ROUND THE COUNCILS SOUTH GLOS:
WAV POLICY POSTPONED AGAIN
South Gloucestershire is running the risk of having no taxis, prompting council chiefs to consider scrapping the rule that all taxis must be wheelchair accessible. The number of hackney carriages has dramatically dropped from 300 in 2016 to just 81 this year. Seven years ago, the local authority implemented a policy requiring all taxis to be wheelchair accessible. However, despite being postponed twice, the policy has never been enforced, with only 25 of the current fleet equipped with the necessary facilities. The main issue is the hefty cost for drivers and operators to convert a vehicle, leading many to abandon the profession altogether. Now, councillors have agreed to postpone the policy for a third time, from October 1, 2024, to June 1 next year, while officers reassess the licensing policy and seek public opinion on whether to abandon the requirement. A report to South Glos Council regulatory committee said: “The current number of HCVs has reduced substantially and now represents less than a third of the number when the policy was first agreed. This does raise a concern that should the trend continue, South Glos runs a risk of having no, or so few, taxis that any policy would be ineffective and be of detriment to all members of the public in the future.” It said the total number of licensed vehicles had actually increased from 450 in 2016 to more than 3,000 last year, but this included a huge rise in PHVs, and that HCV numbers continued to drop. The report said: “The WAVs that proprietors are required to purchase at this time remain in the main diesel vehicles. There is genuine concern that drivers will once again be required to upgrade these to hybrid/EVs in a few years’ time if the council’s goal is for all licensed vehicles to be electric by 2030. Wheelchair-accessible electric vehicles remain currently prohibitively expensive.” The report continued: “HCVs provide a valuable public transport service particularly in rural areas, and at times when other modes of public transport are not available. In order for this service to remain viable it is important to maintain a viable fleet.” Council service director for place Andrew Birch said: “We are due to do a full-scale review of the whole taxi policy in 2024 which will include 12-week public consultation including engagement with the travelling public and disability groups.”
PHTM JUNE 2024
EAST RENFREWSHIRE: WAV TAXI PLANS TO BE DISCUSSED
Drivers and people with disabilities will get their say on plans to make all new applicants for taxi and private hire licences provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles, before a final decision is made. Rules on WAVs were relaxed in East Renfrewshire during Covid, leading to a “significant drop-off” in numbers - with just four reportedly on the roads now. Disability groups have suggested the current policy should be scrapped, but the industry has voiced concerns over the financial impact on drivers. East Renfrewshire Council carried out a consultation between December and May and has proposed all new applicants provide WAVs, but there is no fee for these initial applications. However, it will allow stakeholders to attend a meeting in June to share their views. An 18- month trial period is likely for any changes. Previously all applications for new taxi and PHV licences required vehicles to be WAV. This was relaxed in April 2021 due to the impact of the pandemic on the taxi trade. At that time, there were 40 WAVs in East Renfrewshire, but that has “dropped dramatically due to lapsed licences and drivers replacing WAVS with other vehicles when renewing their licence. There are now “only four such vehicles” licensed, out of 429 licensed taxis and PHVs in the area. Council officials reported disability rights groups highlighted struggles to “organise WAVs for trips, particularly those coinciding with school run times”. They added users had been “deterred from making bookings due to historic difficulties in obtaining appropriate transportation” and that some drivers were “reluctant to undertake short journeys due to the disproportionate time required to assist the customer in entering and exiting the vehicle”. Trade representatives reported the price of “new vehicles of this type was in the region of £70,000” and stated they did not believe local demand for such vehicles to be high. They also believe the proposals could deter applications and lead to “shrinking the taxi/private hire fleet to a size which did not provide a reasonable service to all East Renfrewshire users”. A WAV would be described as a “vehicle, whether a taxi or PHV, of a size capable of accommodating a wheelchair user (in their wheelchair) and at least one other passenger, provides a safe means of both entry and egress from the vehicle and has an appropriate means of securing the wheelchair whilst in transit”.
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