Bury could allow written-off cars to be licensed as taxishttps://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/267016 ... sed-taxis/
Image: Newsquest/Bury TimesTaxi drivers could be allowed to use previously written-off vehicles in Bury under plans being considered by councillors.Currently, Bury Council bans any vehicle an insurance company has written off from being licensed as taxis or private hire vehicles.
But councillors are now being asked to relax the rules and allow some repaired write-offs back into service.
The proposal would apply to so-called Category N and Category S vehicles.
Category N vehicles have suffered non-structural damage, while Category S vehicles have had structural damage but can legally return to the road once repaired.
Under the plans, drivers would need to provide an independent engineer's report proving the cars have been repaired safely before they could be licensed.
Council officers say Bury is currently one of the most restrictive authorities in Greater Manchester, with most neighbouring councils already allowing certain categories of repaired write-offs to be licensed.
A report going before councillors shows seven Greater Manchester authorities already permit Category N vehicles, while five allow both Category N and Category S vehicles.
Officers say the current ban could be putting pressure on drivers struggling with soaring vehicle costs, insurance premiums and maintenance bills.
The report states: "The licensed taxi and private hire trade continues to experience significant financial pressures arising from increasing vehicle purchase costs, insurance premiums, maintenance expenses and wider economic challenges."
Members of the trade have been lobbying the council to change its approach.
Representatives told the council that Category N vehicles often suffer only minor damage but are written off because insurers calculate repair costs using manufacturer-approved parts and repair centres.
In submissions included within the report, the National Private Hire and Taxi Association said: "It seems ludicrous that a driver can buy the car back, repair it, MOT it and it be perfectly safe and suitable to be used on the road but not for licensing."
They said some vehicles are written off despite relatively minor damage.
"To put this into perspective, the minor damage could just be a front wing, bumper and headlight," they wrote.
According to the trade body, insurance repair costs can exceed a vehicle's value, meaning perfectly repairable vehicles are written off even though equivalent repairs using non-manufacturer parts could cost between £500 and £1,000.
Representatives also warned that insurance pay-outs often leave drivers unable to afford replacement vehicles.
"As we all know, the value of a vehicle reduces substantially from purchase price to second-hand price the moment the vehicle comes out of the workshop," they said.
They added that some drivers could effectively be forced out of the trade because insurance settlements fall well short of the cost of buying another licensed vehicle.
Council officers are recommending approval of the change, arguing that public safety can still be protected through independent engineering inspections and compliance tests.
If approved, the new policy would allow applications involving repaired write-off vehicles to be considered on a case-by-case basis rather than facing an automatic ban.
The proposal will be discussed before the Full Council on November 11.
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