Calls for government to review “ludicrous” licensing laws as taxis given more time to be eco-friendlyPortsmouth taxi drivers have been granted an extra five years to transition to zero-emission vehicles, as councillors agreed to lobby the government to review “ludicrous” licensing laws.
Portsmouth City Council’s licensing committee met yesterday (Monday, September 24) to discuss extending a policy requiring newly licensed vehicles to be zero-emission capable by January 2025.
Councillors were presented with three options: to retain the current deadline, to extend it to 2030, or to remove the requirement for zero-emission vehicles entirely. These options were labelled A, B, and C, respectively. Councillors and trade representatives at the meeting largely favoured option B.
Uber representative Peter Sutherland acknowledged the “necessity” of moving to zero-emission vehicles but argued that the lack of infrastructure and high vehicle costs made this impractical. He warned that if the policy were enforced by next January, taxi drivers would seek licences from other authorities: “I have no doubt about that whatsoever,” he said.
Councillor Lee Hunt expressed sympathy for taxi and private hire drivers, saying: “It must be absolutely daunting, I would think, for your business and your livelihood, having to face all these massive costs with absolutely nothing on the horizon about how you’re going to transition.”
However, Councillor George Madgwick voiced concerns about option B, suggesting it would be ineffective if other authorities could still grant licences to taxis operating in Portsmouth. His comments come as a number of taxis in the city are licenced in Wolverhampton, with taxi drivers looking for cheaper and quicker application processes overseen by other councils.
He proposed extending the deadline to 2035 to allow time for local infrastructure to improve and to avoid further delays in five years.
Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson suggested the committee write to the new Labour government, raising concerns about taxis operating outside the areas where they are licensed – a practice known as cross-border hiring.
Additionally, he supported option B but recommended asking the government whether a 2035 extension would be more appropriate.
He added: “The licensing laws as they are are ludicrous, and it might be a good idea for us as a committee to write to the new government to ask them to make sure they have something that isn’t Victorian but for the 21st century.”
Councillors approved option B and agreed to write to the government to express their concerns.
source:
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/calls-for-government-to-review-ludicrous-licensing-laws-as-taxis-given-more-time-to-be-eco-friendly-4794290
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