Agenda item

Report of the Head of Community and Customer Services

The Committee received a report of the Head of Community and Customer Services outlining a proposed change to the saloon and estate hackney carriages initial age limit. 

The Licensing Manager introduced the report, and explained the history of the policy.  He advised that members of the trade had asked that the Council consider amending the existing policy so that saloon and estate cars needed to be not more than four years old to be initially licensed, rather than three years old.  This would bring the policy in line with the age limit for London-style cabs and would give drivers greater flexibility as more second-hand cars would be available to them.  The Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers Association (WHCDA) had now formally requested that the policy be for five years rather than four years.

Councillor Turmaine noted that increasing the initial age limit would be welcome; he asked what the reason was for this change.  The Licensing Manager explained that drivers felt that cars which were three years old or newer were quite expensive to purchase; these cars often still had a dealer’s warranty and may not require annual MOTs.  There were more cars on the market which were four years old or more.  The Licensing Manager questioned whether there would be an impact on the quality of the taxi fleet in Watford. 

The Chair commented that if the policy were five years it may be easier for drivers to join or remain in the trade. 

Councillor D. Scudder noted that the initial limit had been three years because of the issue of quality.  He highlighted other issues such as mileage which had an impact on the quality of the vehicle.  He advised that he would be reluctant to change the current policy. 

Councillor Crout questioned whether there would be a significant difference in the cost of purchasing four year-old vehicles and five year-old vehicles. He added that the Council carried out inspections of both the safety and comfort of these vehicles. The Licensing Manager explained how the mechanical and safety inspections were carried out. 

Councillor Turmaine highlighted the limit on the number of licences that were available in the Borough.  The policy, therefore, would have little effect on the number of taxis on the road.  The Environmental Health and Licensing Section Head replied that this was the case although a policy of five years would make it easier for drivers to stay in the trade. 

The Vice Chair commented that it was a balance between the initial purchase cost of the vehicle and the perceived quality of the fleet.  The older the initial age of the cars, the older the overall nature of the fleet would be.  He felt that there was a good availability of ex-fleet cars which were approximately four years old.  It seemed sensible to bring the starting age of the saloon and estate vehicles in line with the London-style cabs. 

The Licensing Manager advised the Committee that the wording of the recommendation in the report should be amended to: “that the Committee approves the amendments to the Council’s current conditions for hackney carriage vehicles to require saloons and estate vehicles to be not more than four years old when initially licensed”. 

The Committee voted on whether the policy should be retained as three years or amended to four years or five years.

RESOLVED –

that the Committee approves the amendments to the Council’s current conditions for hackney carriage vehicles to require saloon and estate vehicles to be not more than four years old when initially licensed.