Cumberland Council weighs up move to single taxi licensing zone this week
- Perry Richardson
- 20 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Cumberland Council will decide this week whether to keep three separate hackney carriage licensing areas or move to one authority-wide zone. A council report confirms that nearly two-thirds of consultation respondents opposed creating a single licensing area, with 64.6 per cent against and 35.4 per cent in favour.
Hackney carriages are still licensed in the old Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland districts. Drivers can only rank and pick up in their own area, while private hire vehicles already operate across the full Cumberland footprint. The review follows local government reorganisation and seeks to bring taxi policies into one system.
The Department for Transport’s 2023 best practice guidance advises removing taxi zones to avoid limiting supply and confusing passengers. Officers say a single zone would also streamline enforcement and administration.
Councillors will choose between retaining the three areas or creating a combined zone. Both routes would require new hackney carriage byelaws. If members back amalgamation, the council must follow a statutory process that includes public notices and a minimum one-month delay before changes take effect.
The committee meets on 17 November to make the decision, which officers note will set the long-term structure of the hackney carriage system for the whole of Cumberland.
