Sponsored by
Green light for older taxis in city
OLDER taxis could soon be ferrying passengers around Peterborough after licensing restrictions were changed.
Hackney carriage taxis will now be able to run in the city until they are 15 years old, after Peterborough City Council’s Licensing Committee agreed to change the existing requirements.
Previously taxis would be taken off the road after 12 years of service.
They also agreed to extend the life of private hire vehicles from eight years to 10 years.
Drivers will also be able to register cars up to six years old to become private hire vehicles.
Previously a car could only be registered as a private hire vehicle if it was three years old or younger.
The new registration laws will mean cars registered in their fifth and sixth year will have to meet guidelines on the amount of miles they have been driven, with five-year-old cars limited to 65,000 miles or less, and six-year-old cars limited to 75,000 miles or less.
Brian Gascoyne, secretary of the Hackney Drivers Federation, said: “Taxis are built to last for a long time, and this will help. The improvements being made mean they are better cars and are greener. They are also safer than they were before.”
Shahid Mohammed, chairman of the Peterborough Private Hire Drivers’ Association, said: “We have been working with the council for 18 months to ask if age restrictions on vehicles can be changed.
“Drivers are struggling to pay for the increase in petrol and insurance as it is.This will be a great benefit to the drivers.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 5 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Chiefy
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:37 PMA few years ago,IU followed a taxi from Bretton all; the way into the city centre. Foire rtghe entire time of the journey iut belched out acrid black (and I mean BLACK) smoke. I noted the PCC badge number and the registration number and wrote to PCC giving the location -time -m date and time of day and what I had experienced. I got a reply from PCC stating that the cab had been checked and it passed the static smoike test. It was obviously not tested for smnoke emisions when mobile! To comoplkeetre a proper and realistic smoke test,the vehicle need to be followed by an inspector in a car to witness thge amount and density of the smoke exhausted. Checking whilst static proves nothing at all Like many other readers, I se cabs that are in a disgreaceful state. One I saw in January at about 7.15 pm had only one headlight and no brake lights. How on earthg do they pass thge MOT test ? I am certain that many of them go to a "user friendly " garage and get their test certificate by unmentionable methods ! I will leave astute readers to work out what I mean. Heaven help us when the taxis are a a lot older.
rebel woman
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 08:50 PMthere are lots of taxis that should not be on the road so this is going to get worse surely. I told a cab driver the other night that he had no offside rear lights at all and he just shrugged his shoulders at me. At christmas I followed a cab that had no brake lights at all. Accident waiting to happen
Veritas of Peterborough
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 05:57 PMI got into a private hire care recently. It was a tired old Skoda with one of the headlights out. It reflects badly on our city if old jalopies are used as private hire cars. Hardly the image the City wants to potray.
PottyBoroPensioner
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 09:57 AMMost private hire and cabs are owned by the driver therefore nobody is enforcing daily checks (I know because I was a pottyborough cabbie for 12 years when it was a good jod) the drivers cant even keep the current vehicles in road worthy condition so I wonder about the saftey of the public that the PCC keep shouting about
This is a rubbish website
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 09:36 AMMore disgusting, clapped out, stinky, older private taxis hurtling around. I thought we were supposed to be improving the image of Peterborough?
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.