 licensing authorities, the changes would create one licensing authority across the region. Instead of a situation in which authorities are competing with each other for business, the goal is to create a manageable number of licence-issuing authorities that maintain the regulations and meet the same standards.
National approach
The changes are also part of the government’s response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, which highlighted the issue of ‘out-of-area’ working and recommended more rigorous statutory standards for local authority licensing and regulation of taxi drivers.
Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Passenger safety is at the heart of everything we do. These proposals, combined with the introduction of national minimum standards, are important next steps to making taxis and private-hire vehicles as safe as possible.
“By moving licensing to all local transport authorities, we’re encouraging greater consistency and stronger enforcement across the country.”
A spokesperson for the Licensed Private Hire Car Association said: “We are delighted that the government is consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.
“Reducing the number of licensing authorities should enable licensing efficiencies and consistency of standards nationally for taxis and private-hire vehicles, which in turn will improve safety for the travelling public.”
The consultation will run for 12 weeks and is available on GOV.UK. To complete the survey, click here.
