15/01/2024
Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing best practice guidance for licensing authorities
8.4 Vehicle age limits
The frequency of testing required (see frequency of vehicle tests) to ensure the ongoing safety of vehicles is a separate issue to the setting of maximum age limits at first licensing, or maximum age limits beyond which an authority will not licence a vehicle.
The setting of an arbitrary age limit may be inappropriate, counterproductive and result in higher costs to the trade and ultimately passengers. For example, a maximum age for first licensing may have adverse unintended consequences. A 5-year-old used electric vehicle will produce less emissions than a new Euro 6 diesel or petrol car – enabling the trade to make use of previously owned vehicles will assist it to transition more rapidly to zero emission vehicles and improve air quality.
Licensing authorities should not impose age limits for the licensing of vehicles instead they should consider more targeted requirements to meet their policy objectives on emissions, safety rating and increasing wheelchair accessible provision where this is low.
8.12 Vehicle identification and signage
Members of the public can often confuse private hire vehicles with taxis, failing to realise that they are not available for immediate hire and that a private hire vehicle driver can only fulfil pre-booked requests. Greater differentiation in signage will help the public to distinguish between the two elements of the trade. To achieve this, licensing authorities should seek to differentiate the profile of private hire vehicles as these can only be legally engaged through a booking with a licensed operator.
Licensing authorities should not permit roof signs of any kind on private hire vehicles and should require all taxis to display a ‘taxi’ roof sign/box that can be illuminated when available for hire. Roof signs must comply with the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989. Permitting any sign/box on a private hire vehicle, regardless of the wording on such a sign, is likely to increase awareness of the vehicle and the likelihood of being mistaken for a taxi.
This increases the success of those illegally standing or plying for hire and may lead to confrontation when private hire vehicle drivers refuse a request for a journey that has not been pre-booked. Having an illuminated sign on taxis and prohibiting them from private hire vehicles will provide a simple way for the public to differentiate between the two services and we encourage all licensing authorities to promote this difference to raise public awareness.
Licensing authorities should not impose a livery requirement on private hire vehicles. The more distinctive a private hire vehicle is made to appear, the greater the chance that this might be confused with a taxi. To assist the differentiation further, licensing authorities which require taxis to be a particular colour should prevent private hire vehicles from being that same colour, unless they are easily identifiable i.e. they are purpose-built vehicles as is the case in many of our cities.
Licensing authorities’ private hire vehicle signage requirements should be limited to the authority licence plate or disc and a “pre-booked only” door sign.
This approach enables passengers to be given the clear and consistent message that you should only get in a vehicle that ‘has a taxi sign on the roof’ unless you have pre-booked a private hire vehicle and have received information from the operator to identify it.
A private hire vehicle driver and proprietor are free to work with more than one operator and licensing conditions or requirements that effectively tie a vehicle or driver into an exclusive relationship with an operator should not be implemented or should be discontinued where these are currently imposed. Examples of such policies are a requirement for the private hire vehicle to display the name of the operator under which it is operating by means of a permanent or semi-permanent sign, or to require a driver to advise the licensing authority of the operator who they intend to work for and require notification in advance of any change.
Where an exclusive relationship exists between the vehicle proprietor, driver and operator, a licensing authority should consider permitting the display of operator details in a discreet manner to not undermine the overall objective of enabling the public to differentiate easily between taxis and private hire vehicles. This might, for example, be through small branding on the rear of the vehicle.
Restrictions on the use of terms which might lead to confusion among the public are detailed in section 64 of The Transport Act 1980 in respect of roof-signs; to assist the public in differentiating taxis from private hire vehicles, similar restrictions should be applied to all signage on private hire vehicles. Signs which include the word “taxi” or ”cab”, whether singular or plural, or any word of similar meaning or appearance to any of those words, whether alone or as part of another word should not be permitted.
Licensing authorities should only exempt the display of a licence plate by a private hire vehicle in exceptional circumstances. ‘Executive hire’ services are licensed as private hire vehicles and licensing authorities should assure themselves that there is sufficient justification to exempt these vehicles from a requirement to display a plate or disc and that there is an effective means to prevent the vehicle being used for ‘normal’ private hire work.
8.14 Carrying children
The safest way for a child to travel by car is in an appropriate car seat. It is however unreasonable and impractical for a taxi or private hire vehicle to carry a range of seats to meet the possible needs of all passengers. If the correct child car seat has not been provided, the law allows children to travel in taxis and private hire vehicles, but only if they travel on a rear seat; children under three can travel in a rear seat without a seat belt, and children who are three or older must wear an adult seat belt.
Children aged 3 and over should always count towards the licensed capacity of the vehicle because if an appropriate car seat is not available, they must wear an adult seat belt. Children under the age of 3 do not need to wear an adult seatbelt when an appropriate car seat is not available, so they do not need to count towards the licensed capacity. Licensing authorities should provide advice to licensees on its policy on the carriage of children under three years to provide certainty in terms of overloading and refusal of carriage in such situations.
Further information on the carriage of children safely in taxis and private hire vehicles has been published by the Royal Society on the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) with the support of the Department for Transport. Drivers and operators should be made aware of this guidance to ensure compliance with the law and to protect passengers.
8.18 Emergency equipment
The Highway Code advises that should a vehicle catch fire, the occupants should get out of the vehicle quickly and to a safe place and not to attempt to extinguish a fire in the engine compartment, as opening the bonnet will make the fire flare. The National Fire Chief Council (NFCC) recommends that licensing authorities that require fire extinguishers to be provided in vehicles, should ensure that suitable and sufficient training is received by the drivers.
The NFCC’s advice is that if a licensing authority elects not to require drivers to undertake training on the safe way to tackle a vehicle fire, vehicles should not be required to carry fire extinguishers and drivers advised to get out and stay out of the vehicle and call 999, rather than attempting to firefight.
