South Ribble launches unique Gold Standard scheme to recognise licensed taxi and PHV drivers meeting enhanced standards
- Perry Richardson
- 32 minutes ago
- 2 min read
South Ribble Borough Council has launched a new Gold Standard Taxi Driver Scheme designed to recognise licensed taxi and private hire drivers who meet enhanced local licensing standards while helping passengers make more informed choices when travelling across the borough.
The initiative was officially introduced this week and forms part of the council’s wider efforts to promote passenger safety and confidence in the local taxi and private hire sector. Drivers who achieve Gold Standard status will be identifiable through dedicated badges featuring QR codes, Gold Standard lanyards and South Ribble licence plates.
To mark the launch, representatives from South Ribble Borough Council and Paul Foster MP visited local operator Avacab, trading as South Ribble Taxis, earlier this month to provide information on how passengers can identify Gold Standard licensed drivers.
According to the council, the scheme is intended to recognise drivers who have met a series of local licensing requirements beyond simply holding a taxi or private hire licence. These include enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks with ongoing monitoring, safeguarding training and assessments, medical examinations, local knowledge testing, professional driver qualifications and continued compliance checks.
The authority said the programme aims to give residents and visitors greater confidence that, when travelling in a South Ribble licensed vehicle displaying the Gold Standard branding, they are using a driver who has demonstrated high professional and safeguarding standards.
Schemes recognising higher standards among licensed drivers have become increasingly common as licensing authorities look for ways to promote passenger confidence while highlighting the work undertaken by professional drivers to meet local regulatory requirements. The use of QR codes also provides passengers with an additional way to verify a driver’s participation in the scheme.
