Taxi age restrictions to be eased after pressure

Leicester City Council has decided to ease the restrictions on taxi ages following requests from those in the industry.

Taxi drivers in Leicester will be able to buy older cars and keep them in use for longer after age regulations were changed by councillors.

Leicester City Council has decided to ease the restrictions on taxi ages after pressure from local drivers.

Previous rules meant cabs could not be more than five-years-old when they are first registered with the council and must be less than 11 years when re-licensed.

The rules have been relaxed following a consultation.

The new rules means vehicles can now be nine-years-old when registered and 15 years when licences are renewed.

The move is intended to remove some of the financial burden on black cab drivers who previously said buying a suitable car can cost in the region of £20,000 to £30,000.

The city council carried out a consultation over the changes after being approached by a number of drivers, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The number of hackney carriages – black cabs – around the city has fallen in recent years, the authority said when it launched the consultation.

In a report, the council said there was “clearly a need to support the trade during difficult financial circumstances”, adding an “overly restrictive age policy” would “simply lead to drivers moving to other licensing authorities but continuing to work in Leicester”.

By changing the rules, the authority believes it will “retain some control over taxi operations within the city”.

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