Taxi drivers unwittingly purchasing second-hand cabs decommissioned under the Mayors scrappage schem

Taxi drivers unwittingly purchasing second-hand cabs decommissioned under the Mayors scrappage scheme

It has been revealed that a number of unplated second-hand taxis which have been purchased by unwitting cabbies have been decommissioned under the Mayors scrappage scheme. Having bought the cab, the new owner is then applying to NSL/TfL to get the vehicle licensed, only to be informed that the cab has been delicensed by the previous owner, therefore rendering the vehicle ineligible to be licensed as a taxi in London. According to the LTDA, the value of a delicensed cab could be as little as 20% of the market value of a licensed vehicle,  Drivers are being advised to be on their guard if an unplated taxi is offered for sale, with the general advice being given as to to ask why the vehicle doesn't have a plate. Drivers are also being told not to purchase an unplated vehicle without checking with NSL that it is eligible for a plate. TfL recently re-launched its enhanced delicensing fund that supports taxi drivers who want to delicense their Euro 3, 4 or 5 vehicles. Following the announcement of £24m funding from the Mayor, TfL has restructured the taxi delicensing scheme. Top payments of £10,000 are available to the first 1,250 applicants, with tiered payment levels available to subsequent applicants on a first come, first served basis. Image source: Pixabay