The Licensing Policy Officer presented a report seeking approval for full electric, wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles involved in the Welsh Government’s Green Fleet Pilot Scheme to be exempt from the specific hackney carriage vehicle licence conditions.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that Welsh Government was introducing a Green Fleet Pilot Scheme in three areas across Wales. The scheme would operate a ‘try before you buy’ initiative, allowing taxi drivers to try a fully electric, wheelchair accessible vehicle for 30 days free of charge. The trial would include free electric charging, insurance, vehicle licensing and breakdown cover funded by Welsh Government. The hackney carriage in question was a wheelchair accessible Nissan Dynamo. She added that on completion of the trial, drivers would be asked to complete an evaluation survey and would be provided with information on schemes/assistance available for long term ownership/lease of zero-emission vehicles.

The Licensing Policy Officer reported that the pilot was intended to assist Welsh Government in achieving its target of de-carbonising the taxi fleet entirely by 2028 as it was hoped it would help taxi drivers to realise the financial and environmental benefits of zero-emission vehicles and in turn contribute to the transition from diesel/petrol vehicles to zero-emission vehicles. The scheme would run for 2-3 years. A full livery had been requested for the hackney carriages involved in this pilot scheme to ensure the initiative was advertised across the area and to encourage others to be a part of the scheme. A copy of the requested advertisement was detailed in Appendix A to the report. In order to facilitate the licensing of vehicles under the Green Fleet Pilot Scheme, it would be necessary to amend the current Bridgend County Borough Council licence conditions for hackney carriages. It was proposed that the relaxation would only apply to those vehicles which formed part of the Pilot Scheme.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained in detail the current conditions in relation to livery, placement of the Licensing Authority's identification door stickers and roof signs and the proposed amendments to the conditions in order to enable licensing of the Green Fleet Pilot vehicles. A 7 day consultation was carried out with the taxi trade via the private hire operators, setting out the proposed changes and asking for any comments. One response was received to the consultation which stated: “Sounds good :) we would like to try one out please, get a few calls for wheel chair accessible buses”

A member asked if the taxi drivers taking part in the scheme were covered under their current licence and insurance or if any amendments had to be made. The Licensing Policy Officer replied that no changes were required to the license and insurance was included in the scheme.   

A member asked why vehicles under the scheme were exempt from being white. The Licensing Policy Officer replied that there had been a request for a specific livery so that all the vehicles could be easily recognised in the three regions and to make drivers aware that the scheme was going ahead.   The member asked why they could not be the same as the rest of the fleet. The Licensing Policy Officer replied that this would only be for the pilot scheme and to encourage other drivers to take up the initiative. This would not be a permanent change but just for the duration of the pilot scheme. She added that the amendments to the conditions would finish when the scheme came to an end. Any permanent changes would need to be submitted to Committee.  

A member raised concerns about the lack of positive responses to the consultation as he thought this was an ideal opportunity to take up the option. He asked what the options were at the end of the 30 day trial and also what type of vehicle it was and if it was a rear loading vehicle with lift access.  The Licensing Policy Officer replied that the consultation was on the amendment to the conditions and not on the trial itself. When the scheme goes ahead there would be a lot of publicity and the operators and drivers would be given the opportunity to participate. A driver would be able to use the vehicle for 30 days and after that time it would go to the next person on the list. This was a scheme to allow drivers to see the benefits of fully electric vehicles. The Licensing Policy Officer was unable to confirm if the vehicle could accommodate electric wheelchairs and she agreed to find the information and forward to the committee members by email following the meeting. The Team Manager Licensing added that this was the model chosen for all the Councils participating in the scheme and that accessibility was part of the Welsh Government Agenda in terms of introducing a wheel chair accessible vehicle as part of the pilot. 

A member referred to similar trials undertaken by the ambulance service and that when it came to wheelchair accessibility they had considerable experience.   She added that an everyday electric car was very expensive and there were limitations with the price and restrictions when it came to the battery.

The Team Manger Licensing explained that this was a trial for drivers to use electric cars and not to replace their long term vehicle. The drivers would feed back to a management company and that would inform future policy and suitability of vehicles.

RESOLVED

Committee:

a)    Determined that those vehicles involved in the Green Fleet Pilot Scheme be exempt from certain hackney carriage vehicle licence conditions.

b)   Gave delegated authority to Chief Officer of Legal, HR and Regulatory Services to determine matters of details in respect of livery, advertising and door stickers should they arise during the period of the Green Fleet Pilot Scheme. 

The following hackney carriage vehicle licence conditions to be amended as follows:

Condition 1 All vehicles shall be white in colour except for those vehicles included in the Welsh Government’s Green Fleet Pilot Scheme.

Condition 2 All Adhesive signs shall be affixed on the upper part of the driver and front passenger side doors indicating that the vehicle is licensed by the Council with the number of the vehicle in letters no smaller than 3" in height except for those vehicles involved in the Green Fleet Pilot Scheme.

Condition 32 The hackney carriage must be fitted with an illuminated roof sign, so constructed to bear the word “TAXI” in plain letters at least two inches in height, with a further fluorescent sign of similar dimensions bearing the words “FOR HIRE” such sign being affixed to the front windscreen of the vehicle and wired to the taximeter so as to enable it to be extinguished during the carrying of a fare, for which the meter is in operation. The design of these signs is to be approved by the Council. This condition will not relate to the ‘London type Taxi’ where the flag indicating “FOR HIRE”, attached to the meter is plainly visible. This condition does not apply to those vehicles involved in the Green Fleet Pilot Scheme.