Taxi Vehicle Licence

Vehicle specifications

The vehicle must meet the following specifications:

Saloon vehicles shall not be more than 6 years old when first licensed and shall not have undertaken more than 60,000 miles.
Transit vehicles shall be no more than 8 years old when first licensed
London type taxis shall not be more than 10 years old when first licensed
The age of vehicles will be judged by, so far as can be ascertained, the date of manufacture or first DVLA registration of the vehicle
Vehicles shall have at least four doors and should not have an engine capacity of less than 1274cc
They are to be suitable for carrying not less than 4 passengers in comfort with adequate luggage space
Seating should be padded
Slatted wooden seats are considered inadequate
Where seats are continuous, 1ft 4ins. measured horizontally along the front of each seat should be allowed for each passenger
Any vehicle which is constructed or adapted to seat more than 8 passengers cannot be licensed as a private hire vehicle

The condition of the vehicle must meet the following gudielines:

The proprietor shall ensure the hackney carriage vehicle shall be maintained in a sound mechanical and structural condition at all times and be capable of satisfying the council’s mechanical and structural inspection at any time during the continuance of the vehicle’s licence
The vehicle shall have displayed the name of the Taxi Company and telephone number in a prominent position on the vehicles doors
The interior and exterior of the hackney carriage shall be kept in a clean condition and maintained in a safe condition by the proprietor
The proprietor shall not allow the mechanical and structural specification of the vehicle to be varied without the written consent of the council

The owner of the vehicle must:

Provide sufficient means by which any person in the hackney carriage may communicate with the driver during the course of hiring
Cause the interior of the vehicle to be kept wind and water tight
Provide windows and means of opening and closing the same with not less than one window on each side of the passenger compartment
Cause the seats in the passenger compartment to be properly cushioned and covered
Cause the floor in the passenger compartment to be provided with a proper carpet, mat or other suitable covering
Cause fittings and furniture of the hackney carriage to be kept in a clean condition and well maintained and in every way fit and safe for public use
Provide facilities for the conveyance of luggage safely and protected from inclement weather
Provide at least two doors for use of persons conveyed in such hackney carriage and private hire and a separate means of ingress and egress from the driver

The vehicle must meet the following specifications:

Saloon vehicles shall not be more than 6 years old when first licensed and shall not have undertaken more than 60,000 miles.
Transit vehicles shall be no more than 8 years old when first licensed
The vehicle must not be an Austin FX4
The vehicle must not be left hand drive
The vehicle must not be a convertible ie have a soft top
The vehicle must have at least 4 doors
Private hire cars may be licensed for up to 8 passengers (small mini-buses etc) with the approval for the use of such vehicles depended upon
- All seats positioned to ensure the comfort and safety of the passenger
- There must be at least two separate means of exit for all passengers seated to the rear of the driver’s seat
- The exits and paths to the exists must be unobstructed by seating, wheel arches, engine cowling, vehicle trim or other protrusions, so that passengers have a second means of exit in case the first is unavailable either because of malfunction or accident
- Tip-up seats are not permissible

The condition of the vehicle must meet the following gudielines:

The proprietor shall ensure the private hire vehicle shall be maintained in a sound mechanical and structural condition at all times and be capable of satisfying the council’s mechanical and structural inspection at any time during the continuance of the vehicle’s licence
The interior and exterior of the private hire vehicle shall be maintained in a clean, safe condition by the proprietor
The proprietor shall not allow the mechanical and structural specification of the private hire vehicle to be varied without the consent of an Authorised Officer of the Council

The proprietor of the vehicle shall:

Provide sufficient means by which any person in the private vehicle may communicate with the driver during the course of the hiring
Cause the interior of the vehicle to be kept wind and water tight
Provide windows and means of opening and closing same with not less than one window on each side of the passenger compartment
Cause the seats in the passenger compartment to be properly cushioned and covered
Cause the floor in the passenger compartment to be provided with a proper carpet, mat or other suitable covering
Cause fittings and furniture of the private hire vehicle to be kept in a clean condition and well maintained and in every way fit and safe for public use
Provide facilities for the conveyance of luggage safety and protected from inclement weather
Provide at least two doors for use of person conveyed in such private hire vehicle and a separate means of ingress and egress from the driver