Leicester City Council devises safer taxi plan

The strategy has been drawn up to bring about improvements between now and 2025

A plan to make Leicester's taxis safer and more convenient has been drawn up by the city council.

Measures in the authority's Taxi Strategy include new standards on driving and vehicle fitness.

The council says it wants to improve the sharing of driving and vehicle records with police and neighbouring licensing authorities.

Improved CCTV and GPS tracking are also mid-term aims in the three-year strategy.

There are currently almost 2,000 taxi drivers licensed by Leicester City Council and about 1,300 private hire vehicles run by 93 different operators, along with 230 Hackney carriages.

The new plan aims to increase the number of low-emission vehicles in service, create a better structure for consultation between drivers, unions and the council, and put in place cashless payment options in all private hire and Hackney carriages.

Talks already held

Piara Singh Clair, Leicester's deputy city mayor responsible for regulatory services, said: "This strategy brings together the work which is already ongoing around both private hire and Hackney carriage standards, and sets out how we will operate over the coming years to improve services and meet our environmental commitments around air quality and sustainable travel.

"We've already carried out consultation work with the taxi trade, passengers and other local stakeholders, and while some of the improvements in this strategy can be brought in fairly soon, others are likely to involve further consultation.

"In particular, we will be looking at working more closely with neighbouring licensing authorities, such as Wolverhampton, to assess the impact of taxis licensed elsewhere operating in the city."