New rules for taxi drivers in Swindonhttps://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/new ... s-swindon/Drivers wanting to get into private hire taxi trade will have to have a driving licence for just one year instead of three if proposals by Swindon Borough Council are agreed.
And the operators of private hire cars – not necessarily the drivers – must have an office in Swindon or a registered address in the borough.
The authority’s licencing committee agreed to five changes to the council’s conditions for granting licenses for both private hire vehicles and hackney carriages – the sort of taxi that can be picked up at a rank on a street.
The council’s licensing manager told members of the committee that the statutory length of time to hold a full driving licence before being able to drive a private hire vehicle was one year.
He added: “Drivers not meeting the current requirement are often going elsewhere to be licensed and ultimately still working in Swindon.”
Mr Kirkwood said that the three-year requirements for hackney cab drivers would remain because they were more likely to work independently, without the support of a company.”
Councillor Matt Lodge asked whether while the requirement for the length of holding a driving licence is to be dropped to one year, the minimum age for a driver should be increased to 21.
The committee’s legal advisor said the statutory guidance was 18 and it would be unwise and possibly even discriminatory to divert from that.
All private hire operators will be required to have a registered address or office in the borough.
The testing of both types of taxis will also be beefed up.
Mr Kirkwood said: “The current testing standard is not considered as sufficiently robust or comprehensive. The testing stations do not have a detailed testing standard to refer to and so there is potential for a lack of consistency in carrying out the tests.”
There will be a premium/express service for the issuing and renewing driver, vehicle and operator licences, and this must be used in the case of late applications for renewal.
All private hire cars will be required to display the council’s licence plates, and the driver to wear their badge.
But Mr Kirkwood said this could be relaxed on application for those drivers who drive luxury vehicles conducting executive and VIP work or working on a specific contract where security is a genuine issue – perhaps for the government.
Having got the licensing committee to agree, the council’s licensing team will now conduct a month-long consultation on the new proposals, with one public meeting scheduled to get the responses of the taxi trade.
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