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Posted on the 6th March 2025 in PHTM News
SWINDON COUNCIL PROPOSES RELAXED DRIVER RULES AND STRICTER VEHICLE CHECKS
Swindon Borough Council's licensing committee has approved proposals to alter the requirement for private hire drivers to have a driving licence for three years to the statutory length of time of one year.
The move aims to address a loss of potential drivers to other licensing authorities, according to licensing manager Jason Kirkwood, who stated: "Drivers not meeting the current requirement are often going elsewhere to be licensed and ultimately still working in Swindon."
The requirement to have held a licence for three years remains for hackney carriage drivers due to their "more likely" independent work.
A proposal to raise the minimum driver age to 21 was dismissed by the committee's legal advisor, citing statutory guidance of 18 and potential discrimination.
The council also plans to "beef up" testing for all licensed vehicles, with Kirkwood noting: "The current testing standard is not considered as sufficiently robust or comprehensive. The testing stations do not have a detailed testing standard to refer to and so there is potential for a lack of consistency in carrying out the tests."
Other changes include a premium/express service for issuing and renewing driver, vehicle and operator licences, and this must be used in the case of late applications for renewal.
All private hire vehicles will be required to display the council’s licence plates, and the driver to wear their badge.
But Mr Kirkwood said this could be relaxed on application for those drivers who drive luxury vehicles conducting executive and VIP work or working on a specific contract where security is a genuine issue – perhaps for the government
The proposed changes will now undergo a month-long consultation, including a public meeting to get responses from the taxi trade, before final implementation.
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