AGE LIMITS: Petition challenges Derby Council’s five-year private hire vehicle licensing rule
- Perry Richardson
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Derby City Council’s Licensing Committee are set to review a petition that opposes the five-year age rule applied to private hire vehicles being licensed for the first time.
The policy, part of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Strategy adopted in 2019, requires any vehicle not previously licensed by the Council to be under five years old when first presented for licensing.
A physical petition signed by 41 individuals—38 of whom are licensed locally—was submitted, alongside an online version with 277 supporters. However, the Council notes that it has been unable to verify whether online supporters are local licence holders or involved in the trade.
The petition, led by a local private hire licence holder, calls for the rule to be reversed, citing affordability issues and concerns about the rule’s impact on drivers. Council officers, however, clarified that affordability and individual driver circumstances are not relevant considerations in applying regulatory policy. They added that communications around the age rule have been publicly available since 2019, including roadshows and committee reports.
The Council also pointed out that only 6.4% of Derby’s 625 private hire drivers have signed the petition.
Supporters of the current policy argue it helps maintain a consistent standard for vehicles entering the trade, contributes to lower emissions, and aligns with the city’s aim to improve air quality. The five-year rule complements an upper age limit of 15 years for vehicles, with the policy intended to reduce older, higher-emission vehicles in service.
Concerns have been raised that changing the rule could lead to inconsistent regulation, potentially disadvantaging licence holders who have already invested in compliant vehicles. There are also worries about the potential for compensation claims and the reputational impact on regulatory credibility.
The report acknowledges the policy’s wider impacts. These include reduced affordability for drivers on lower incomes and a potential decline in wheelchair-accessible vehicles. It also flags possible disproportionate effects on drivers from ethnic minority backgrounds who may face greater financial barriers to compliance.
The Licensing Committee must now decide whether to accept the petition and consider a review of the current policy, or to reject it and leave the existing rule unchanged.
