The Licensing Policy Officer presented a report considering the fitness of the current age policy for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and seeking to obtain members’ approval to consult on a proposal to amend the vehicle age policy guidelines.

He explained that the current policies in relation to the age at which hackney carriage and private hire vehicles could first be licensed were approved by the Licensing Committee on 10 March 2008 and required hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to be new when presented for their first licence. However, there were provisions for older private hire vehicles to be considered by the Licensing Sub-Committee on their own merits and wheelchair accessible vehicles up to three years old may also be licensed as a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle, provided a full service history and safety certification could be provided.

It was proposed to amend the age policy guidelines to introduce two classes of vehicle; class one being either a standard saloon, multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) or wheelchair accessible vehicle not fitted with an automated wheelchair lift, and class two being a wheelchair accessible vehicle that had been fitted with an automated wheelchair lift.

Class one vehicles, when presented for their first licence, would be under 5 years old, class two vehicles, when presented for their first licence, would be under 10 years old. This was in recognition of the prohibitive cost of purchasing a class two vehicle and the nature of the work that they carried out, as it was less likely to cause as much wear on the vehicle.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that the local trade had asked the Council to review what was seen as a burden that required them to purchase brand new vehicles to obtain their first licence. It had been commented that the proposed policy would allow proprietors to replace their vehicles more frequently, and when they did replace their vehicle, they would be able to purchase a higher quality vehicle for their budget which would improve the overall standard of vehicles licensed in the County Borough.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that the Licensing department had received comments from disability groups that they had difficulty in accessing wheelchair accessible vehicles. The department did not currently have a clear picture of the needs of disabled passengers, it was therefore proposed that questions would be asked as part of the consultation for ways to improve provisions for travelling disabled passengers.

The proposed age policy guidelines would harmonise the policy between Bridgend and The Vale of Glamorgan, which formed part of the Shared Regulatory Service. If approved, a public consultation would be carried out and a letter sent to all vehicle proprietors inviting their comments.

A member commented that report was welcomed and would allow the Sub-Committee to grant licences to vehicles in exceptional condition that would be refused under the existing policy.

The Licensing Policy Officer explained that the consultation would be undertaken on the BCBC website and vehicle proprietors and disability groups would also be contacted.

RESOLVED:            Licensing Committee approved that a consultation exercise  be conducted with the public and  the local taxi trade on the proposals to amend the  age policy in of respect of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles