West Suffolk taxi policy consultation 2022
Audience: Key stakeholders (taxi drivers (both private hire and hackney carriage vehicles), license-holders operators), parish and town councils, community and charity groups (especially disability groups), businesses and business representatives (Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Chamber
This consultation is now closed.
It was open from 23 March 2022 to 18 May 2022.
West Suffolk Council has begun public consultation on new proposals for the West Suffolk Council Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy Handbook. The council has carried out an in-depth study of taxi provision (hackney carriage vehicles (HCVs)) in West Suffolk, focusing on the following areas:
- wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) provision
- the impact of merging taxi zones (currently we have two zones, Zone A covering the former Forest Heath area and Zone B covering the former St Edmundsbury area)
- the age of the taxi fleet.
Consideration was also given to future requirements of an environmentally friendly taxi fleet and the impact of COVID-19.
We have used feedback from surveys of taxi drivers, operators, wheelchair users, other disabled people and people who have mobility issues but would not identify themselves as being disabled, carried out by an independent consultant. We looked at these alongside a range of data and evidence, as well as reviewing practices from other authorities to help inform our future policy.
Having considered all of this evidence, the council has decided to consult over a package of proposals before Cabinet decides on whether to adopt these into our policy.
The package of proposals that we are consulting on is:
- to remove all wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) requirements for taxi (HCV) licensees
- to merge the two taxi zones into one single zone
- to increase the maximum age of vehicle limit to 15 years old.
Our suggested approach helps to balance out existing WAV provision across the district to meet customer needs. This means that we can allow time for the taxi service to recover from COVID-19 and fully consider how we integrate more environmentally friendly vehicles into our hackney carriage fleet, while ensuring that the fleet continues to be accessible both now and into the future. This is all part of our long-term vision for our taxi fleet to be:
- a safe fleet
- an accessible fleet
- a green fleet
- a thriving fleet.
For more details on the reasons behind these proposals, please see:
- Proposed changes to the West Suffolk Council Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy Handbook – summary
- West Suffolk Council Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Conditions Policy Handbook - review of taxi zones and wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs)
Please note: some of the documents linked to from the review may not be fully accessible for people using assistive technology. If you need then in an accessible format please email: jack.eddy@westsuffolk.gov.uk
The consultation will run until 11.59pm on 18 May 2022.