Derby Council relaxes controversial taxi age rule after driver backlash
Council raises first-time vehicle licensing limit despite warnings the change could put public safety “at risk”
A controversial age limit for licensing new taxi vehicles in Derby is to be relaxed – despite claims that public safety is “at risk”.
Worried taxi drivers took to the streets to protest after Derby City Council bosses ruled that private hire taxi vehicles should be five years old or less when licensed for the first time.
The authority said the rule came into force “to ensure vehicles are in good condition and more likely to meet current safety and emissions standards”.
But the policy only applies to taxi vehicles being licensed for the first time. Hundreds of drivers who already have their vehicles licensed with the council are not currently affected.
Council bosses say the five-year rule was designed “to introduce improved passenger safety, maintain vehicle quality standards, reduce emissions and enhance the Derby professional image”.
But it is claimed the rule has “added significant financial pressure” on drivers who have called for it to be scrapped completely.
Drivers protesting claimed the five-year rule could put them out of business and/or price out new drivers, requiring them to buy or be in possession of a car five years old or less to get licensed.
It was also feared that the policy could encourage drivers to drive in the city but be licensed by a different council, which may have different rules, tests and fees.
The concerns triggered a full review of the age-limit rule’s impact in Derby. A public consultation ran alongside the review for residents to have their say.
At a Derby City Council licensing committee meeting on Thursday (March 12), councillors voted on whether the five-year rule should remain, be removed completely, or be altered to change the age requirement.
A majority of councillors voted to adjust the age limit to nine years, a move that went down well with several drivers attending the meeting.
Councillor Martin Repton said: “At the present time, taxi drivers can go outside this authority, and they can get a badge to work in this city with cars older than 10 years.
“We want our taxi drivers registered in the city, and we want a fair and reasonable system. We have yearly checks on every vehicle. I think if we move to an age limit of seven, eight or nine years, that is a reasonable compromise.”
Councillor Stephen Lakin: “I don’t think age is any actual limitation – I think it is the condition of the car. As you know, the cars are expected to pass a very strict test.
“When I phone up and get a taxi, I know that the vehicle is well-maintained. I don’t care what mileage it has got on it, as long its clean, tidy and safe. Let the boys who are testing these vehicles decide if they are safe or not.”
But a council report on the issue stated cars of nine-years-old “show a mix of advisory defects and a small number of serious issues, suggesting this is the point at which reliability begins to decline more sharply”.
Councillor Jamie Mulhall said he believed public safety was “at risk” by relaxing the age limit.
He said: “We are hearing an awful lot about livelihoods, incomes and losing drivers to potential other cities, but nobody has yet spoken about public safety.
“If we vote for an age limit of nine years, we will be putting people of the city at risk. We will be putting their health and safety at risk. The evidence is clear.”
There were more than 800 respondents in the council’s online consultation over the winter, with almost 60 per cent of respondents wanting the age limit rule removed entirely.
In September, it was reported that almost 2,000 taxi drivers living and working in Derby are actually licensed with Wolverhampton City Council, not Derby City Council.
A Freedom of Information request showed that, in July, 1,796 private hire drivers with a DE postcode were granted a taxi licence in Wolverhampton – more than 40 miles away.
The city council is unable to conduct safety inspections or checks on taxi vehicles that are licensed by other councils. This, therefore, restricts the city council’s power to regulate vehicles on its roads.
Wolverhampton City Council said it does carry out checks across the country every weekend to ensure its licensed vehicles are maintaining the highest road standards, and it “does not gain financially”.