Taxi drivers say new vehicle requirement proposals are making the job financially unviable with lice

Taxi drivers in Shropshire are blaming new regulations for the decline in hackney carriage and private hire licences in the area. A Freedom of Information request highlighted in the Shropshire Star showed that only 147 hackney carriage badges were licensed by the council in 2018/19, compared to 254 in 2014/15.

Private hire licence figures were also down to 798 compared to 2014/15 which were at 1,295. Drivers are now saying that the rules and regulations enforced by the council are making the job “financially unviable.” Taxi drivers are now saying that if the latest proposals are put into force on April 1, the trade would be as good as dead. New proposals would see the introduction of all vehicles to meet Euro 6 standards and be wheelchair accessible by 2021. It’s been suggested that if the proposals were to be enforced, drivers would either have to go and work under another licensing authority or simply give up driving a taxi or private hire vehicle altogether. One driver has said that he has spent £50,000 in the last three years on two vehicles to meet the current requirements and wouldn’t be able to afford to buy a new vehicle if the latest proposals were to go through. The Strategic Licensing Committee will meet on Wednesday 6, to discuss whether or not the latest proposals should be agreed and enforced.