Changes to make taxis more visible

EXTRA signs are being introduced on taxis in Charnwood to help make them clearer and more identifiable for passengers.

The changes on the 350 vehicles in the borough will be made over the next 12 months under new rules brought in by Charnwood Borough Council.

Coun Ken Pacey, chair of the council’s licensing sub-committee, said: “We have looked at our licensing policy and the feeling was we could do more to make sure private hire vehicles and hackney carriages are more visible and easily identifiable, particularly as we do not have traditional looking ‘black cabs’ in Charnwood.

“Therefore we hope the extra signs will make it clearer for peo- ple as they place a lot of trust in taxi drivers and there needs to be a robust licensing system in place to ensure high standards, of drivers and vehicles, are kept.

“The drivers have been great in helping us to ensure that the new signs are as visible as possible for their customers and I would like to thank them for their continued support.”

In Charnwood, there are 155 hackney carriage taxis and 198 private hire vehicles. In many places, hackney carriages are the traditional looking “black cabs” but there are none like this in Charnwood. They tend to be saloon cars and can be hailed in the street or found at taxi ranks.

Under the new rules, all taxis will have Charnwood Borough Council licence plates on the front and rear, instead of just the rear.

Hackney carriages will now also have two white oval door signs bearing their licence number to make them more visible, as well as a roof sign.

Private hire vehicles will have yellow door signs and no roof sign.

The council is reminding passengers that they should only get in a private hire vehicle when it has been booked, otherwise the driver’s insurance may be invalid and the driver could be committing an offence (driving without insurance) as well as breaching licensing conditions.

The licensing team recommend before getting into a vehicle that a passenger checks it is a licensed vehicle by observing and trying to remember the door sign.

Anyone wishing to report an issue with a taxi, should contact the council’s licensing team by emailinglicensing@ charnwood. gov.uk giving as much information as possible, including the date, time, pick up and drop off points, vehicle licence plate number and details of driver.