Agenda item

This report seeks a recommendation from the Executive Member for City Strategy to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee (being the decision making authority) concerning the review of the council’s policy to limit the number of taxi vehicle licences.  The report advises Members of the Government’s Action Plan for Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles, the work completed since the previous reports in September and November 2005 and the consultation that has been carried out.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member for City Strategy be advised to make the following recommendations to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee:-

(i)                 That a rank queue survey be conducted and repeated at least every two years in order to  monitor the level of unmet demand

(ii)                Approve Option d), i.e. to issue a limited number of new hackney carriage vehicle licenses each year until market demand regulates the number of licenses issued but subject to a review after 2 years on the effects of any increase in numbers.

(iii)               That officers be asked to investigate the availability of taxi vehicles which both meet Euro 4/5 standards and which also achieve low greenhouse gas emission levels

(iv)              That any new plates which may be made available are allocated to vehicles which allow side access for wheelchair users

(v)                That officers investigate and report back on options for extending the availability of taxi rank space with particular reference to the City centre.

(vi)              That the officers be asked to investigate and report on how the Council can ensure that plates are retained by local residents and that any rental income which may be charged by plate owners is ploughed back into improving the quality of the taxi service in York

Decision of the Executive Member for City Strategy

RESOLVED:             That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:                  This represents the least disruptive and controlled route to achieving deregulation. It will permit market forces to regulate the number of taxis viable in the city in the same way as any other business.

Members received a report which sought a recommendation from the Executive Member for City Strategy to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee (being the decision making authority) concerning the review of the council’s policy to limit the number of taxi vehicle licences.  The report advised Members of the Government’s Action Plan for Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles, the work completed since the previous reports in September and November 2005 and the consultation that had been carried out.

The Government, in their letter to local authorities, indicated that the outcome of a review would be either:

a)     to maintain the existing limit on hackney carriage licences

b)     to deregulate and thereby grant a taxi licence to anyone meeting the application criteria, or

c)      to grant a number of new licences to meet the unmet demand

d)     to grant a specific number of licences each year

Officers provided an update on paragraph 37 and circulated a handout regarding the results of a survey on national comparisons on deregulation. It was reported that the results from eight other cities were mixed, with the general trend being an increase in hackney carriage licences, and a smaller increase, and even decrease, in the number of private hire vehicles.

Members agreed that there was a need to control the number of new licences and for more wheelchair accessible vehicles. Members raised concerns about the validity of the 2006 rank queue survey and that the only reliable survey dated from 2004. Members agreed that there was a need for a new survey to be carried out as soon as possible to find out what unmet demand there was in York and the effect of the new licensing laws on this demand.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member for City Strategy be advised to make the following recommendations to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee:-

(i)                 That a rank queue survey be conducted and repeated at least every two years in order to  monitor the level of unmet demand

(ii)                Approve Option d), i.e. to issue a limited number of new hackney carriage vehicle licenses each year until market demand regulates the number of licenses issued but subject to a review after 2 years on the effects of any increase in numbers.

(iii)               That officers be asked to investigate the availability of taxi vehicles which both meet Euro 4/5 standards and which also achieve low greenhouse gas emission levels

(iv)              That any new plates which may be made available are allocated to vehicles which allow side access for wheelchair users

(v)                That officers investigate and report back on options for extending the availability of taxi rank space with particular reference to the City centre.

(vi)              That the officers be asked to investigate and report on how the Council can ensure that plates are retained by local residents and that any rental income which may be charged by plate owners is ploughed back into improving the quality of the taxi service in York.

Decision of the Executive Member for City Strategy

RESOLVED:             That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:                  This represents the least disruptive and controlled route to achieving deregulation. It will permit market forces to regulate the number of taxis viable in the city in the same way as any other business.