Telford & Wrekin council to approve age increase for vehicles to help maintain fleet

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Telford & Wrekin council is this week set to rubber-stamp a proposal to allow older taxis to be licensed in order to maintain the fleet of vehicles in the borough.

Ten year old private hire vehicles are currently allowed on the roads, and the proposal is to allow them to be used for a further two years.

The change will allow hackney carriages to remain on the road up to the age of 15 years. Currently drivers are told to replace their cars after 12 years, though they are allowed to apply for a12-month extension if their vehicles are in exceptional condition.

The new rules will affect hackney carriage drivers who gained licences before present rules came into force in April 2021. These drivers are currently still allowed to run older vehicles, with one being 19 years old.

Telford & Wrekin Council carried out a 28-day public consultation in April and May, 2022, and all 11 responses supported the move. If approved, the changes will come into force on October 1.

There are currently eight private hire vehicles licensed by the council operating in the borough between the ages of 11 and 13 years, while eight of the 21 licensed hackney carriages are aged 12 years and over.

“The proposed vehicle age limits will allow new licensed purpose built hackney carriage vehicles to continue to operate over 12 years to the maximum age of 15 years providing they meet the exceptional condition criteria,” says the report to councillors.

The report adds that under the current policy, private hire vehicles older than 10 years can be licensed by neighbouring authorities and still work within the borough “without any direct control from the council”.