Agenda item

On 1 June 2021 the new BCP Taxi and Private Hire Policies for Drivers, Vehicles and Operators were implemented.

These were the first new taxi and private hire policies for BCP Council which replaced the preceding three separate legacy authority arrangements. These policies introduced several new requirements on drivers and vehicle licence holders. This included:-

·       All vehicles will be mechanically inspected every six months, once at a Council testing station and then at any garage for an MoT

·       harmonised livery requirements for new hackney carriages

·       an age limit for all new vehicles

·       an upper age limit for existing licenced vehicles

·       safeguarding training for all licence holders refreshed every three years

·       requirement for drivers to sign up to the DBS update service to allow checks every six months

Since the introduction of these policies feedback and suggested improvements have been provided by the trade and licensing officers.

As a direct result of feedback this report seeks to amend the policies to clarify requirements, remove unnecessary sections and amend inconsistencies.

The Interim Head of Licensing presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Committee was reminded that the new BCP Taxi and Private Hire Policies for Drivers, Vehicles and Operators were implemented on 1 June 2021. Since the introduction of these policies, feedback and suggested improvements had been provided by the trade and licensing officers. As a direct result of this, the Committee was asked to consider some minor amendments to the policies to clarify requirements, remove unnecessary sections and amend inconsistencies.

The Chair invited members to ask questions and make comments, focussing in particular on the suggested changes highlighted in the policy documents. Unless specified below, these suggested changes were agreed. Additional matters raised included:

VEHICLE POLICY:

·       Paragraph 7.6 – The Committee agreed the suggested amendment subject to the removal of the duplicate word ‘first’, to read ‘from the date of first registration’.

·       Paragraph 7.11 – The Committee asked that ‘and seat belts’ be added to this requirement, to be consistent with other references in the document.

·       Paragraph 7.14 – The Committee asked that the wording of this requirement be amended to be grammatically correct.

·       Paragraph 8.4 – The Committee agreed the suggested amendment, subject to amending the word ‘checked’ to ‘rechecked’.

·       Paragraph 9.4 – The Committee did not agree to the Trade’s request that the date for licensed vehicles meeting Euro 6 emission standards be put back to December 2024 to be in line with the respray deadline. While appreciating the points made about costs, Members agreed this needed to be progressed in accordance with published timescales.

·       Paragraph 16.6 – The Committee agreed the suggested amendment.

In the discussion there were differing views on whether this requirement constituted a business restriction on the licence holder or whether the licence should be returned to the Council as licence ‘owner’ to reissue.

·       Section 17 – The Committee agreed the suggested amendments in relation to livery requirements, subject to the addition of the word ‘either’ before Christchurch and replacement of the word ‘Eurostyle’ with ‘Eurostile’ in Paragraph 17.1.

There was a discussion on the requirements for the new livery and it was acknowledged that unfortunately there would always be individual cases which fell just outside the timescales.

·       Paragraph 22.1 – The Committee asked that the reference to ‘shall be’ be amended to ‘must be’.

It was confirmed that private hire vehicles were not required to have meter, but those that did had to provide a form of receipt.

·       Section 27 – The Committee asked that the numbering in this section be checked and amended as required.

·       Appendix D – It was noted that the highlighted text had been carried over from a previous version as an anomaly and should be amended.

In addition to the above, the Committee considered the following points raised in the debate:

Tinted Windows – Paragraph 7.7 of the policy

The Committee agreed to the Trade’s request to review the provisions regarding tinted windows, to allow these in licensed vehicles, subject to meeting the requirements of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Members agreed that there was no reason in this case for the Licensing Authority to impose a different standard to the DVSA. The points raised about safeguarding were acknowledged. It was also noted that tinted windows were more energy efficient. The Committee agreed that this provision should only apply to new vehicles and that the following paragraph regarding after-market vehicles should be retained.

Electric/Hybrid Vehicles – Paragraph 14 of the Report

The Committee discussed how best to address the points raised in the report and with the Trade regarding the lack of provision or incentives to provide for electric or hybrid vehicles. It was noted that there was currently nothing in the policy on this and that it would be nearly impossible to include anything without providing the necessary infrastructure such as electric charging points at taxi ranks. The Committee acknowledged that a full review of the policy was not due until 2025 but agreed that this did not preclude further consideration being given in the meantime to progressing the issues raised.

The Committee agreed that the Chair should write to the Leader of the Council and the Portfolio Holder for Transport and Sustainability on behalf of the Committee to ask whether there are any funding opportunities to address the lack of electric charging points at hackney carriage ranks.

The Committee also asked that officers (a) prepare some wording to include in the policy to indicate that the Council is keen to work with the Trade to increase provision of electric and hybrid licensed vehicles, and (b) add this item to the Committee’s Forward Plan.

Card Payments – Paragraph 15 – 17 of the Report

The Committee agreed to the Trade’s request that all vehicles should be capable of accepting card payments. It was noted that there would be a cost implication and it was assumed that the Trade had therefore consulted with its members before approaching the Committee. It was also noted that card payment should not completely replace cash payment. The Committee agreed to add the following requirement to the policy:

“All new and replacement vehicles must be capable of accepting card payments from date of implementation of this condition and all existing vehicle must be capable of accepting card payments within six months of the implementation of this condition.”

DRIVER POLICY:

·       Paragraph 15.2.6 – The Committee asked that the phrase ‘is permitted, where appropriate’ be added to clarify the intention of the policy.

·       Appendix A – Section 4a, Passengers – The Committee was advised that drivers were required to ensure seat belt legislation was complied with for children in the vehicle, but this duty of care did not extend to adult passengers as the responsibility lay with them to comply.

·       Appendix A – Section 5, Found Property – The Committee agreed that this should be amended to read ‘and no later than the end of the next working day’ to allow for a more realistic timescale for drivers who may not work at the weekend.

RESOLVED that the minor amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle and Driver Policies as recommended in the report with the additional amendments requested by the Committee be agreed.

Voting – Unanimous