Pendle Borough Council launches public consultation to find out whether more taxis are needed

Pendle Borough Council has launched a public consultation to find out if there are enough taxis in the area.

The Council currently limits the number of licences it issues for hackney carriages, also known as taxis, to 71.

These are the vehicles that stand at taxi ranks or can be hailed from the street. They are usually red and saloon type vehicles.

The Council wants to find out if this limit should remain at 71 or whether there should be no limit at all on the number of licences it issues.

Councillor Nadeem Ahmed, Leader of Pendle Borough Council, said: “We want to know whether we have enough taxis to meet the demand across the Borough.

“Do you have to wait a long time for a taxi and are there are enough vehicles which are wheelchair accessible?”

Section 16 of the Transport Act 1985 allows councils to set a limit on the number of hackney carriage licences they issue. But guidance from the Department for Transport says that this isn’t good practice and there should be no limit unless removing the limit would be detrimental to customers.

Jackie Allen, Taxi Licensing Manager, explained: “If we keep the limit of 71 we have to do a survey which will look at things like whether people have to wait a long time to get a taxi.

“If we get rid of the limit and issue more licences, we would only issue them to vehicles which are wheelchair accessible so that we would have more available.

“Existing licence holders would not be affected. They would still be able to licence saloon and multi-purpose vehicles.”

When making a decision on whether to get rid of the limit, the Council will take a number of things into account, including:

• financial impact

• potential of reduced custom for existing licence holders

• congestion on taxi stands and roads

• benefits for customers

• opportunity for others to become involved in the trade and secure a livelihood.

Councillor Ahmed added: “We want to hear from members of the public and the taxi trade about these important issues.

“Please take the time to have your say by emailing taxi.licensing@pendle.gov.uk by Friday 8 July.”