Portsmouth City Council face up to taxi and PHV wheelchair accessibility challenge
Portsmouth City Council has revealed a pressing need to address the limited availability of wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) among licensed hackney carriages and private hire taxis in the area.
According to a council report, only 36% of hackney carriages and just 3% of private hire vehicles are wheelchair accessible.
The Licensing Committee, responding to a council resolution from July 2023, aims to amend its current policies to enhance accessibility for disabled residents. This initiative follows a motion by Councillors Charlotte Gerada and Yinka Adeniran, highlighting the struggles faced by wheelchair users in securing taxis, particularly during peak times.
The committee is tasked with assessing whether current limits on hackney carriage numbers should be re-evaluated. A future report will explore the potential benefits of adjusting these restrictions to increase the availability of WAVs. Adoption of updated recommendations from the Department for Transport (DfT) is on the agenda. This guidance, issued in November 2023, encourages councils to reconsider quantity restrictions and prioritise public interests.
A full business case is in development, examining the feasibility of a lease rental scheme for WAVs to support the local taxi and private hire trade. This initiative is backed by a £600,000 budget allocation for 2024/25. There's also a push to expand mandatory disability awareness training for all licensed drivers, ensuring they are equipped to meet the needs of disabled passengers effectively.
The legal framework underpinning this review includes the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Notably, while the 1847 Act permits discretion in limiting hackney carriage numbers, the Transport Act 1985 stipulates that such limits can only be justified if there is no significant unmet demand.
Portsmouth’s policy mandates that the additional hackney carriage licenses issued after 1990 must be WAVs, resulting in 84 of the city's 234 hackney carriages being wheelchair accessible. However, no such requirement exists for private hire vehicles, contributing to the low percentage of WAVs in that category.
The Licensing Committee is set to review the DfT's Best Practice Guidance and its implications for local policy. This includes consulting with stakeholders to ensure any policy changes are in the public's best interest. Additionally, a survey to determine current demand for WAVs is likely, informing future decisions on whether to maintain or remove existing vehicle quantity controls.
