Plans for improvements to Rotherham taxi regulations

Rotherham Council is set to consult on changes to its current taxi licensing policy to ensure licensed drivers, vehicles and operators in the borough continues to be of the highest standard.

The Council’s Cabinet will consider plans to extend the storage capacity of in-car camera systems, incentivise the use of ultra-low emission vehicles and improve vehicle signage so the public can more easily recognise a Rotherham licensed taxi and driver.
 
Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads & Community Safety, Councillor Emma Hoddinott, said: “The Council’s taxi licensing policy has come a long way since changes were introduced in 2015 and we are committed to further improving taxi licensing for customers, drivers and operators.
 
“We already have strong regulations in place, but there are areas that could be improved. Some of the suggested changes have been put forward following discussions with drivers and operators across the borough.”
 
Other recommendations put forward include:
  • Ensuring staff with access to booking records or responsible for dispatching vehicles undergo appropriate safeguarding checks
  • Clearer signage for passengers who want to activate audio recording
  • More options for the way drivers display their badge when on duty
  • Changes to driver medical assessments meaning that, with prior agreement from the Licensing Manager, a medical assessment can be carried out by a GP practice other than the driver’s own.
  • Strengthening the Council’s approach to equality and diversity to ensure that both taxi operators and customers are protected from hate crime
  • Refresher training and assessment on a drivers’ knowledge, driving ability and approach to safeguarding vulnerable passengers to take place when  a licence is renewed.

The Council introduced a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy in July 2015 which is widely regarded as the gold standard for other local authorities to benchmark against in relation to Taxi and Private Hire licensing.
 
Subject to Cabinet approval on 23 December, the new measures will be put out to formal consultation with taxi users, drivers and operators. Following the consultation period, a final version of the policy will be presented back to the Council’s Cabinet for consideration.
 
 

View the Cabinet report

Published: 17th December 2019