Agenda item

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report seeking the Committee’s views on a temporary relaxation of the Taxi Age Policy for hackney carriages, prior to a decision being made by the City Mayor.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report that sought the Committee’s views on a temporary relaxation of the Taxi Age Policy for hackney carriages, prior to a decision being made by the City Mayor.

The current policy on vehicle age provided that no vehicle would be licensed once it was over 11 years old.  The current policy was approved by the City Mayor on 12 June 2012 and it permitted no exceptions to the policy.

The Leicester’s Air Quality Action Plan (2016-2026) Healthier Air for Leicester set out a number of measures to accelerate improvements in air quality and deliver public health benefits.  One such measure was to introduce a low emission zone focused initially on buses using the bus stations and to work towards and ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) for all vehicles by 2026 or sooner.  A further measure was to work with bus, freight, rail and taxi transport sectors to reduce their environmental impact.

Although there were no ULEV Hackney Carriages available for purchase and delivery, media releases from the manufacturers and other bodies such as  Transport for London had indicated that vehicles would “start to be available” mid/late 2017.

A number of operators had asked to be allowed to use vehicles older than was permitted by the Age Policy to bridge the gap before they were able to acquire Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs).  Operators felt this would provide an opportunity to advance the Air Quality Plan by supporting owners of hackney carriages who want to replace their existing old hackney carriage with a new ULEV hackney carriage.

The report profiled the age of the current Hackney Carriage and Private Hire fleets operating in the City and identified those that would be reaching their end of life in the next 18 months.

The report set out three options for members to consider.  These were:-

            Option A – Proof of Purchase

            A temporary relaxation of the vehicle age policy granted solely to an owner of a licensed hackney carriage vehicle who had a bona-fide arrangement in place to replace their vehicle with a ULEV on or before 30 September 2018.  On the 30 September 2018 the 11 year rule would be apply and the existing vehicle would be removed from service.  6 monthly vehicle tests would continue to apply during the temporary relaxation period.

Option B – Commitment Only Option

            A temporary relaxation of the vehicle age policy granted solely to an owner of a licensed hackney carriage vehicle who had made a commitment to replacing their vehicle with a ULEV on or before 30 September 2018. On the 30 September 2018 the 11 year rule would be apply and the existing vehicle would be removed from service.  6 monthly vehicle tests would continue to apply during the temporary relaxation period.

Option C – Temporary General Moratorium

A temporary relaxation of the vehicle age policy for any vehicle having a last licensable date after the date of the decision to authorise a temporary relaxation to enable a vehicle to be relicensed for 12 months.  A review of the termination date for the option would be considered in April 2018, taking into account the availability of approved ULEVs for delivery at that time.  6 monthly vehicle tests would continue to apply during the temporary relaxation period.

Studies carried out involving hackney and private hire vehicles licensed in Leicester, concluded that ULEVs were most suited to the hackney trade due to the type of work and distances travelled.  Hybrid vehicles were already available and could currently be licensed as private hire vehicles.  A minor change to the current policy (regarding fuel type) in LCC Guidance Notes was required to enable ULEVs to be licensed as private hire vehicles.

The Chair indicated that he had invited representatives of the RMT Union to the meeting to provide the Committee with specialist views on the proposals.

The RMT Union requested that the Council consider an amended version of Option C – Temporary General Moratorium and grant the relaxation of the age policy until 2020 as it was believed that there would be a wider range of vehicles and models from which to choose and it would give Hackney Carriage drivers more time to prepare for purchasing ULEVs.   The RMT Union also suggested that the relaxation could be accompanied by an increase in the number of mandatory tests.           

Members discussed the options following questions noted the following responses:-

a)        Option A would not be available to drivers until order books were opened by manufacturers and the date for this was not known at the present time. 

b)        Option B could not be enhanced with an enforceable SLA as the granting of a licence was based upon statutory provisions and these did make provision for a local authority to do this.

c)         Option C include a review of the temporary relaxation in April 2018 which would enable the Council to determine if there were a sufficient supply and choice of manufacturers of ULEVs at that time.  This also provided an opportunity to extend the relaxation for a further period should the anticipated supply of vehicles and choice of manufacturers not materialise before then.

d)        The amended Option C suggested by the RMT Union would mean there would be 13 and 14 year old vehicles operatin in the City by 2019.

e)        Officers were also pursuing a grant application which could provide a financial incentive for drivers to purchase ULEVs.

e)        The current Council policy did not mandate the use of ULEVs.   Hackney Carriage drivers whose vehicles exceeded the 11 year age policy could still choose to buy a non-ULEV replacement vehicle and not take advantage of any temporary relaxation of the current policy.  These replacement vehicles would, under current Council policy, be eligible to be used until they too reached the 11 year age limit.    

g)        The current 11 year age policy was based primarily on ensuring public safety and applies to all vehicles.  The safety considerations include steering, suspension and mechanical integrity of the vehicle etc.  The risk to safety increases with age and usage.  There were no grounds at this stage to apply a different age policy to ULEVs and the issue was not under consideration at this time

RESOLVED:

            That the City Mayor be informed that the Committee recommends Option C be implemented as this gives further options to extend the temporary relaxation if the anticipated supply and choice of manufacturers of ULEVs does not materialise and still provides assurances for public safety during the extension period.