Taxi Driver Online

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-68034072

A review of the rules restricting the age of taxis in Leicester has been launched.

Struggling cab drivers have urged Leicester City Council to relax limits it sets on vehicles when considering licenses.

Currently taxis being licenced for the first time cannot be more than five years old.

The council also will not re-licence any vehicles if they are more than 11 years old.

Public consultation
However, the authority said drivers had told officials there were very few affordable second-hand hackney cabs and would like older vehicles to be eligible for use as taxis.

Both hackney carriage drivers and private hire drivers have said their businesses are under financial pressure caused by falling demand and the cost-of-living crisis, the council said.

The council has agreed to look again at the policy, which was last reviewed in 2012, for all taxis in the city.

A public consultation on potential changes will run until 25 February.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Personally I believe age limits keeps the dirt out
As like Councils like Buckinghamshire who has no lower age limit only a upper age limit of 10 years for private hire which has caused a lot of issues in Milton Keynes over 50% of private hire working in Milton Keynes are Buckinghamshire council licence.
Due to the fact Milton Keynes has a lower age limit & stricter Vehicle and driver conditions

Hence yesterday's plying for hire case involving a joint Bucks/Milton Keynes council enforcement exercise...

The Wolverhampton thing has been quite well documented nationally, but obviously quite a few other councils involved in providing an easy route into the trade, and therefore ripe for cross-border working.

Would be interesting to see the kind of numbers involved nationally, but I doubt anyone's ever tried to collate the figures.

To a degree yes.

The problem in areas like Leicester is the WAV-only policy.

New WAV prices are off the scale for individual drivers.

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IDFIMH

A friend who works in one of the Buckinghamshire council towns has said after conversation into 1 zone where previously their was a Limit on Hackney plates now anyone can get a plate as long as WAV and no lower age limit.
Imagine a council allowing New HC plates to Upto 15 year old vehicles,
Milton Keynes PH work used to be gold I remember 15 years ago 8 hours shift non stop work Monday - Saturday was taking home 1k easily after expenses
Now since Aylesbury/ Buckinghamshire council so many drivers the operators 2024 rates are:
£3.70 first mile
£1.10 per mile
£0.30 per minute waiting