Fife Council wrote:
Due to the unforeseen circumstances that we have found ourselves in, our medical practitioners are now moving to telephone consultations only so we will not be sending any of our applicants/licenceholders for a medical until further notice. We will be contacting individual applicants who already have appointments to advise that they have been cancelled.
Fife Council wrote:
Please be advised that all annual tests for taxis and private hire vehicles have been cancelled until further notice. If you’ve already received appointments for your tests, do not attend the appointments. We will be in contact with you, later in the year, with any new arrangements we put in place. The garages will make every effort to accommodate any requests for substitution of vehicles but it is likely that they will only be carried out in an emergency situation. In the meantime, we would ask you to continue to maintain your vehicles, to the high standards you’ve always done & use the Council’s service sheets to assist you in continuing with your maintenance regimes.
Worth noting that the vehicle testing isn't done on a rolling basis, so all vehicle are inspected during March and April, except substitutions.
It says substitutions will only be carried out on an emergency basis, so presumably that would apply if a vehicle reaches the eight year limit or maybe a car written-off rather than anyone who just fancies a newer motor.
Anyway, none of this is relevant to me in the meantime, because I had my inspection on Tuesday, and badge isn't renewed until the summer.
But I'm surprised Fife Council an early mover on this. Not aware of any other council doing this. Although doubt if it's the sort of thing that would be reported in the press, but presumably if any regulars here knew of any councils doing similar then they would have posted.
(Of course, X-ray has said his own council will treat reapplications as renewals rather than as fresh application for six months, and there's the stuff about the school contract retainers, while Fife Council's move here seems a bit more dramatic.)