Taxi Driver Online

Obviously this isn't a big city environment, but absolutely zero mention of the, er, environment here


Taxi consultation to look at age of vehicles in Denbighshire

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north- ... s-25265715

Councillors extend grace period for older cars

The licensing committee in Denbighshire has authorised a consultation to look into allowing older taxi vehicles to continue to be used – if they meet strict maintenance checks. At a licensing committee meeting this week, councillors were asked to consider reviewing the existing maximum age of taxis - for both new and renewal applications of hackney carriage and private-hire vehicles.

The existing Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Policy was approved at the December 2016 committee meeting and came into effect on July 1, 2017 - although there have been a number of small amendments since. The conditions place an age restriction on vehicles whether new or for renewal, namely that all new to-fleet vehicles must be a maximum of five years old and any in-use vehicle reaching the age of 12 years old must be removed.

At the time of implementation, a period of grace was given for five years for vehicles which had “grandfather rights”, i.e. ‘they were already licensed vehicles and remained continually licensed’. This grace period was due to end in July 2022.

But in January of this year, officers and committee members received a request from a taxi proprietor urgently requesting that the grace period be extended, due to the pandemic pressures placed on the car manufacturing industry. Consequently, the committee agreed to extend the grace until July 2023 – with a further review planned.

But at the meeting this week, councillors questioned whether the age of vehicles was important if they were properly maintained.

Cllr Martyn Hogg said if a vehicle was well maintained, it should still be safe to be in use. "My gut instinct is how well maintained it's (the vehicle) been," he said.

"It could have done 500,000 miles, but if it's been well maintained, it could be, or should be, better than a car that's done 50,000 miles but has never had a service. Has there ever been a serious incident because of a car's age?"

The licensing officer replied: "Not that we know of. But does that mean because the policy's in place that there hasn't been?"

Cllr Bobby Feeley also said: "Cars are so much better than they were many years ago, aren't they?" "Mechanics are good, and, as Martyn said, they can go on for many miles now if they are maintained and looked after thoroughly, so whether or not we do need to look at it."

The committee decided to defer the time limit on ‘grandfather rights’ for a further 12 months until July 2024. The committee also authorised officers to instigate a consultation process, looking at increasing the maximum age of taxis in use from 12 years and instead introducing a strict maintenance regime.

The consultation will also look at allowing new taxi vehicles to be introduced to the county’s fleet if they are under eight years old – increasing from five years. Members also agreed to look into approving vehicles over five years old for new licences during the consultation period before the matter will return to the committee in December.

The sad fact is that the biggest problem we have with the age issue isn't safety or pollution its availability.

Especially for the bigger motors.

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IDFIMH

Not particularly interesting, and this is the before and after articles, so to speak.

So a lot of overlap between the two.

But all fairly predictable stuff, and a growing trend for this sort of thing, and indeed for the trade in some areas more generally.


Council considers making taxi rule changes permanent after rise in wheelchair-accessible vehicles

https://herald.wales/north-wales/denbig ... -vehicles/

A TEMPORARY relaxation of rules for wheelchair-accessible taxis in Denbighshire has led to an increase in availability.

Now Denbighshire County Council’s licensing committee will meet next week to consider making the changes permanent.

The proposals follow officers’ reporting that the temporary relaxation of the rules had a “positive impact” on the number of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) entering the licensed fleet.

In June last year, the committee agreed a 12-month trial removing vehicle age limits for WAVs.

Vehicles were instead required to meet “Euro 6 emission requirements” and undergo “increased compliance testing once a vehicle reaches 12 years of age”.

Since the temporary change came into effect, the council has received a total of seven WAV applications.

Whilst three of these were withdrawn because the applicants did not meet the licensing requirements, the remaining four applications “represent a significant improvement when compared with the previous year, when no new applications were received”.

But despite the proposed move to increase taxis for people in wheelchairs, councillors will be told there are some risks to consider.

The report stated: “The main risk relates to the continued use of older vehicles, which may naturally require closer monitoring as they age. However, this risk is effectively managed through the enhanced testing regime, which ensures regular safety checks and early identification of any issues.”

The licensing committee will meet on Tuesday, June 9, at the council’s Ruthin County Hall HQ.


Rule change helps increase availability of wheelchair-accessible taxis in Denbighshire

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/rule-c ... y-34091301

Councillors agreed to make a temporary relaxation of rules permanent after seeing the trial's 'positive impact'

A temporary relaxation of rules for wheelchair-accessible taxis in Denbighshire has been made permanent after councillors voted in favour of the move, hoping to increase vehicle availability. At June’s Denbighshire County Council licensing committee, councillors commented on the “positive impact” of a 12-month trial introduced in June last year, which removed vehicle age limits for wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs).

This has led to an increase in taxi numbers for people who use wheelchairs, prompting councillors to vote in favour of making the change permanent.

Since the temporary change came into effect, the council has received a total of seven WAV applications.

Under the revised rules, vehicles are instead required to meet Euro 6 emissions standards and undergo increased compliance testing once they reach 12 years of age.

During the meeting, Cllr Andrea Tomlin said: “I find it quite distressing sometimes when you read reports of passengers who have not been able to get the appropriate transport, so this can only be a positive step for this council.”

Whilst a report highlighted the benefits of the scheme in improving access to WAVs, it also noted potential risks linked to the continued use of older vehicles.

Cllr Andrea Tomlin proposed councillors introduce the policy permanently. Cllr Joan Butterfield seconded the proposal, and the committee voted unanimously in favour of the change in policy.

Not sure if it's really relevant to point out the number of applications if only four out of seven are actually successful.

And indeed the second piece only cites the number of applications, as opposed to the numbers actually successful.

I mean, potentially NONE of the applications might have been successful, so the number would be largely irrelevant to the point being made

So the risks are that officers will have to monitor compliance a tad more.

Heaven forbid them from having to work for a living.

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IDFIMH

I looked to see if anyone posted this before starting my own thread. But one of those where the same piece is posted in the same minute

And used the search function to look back, and couldn't find anything, apart from the pieces about fares and plates etc.

Trouble is, I didn't look far enough back. But in view of how long these things take to pan out - particularly when dealing with councils - I should have looked back a bit further

Maybe someone will merge the threads.

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IDFIMH