Plans to increase wheelchair accessible taxis in Mid Sussexhttps://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... ex-4724751Mid Sussex District Council is thinking of removing the cap on the number of hackney carriages it licenses. The change is being considered in an effort to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis on the roads.
Since 2002, the council has limited the number of hackney carriages it licenses – as opposed to private hire taxis – and there are currently 154.
Of those, only 31 are suitable for wheelchairs.
During a meeting of the licensing committee on Monday (July 29), members recommended that licence numbers be allowed to increase on the proviso that all new ones will only be issued for wheelchair accessible vehicles.
They also recommended that the issue be subject to an eight-week public consultation, starting on August 5.
The council received a 137-name petition highlighting the shortage of wheelchair friendly taxis in Burgess Hill.
It was acknowledged that most of them concentrated around the railway station in Haywards Heath, where drivers were more likely to find a passenger.
But committee members pointed out that, as the drivers are self-employed, this may still remain an issue – no matter what was decided – as no one can tell them when and where to work.
It was reported that several licences had been returned to the council but other drivers had refused to take them on given the cost of a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
A number of issues will have to be considered before any changes are made to the current policy.
They include congestion at taxi ranks, the financial impact on existing licence holders and the potential loss of custom with more drivers on the road.
A suggestion that the age limit for vehicles be raised to 12 years was not supported by the committee.
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