Find it hard to believe that this is total HC numbers in Middlesbrough - no way the total HC sector has contracted this much
So I'd guess there's a legacy saloon HC sector, and it's the later WAVs which have born the brunt of rising costs and competition from Boro Cars and Uber (as someone in the comments suggests - sounds about right).
(Although the original WAV HC number of 150 does seem very high for a scenario like that in a place the size of Middlesbrough - similar size to Dundee, I think.)
(Maybe it's in the article, and I missed it, but can't be bothered reading it again
)Number of wheelchair-accessible taxis in Middlesbrough plummets from 150 to 30 hackney carriages
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... h-34513476
The 80% drop was revealed in meetings of Middlesbrough Council's licensing committee, with a manager speaking of a 'significant reduction' and decline
The number of wheelchair-accessible taxis in Middlesbrough has plunged from 150 to 30 hackney carriages in the last six years.
The 80% drop was revealed at a meeting of Middlesbrough Council's licensing committee where a taxi driver asked to renew their hackney carriage vehicle licence for a year. The vehicle was due to be taken off the road this year because of council restrictions which usually terminated a wheelchair-accessible vehicle's licence when it was 12 years old.
The driver said the vehicle was still in good working condition and giving a reliable service to passengers, and had a letter of support from a customer who was a wheelchair user. They said "there were growing concerns amongst members of the taxi trade in Middlesbrough regarding the limitations and age restrictions for licensed vehicles imposed by Middlesbrough Council", minutes from the committee meeting show.
The council's licensing manager said officers "were aware that there had been a significant reduction in the number of wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles licensed by Middlesbrough Council – with a decline from approximately 150 vehicles in 2020 to 30 at the present time". The authority was considering a review of its taxi licensing policies including removing the age restriction, councillors heard in the June meeting.
In this driver's case, officers supported a one-year extension of the vehicle licence. The committee granted this, with three vehicle tests during the year.
The licensing committee considered the wider issue at its latest meeting on Monday (August 24), with a new report saying the council currently licensed 32 wheelchair-accessible vehicles, several of which would reach the maximum age in the next year: "Without suitable replacement vehicles being introduced, this is likely to have a significant impact on the availability of wheelchair accessible transport services within Middlesbrough. Officers will be considering a wider review of the council's taxi licensing policies later this year."
It said the council would consider replacing age limits with emission requirements, as many other authorities had done, with "specific exemptions and incentives for wheelchair-accessible vehicles" to support and increase their availability. In the meantime, councillors agreed to let officers decide on future applications to extend the licences of wheelchair-accessible hackney carriages and private hire vehicles on a case-by-case basis.
This would reduce "unnecessary delays and administrative burden" and help "to maintain the availability of wheelchair-accessible vehicles within the licensed fleet pending the outcome of the wider taxi licensing policy review", said the council's report. It would also "provide greater flexibility in responding to the declining number of wheelchair accessible vehicles within Middlesbrough, support the continued provision of accessible transport services for disabled passengers, and ensure that public safety remains paramount through the application of robust inspection and compliance requirements".
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