Taxis | Hart District Council

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) ADVICE FOR LICENSED DRIVERS

Please read the latest information regarding the possible implications of the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). You can also read regular updates from HM Government and the NHS.

Update 26 March 2020

All licensed drivers and operators were issued a letter yesterday relating to good hygiene, licence renewals and fees, medicals and DBS.If you have any queries regarding this letter, kindly contact us via email at licence@hart.gov.uk or call 01252 622122

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

We all have concerns regarding the possible implications of the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The best protection is good hygiene and cleaning.

HM Government and NHS public information provides useful advice on how to slow the spread of the virus. This is the same advice to slow the spread of other germs including flu and general coughs and colds. The advice is to:

Always carry tissues and use them to catch coughs and sneezes
Dispose of used tissues in the bin as soon as possible
Wash hands with soap and water, or use sanitiser gel to kill germs. This is particularly important before eating or smoking/vaping.

All drivers and operators must take sensible and routine precautionary measures such as cleaning surfaces regularly with sanitising wipes or spray to get rid of germs. A clean vehicle is a healthy vehicle! This includes regularly cleansing of :

All customer contact points such as door handles (inside and out), window switches, grab handles, seat facings and card payment devices (do not spray keypad with any fluids)

Drivers sharing vehicles should clean the steering wheel, door handles, control stalks, gear knob, handbrake and instruments regularly and when their shift ends.

Public Health England is the lead agency and is providing regularly updated information for the public on the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms.

If you are worried about the Coronavirus (COVID-19), have a cough, temperature or shortness of breath and have been in physical contact with someone from an affected area then the NHS advises you to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu, and contact NHS 111 online https://nhs.uk/

If you are experiencing the symptoms of COVID-19, such as a cough, temperature or shortness of breath, you must not work and should follow the Governments advice regarding self-isolating.

We would expect all private hire operators to fully cooperate with any enquiries they may receive from Public Health England or any other relevant agencies.

Below are questions you may have and other licensing updates:

Can Hackney Carriage and Private Hire drivers refuse to transport passengers due to fear of infection?

There are differences between how hackney carriage and private hire services work. This section relates to duties on drivers and operators in relation to accepting journey requests.

Hackney Carriages
Hackney carriage drivers who are standing for hire (at a rank or elsewhere on the highway) can only refuse a hiring for a journey within the district if they have a reasonable excuse (section 53 Town Police Clauses Act 1847). It is a reasonable excuse to refuse to carry a potential passenger who has obvious symptoms of coronavirus, but drivers must be careful. Assumptions about potential victims must not be based on any irrelevant factors. It would be difficult to justify refusing to carry passengers who don’t display symptoms. A taxi driver can legitimately refuse to take any hiring which would be for a destination outside the district.

Private Hire
Private hire operators aren’t under any obligation to enter into a contract to provide a vehicle for anybody provided any such refusal is not based on a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (section 4 - age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation). Once bookings are accepted, a contract is in place to provide a vehicle and driver for that hiring.

If on arriving at the pickup point, the driver sees that the passenger is displaying obvious symptoms of coronavirus then they may feel it is not safe to carry that passenger. In this case, drivers need to discuss with their operator with the contract for hire being between the hirer and the operator (there is also a contract between the operator and the driver which will need to be considered as well) how to proceed with the booking.

What about our business/income?
Hackney carriage and private hire drivers are not legally required to be working presently. It is appreciated drivers need to make a living and it is for individual drivers to decide whether they are prepared to take the risks associated with providing taxi and private hire services at this time. Members of the public rely on taxi and private hire services for transport and presently licensed services forms a vital form of transport for many including journeys to and from hospitals, surgeries and for essential shopping trips.

Drivers must not work if they have a new continuous cough and/or a high fever and should at that point self isolate in line with Government guidance. Government advice issued on 23rd March require all people to stay at home, but an exception is: “Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home." Key workers continue to work (and are allowed to send their children to school). Key workers continue to work (and are allowed to send their children to school).

Key workers include a category referred to as “transport” which includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass (view guidance). Taxi and private hire services provide vital forms of transport for many, and drivers appear to fall into this category.

On 25th March the DfT issued the following information: “Taxis and private hire vehicles can continue to work. But the advice is absolutely clear - people should stay at home if possible. That is the way to save lives and protect our NHS. The public should avoid travel unless absolutely essential. Clearly if absolutely necessary to travel by taxi or private hire vehicle, best efforts should be used to follow the guidance as far as is practically possible, including washing hands regularly.”

The government are considering support measures for self-employed persons and expected to make an announcement about this shortly. If you require guidance on the financial aid available from central government, please review the following page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

Are we ‘critical workers’?
Taxi and private hire drivers are not generally considered as ‘critical workers’. Those undertaking home to school transport or the transport of vulnerable people may be considered critical workers on a case-by-case basis.

Driver duties generally (Health and Safety)
Hackney carriage or private hire drivers, licensed vehicle proprietors and operators, whether self-employed or employees, have responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to both themselves and those who are likely to come into contact with their business. Drivers and proprietors of the vehicle both have a responsibility to ensure to the best of their ability that the vehicle is safe. Whilst this usually relates to mechanical safety, clearly environmental safety is also vital.

Licensees should already have a Health and Safety Policy in place and it is recommended to amend this and practice to incorporate a risk assessment relating to the coronavirus which survives on surfaces for a significant period of time. Ideally every vehicle should be disinfected after every hiring. This may not be practically possible but it is possible to ensure some form of cleaning of obvious areas takes place (e.g door handles, seat belts and buckles and any other obvious hard surface that may have been touched by a passenger). This should include areas that may have been infected following a passenger coughing or sneezing such as physical divisions between the front and rear of the vehicle, the rear of front seats and so on. The guidance from the Government is: “frequently clean and disinfect objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, using your standard cleaning products” This will help to protect health and reassure customers.

Reduced demand for taxi and private hire services
Sadly we anticipate reduced demand for hackney carriage and private hire services relating to commercial and leisure activities for some time ahead. There is likely to be demand to assist people to shop, attend hospitals, and for key worker passengers go to work. It may also be the case that taxis and private hire vehicles will be used for deliveries if shops provide essential items but don’t have their own delivery service. In these difficult times, these would be legitimate activities.

No activity however is risk free and it is key is to follow legal restrictions and Government guidance so far as is possible and practicable, and beyond that for drivers to take all sensible reasonable precautions to protect both themselves, goods and passengers. If you propose to offer delivery services, please contact your insurance provider to ensure this is included within your insurance cover.

Compliance and MOT Certificates
Government has announced there will be an extension to existing MOT certificates for cars, vans and motorbikes from 30th March with any MOT expiring beyond that date being extended for 6 months. The Institute of Licensing have contacted the DfT to enquire about legislation to extend the period covered by certificates of compliance issued by licensing authorities. The DFT view is this is not possible as certificates of compliance are issued by local authorities under different powers.

As the licensing authority, we don’t propose to waive a requirement for testing when current vehicle test certificates expire. We will continue to monitor the situation and update this page and our testing stations if it is possible and we agree it is appropriate to extend compliance and vehicle test certificates validity periods. We hope you can respect our primary purpose is to promote public safety and we have to be satisfied vehicles are mechanically safe to maintain licences.

Hackney carriage and private hire licence extensions and renewals
All hackney carriage and private hire licences are granted for a limited period and need renewing. Licence periods have maximum set validity periods of 1 year for a vehicle licence, 3 years for a driver licence and 5 years for an operator licence. There is no statutory mechanism contained in the legislation to extend a licence term unless a renewal application is made.

The Institute of Licensing have asked the DFT whether this can be considered as part of the emergency legislation suggesting licences could be extended by 6 months. At the time of writing this update we are awaiting a reply to this.

We have a statutory duty not to grant driver and operator licences unless we are satisfied applicants are ‘fit and proper’ persons. We cannot grant a vehicle licence without being satisfied that the vehicle itself is “in a suitable mechanical condition and safe”. Applications need to be made in the conventional way (we are happy to receive these by post or electronically online as much as possible). We must be satisfied that required criteria is met before we can issue a renewed licence and we have recently issued an e-letter update in relation to flexibility we can provide with application criteria presently.

Waiving of crucial fitness and safety requirements would place the authority at risk of legal challenge and should a subsequent incident occur such as an unroadworthy licensed vehicle crashing, or a driver with fresh criminal convictions abusing a passenger, it would place you and us in a difficult position.

Update 25 March 2020

Please see the following for information on the current situation regarding the continued working of taxis and private hire vehicles from the Department for Transport (DfT):

Taxis and private hire vehicles can continue to work. But the advice is absolutely clear - people should stay at home if possible. That is the way to save lives and protect our NHS. The public should avoid travel unless absolutely essential. The only reasons to leave our houses are set out in the government guidance .

Clearly if absolutely necessary to travel by taxi or private hire vehicle, best efforts should be used to follow the guidance as far as is practically possible, including washing your hands as soon as you get home.

James Button, Institute of Licensing President looks at the issue of driver safety and refusal to carry passengers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Hackney Carriage vehicles

All Hackney Carriage vehicles often referred to as taxis require a licence. They may ply for hire, be flagged down or hired at a taxi rank. These vehicles have a roof sign and display a yellow plate on the rear of the vehicle. Hackney Carriage drivers must also wear an ID badge issued by the Council, which includes his/her photograph.

Private Hire vehicles

Private hire vehicles must only operate on a pre-booked basis. They may not ply for hire in the street or wait for customers at a taxi rank. Journeys must be pre-booked, normally by phone or in person at a private hire operators office.

The council cannot regulate fares for private hire vehicles. The cost of a journey will normally be based on a rate per mile. It is recommended that fares are agreed at the time of booking and recorded.

Private Hire Vehicles licensed by the Council must display a blue plate on the rear and a smaller internal plate. Roof signs are permitted but must not use the words "cab" or "taxi". Private Hire drivers must also wear an ID badge issued by the Council, which includes his/her photograph.

Vehicles operating with a plate exemption

The above legislation allows Local Authorities to allow some vehicle to be exempt from the requirement to display the licence plate on licensed vehicles. Hart District Council has recently reviewed and revised its policy on allowing exemptions. The Licensing default position is always to display plates but Hart District Council acknowledges that there is a demand for business offering a "higher end" private hire service for corporate and other customers desiring a higher specification of vehicle without signage and licence plates on display. Under section 75(3) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, a local authority may exempt a vehicle from the requirement to display a licence plate and a driver from the requirement to wear his or her badge.

The Exempt Vehicle Policy now in place sets out the councils approach to granting exemptions from displaying the licence plate which should be read before making an application for an exemption.

Any vehicle granted an exemption will be restricted to the type of private hire service and vehicles outlined in the revised policy. No other private hire work will be permitted in exempt vehicles.

There are many different laws affecting proprietors and vehicles but the main acts of Parliament covering the licensing of Private Hire Vehicles are contained in Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

For a vehicle to be licensed, whether it is Hackney Carriage or Private Hire, it must pass an MOT and garage test to ensure safety. We ensure that the vehicles are suitable and adequately insured to maintain high standards of safety.

Private Hire operator licence

All private hire vehicles and drivers must be booked through a licensed private hire operator. The operator licence authorises a person or company to make provision for the invitation and acceptance of bookings for a private hire vehicle

They will usually operate from a business address or may operate a small number of vehicles from their domestic address.

Conditions are included on the licence in respect of record keeping and other matters. The licensed operator may only operate vehicles and drivers licensed by the same Authority who issues the operator licence.

Bookings made may be sub contracted to other licensed operators. However, but the operator receiving the initial booking remains responsible for that booking and ensuring that any sub contracted bookings are undertaken using only a licensed operator and licensed vehicles and drivers.

Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

The Council has a duty to publish a list of all wheelchair accessible vehicles across the district.

Here you can view a list of wheelchair accessible vehicles and their contact details.

Taxi licence policy

All of the above licence applications are considered having regard to the councils Taxi licensing Policy and all licences are issued subject to a range of licence conditions which can be found in the policy below.

Hart District Council Taxi Policy

Trade Newsletters

Please read our Taxi Newsletter to keep up to date with taxi and private hire matters.

How to contact Licensing:

Email: licence@hart.gov.uk

Phone: 01252 622122