New taxi licencing policy to improve safety in Hyndburn

Labour controlled Hyndburn Borough Council will be introducing a new taxi licensing policy at a Cabinet meeting in June this year.

The new policy will see increased vehicle checks, a requirement for improved vehicle emissions and increased safety measures. The measures also include a removal of the arbitrary age limits on vehicles.

Miles Parkinson, Leader of the Council commented “Safety is paramount in deciding any new proposals for taxi licenses. We need to make sure that residents feel confident about the vehicle they are in and that the service they receive is the best it can be. Following consultation with residents and taxi drivers I am confident that we will see a better service with these proposals”.

The new proposals are listed in detail below:

HACKNEY CARRIAGE SWIVEL SEATS

• The swivel seat must be in situ when the vehicle is presented for MOT, or the vehicle will fail
• The seat will require a certificate that:
• The seat is compatible with the vehicle
• The seat has been fitted by an authorised person
• The seat has been fitted in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations

Here the over-riding aim is to ensure the safety of the travelling public.


SUPPLEMENTARY TESTING MANUAL
This sets the technical standard for private hire vehicles and hackneys over and above usual MOT requirements. The manual will be updated in accordance with the consultation version and will represent a significant improvement on the current manual. This will contribute towards raising the standard of our taxi fleet and will enable us to focus on vehicle condition and road-worthiness, rather than vehicle age.


VEHICLE EMISSIONS
A new licencing condition will be imposed that will require all vehicles to achieve:

• Euro 3 by 2015
• Euro 4 by 2016
• Euro 5 by 2017

The intention here is to protect the environment by reducing potentially harmful emissions such as nitrogen dioxide. This should see a move to cleaner, more fuel efficient vehicles.


VEHICLE AGE LIMITS
The current 7 year age limit for first licensing as a taxi will be removed
No upper age limit will be imposed for hackney carriages
The 10 year upper age limit for private hire vehicles will be removed

The primary concern is the comfort and safety of the travelling public and other road users, we wish to focus on the condition and road-worthiness of vehicles, rather than their age, as vehicle age is potentially an arbitrary test.


LICENCE PERIOD AND TESTING REQUIREMENTS
Vehicles will continue to be tested regularly to ensure they meet the new, higher standards set by the supplementary testing manual, as well as the new emission standards – as now, vehicles under 7 years will be tested twice a year and vehicles over 7 years will be tested 3 times a year .

EXTERIOR SIGNS, LIVERY AND MARKINGS
As the safety of the travelling public is a primary concern, we will not allow any signage or markings on windows, so that nothing obscures the view into vehicles.

The Council acknowledge that vehicles may be needed for personal use and that permanent signage can make vehicles vulnerable to vandalism by marking them out as taxis so we will continue to permit magnetic signage. However, we wish to ensure that the required signage is displayed at all times when vehicles are in use as taxis, so we will move to introduce a 'three strikes' approach, with licences being reviewed and potentially removed where there is a persistent failure to comply with signage rules.

The Council will prescribe a minimum size for the required signage to ensure it is more noticeable to the travelling public. In the same way, “wrap rounds” and advertising on door panels will no longer be allowed as they can obscure the prescribed signage, though we will continue to permit advertising on car bonnets. We will also allow a grace period of 6 months for removal of wrap rounds and advertising after the new rules are introduced.