Written evidence submitted by the North Yorkshire Disability Forum’s Accessible Transport Group (TPV0072)

QA.   Do current licensing arrangements and tools enable local authorities to effectively regulate and oversee the taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) sector across England, in terms of safety, accessibility and quality of service? If not, what improvements could be made?

Answer.  We have no reason to doubt that the current Licensing Policy across the North Yorkshire Council (NYC) area is effective in terms of passenger and vehicle safety. However, for wheelchair users the current Policy has been ineffective since it was adopted on the first day that NYC came into being on 1st April 2013. In all of the 7 Borough & District Councils that NYC replaced there was a long standing lack in the availability of accessible taxis. Up to 4 of them had adopted a requirement for all new vehicle applications to be for WAV taxis but that positive requirement was not implemented by NYC. Despite a review of its Policy being underway at the moment, I do not believe that NYC will introduce a mandate or meaningfully provide a financial incentive for more WAV taxis. Consequently, the number of WAV taxis remains at the 31/03/2023 total of 67 WAVs out of a total of 740 (30/06/2025).

We believe that a national licensing Policy is required that will set a minimum percentage of accessible taxis AND PHVs in England. We believe that 50% of all taxis and PHVs in any licensing authority should be wheelchair accessible. While PHVs like Ubers are generally cheaper than taxis, some operators in North Yorkshire have sent an accessible PHV, rather than a WAV taxi, and charged more for the journey than they could in a metered taxi, for the same journey.

Regarding quality of service, I have personal experience of the unavailability of a wheelchair taxi when 2 Rail Replacement Buses were unable to board me in my powered wheelchair. I had booked assistance from Northallerton to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough so when the 2 RR buses could not accommodate me it took almost 3 hours for TransPennine Express to obtain a WAV taxi from outside of North Yorkshire to take me to the hospital. I am aware of other forum members who have had similar experiences. Other members of the forum have been unable to pre-book a WAV taxi to enable them to attend hospital and dental appointments and social events. Only new legislation can change this unacceptable discrimination to wheelchair users.

QB.   What is the impact on the travelling public and drivers of variation between licensing authorities? Is reform needed to bring greater standardisation?

Answer.  Reform is definitely needed as the uncertainty of obtaining carriage as a wheelchair user when travelling outside of one’s licensing area is stressful. All forms of public and private transport can fail so wheelchair users need to be able to obtain an accessible taxi or PHV regardless of where they are in the country. Reform may need to include a requirement for larger operators to have both WAV and saloon taxis available until late as they are a public transport service provider.

QC.   What would be the practical implications for licensing authorities and operators of more stringent or standardised licensing conditions in respect of safety, accessibility, vehicles and driver conduct ?

Answer.   Some licensing authority areas are well below what we believe is the necessary requirement of half of their taxi & PHV fleet to be accessible. To reach this requirement, time is needed for taxi & PHV operators to comply. Unfortunately, the Taxi & PHV Best Practice Guidance for Licensing Authorities advises that age limits for vehicles should be abandoned. In the NYC area I believe that, in the current review of their Licensing Policy, all vehicles will be allowed to be in use until 15 years of age (up from the current limit of 10 years), resulting in any Air Quality restrictions or more WAV taxis to be delayed for some years. If standardised licensing conditions are brought in, many years may be required until all vehicles are compliant. As regards safety, vehicle standards and driver conduct we do not believe that NYC or the Combined Authority have the resources currently to enforce licensing conditions effectively.

QD   What steps should the Government take to address the challenges posed by cross-border licensing in the taxi and PHV sector?

Answer.   2 or 3 months after Uber has been licensed in the NYC area Ubers are coming in from outside of the NYC Licensing area. It seems nonsensical to us that NYC has no control over the drivers or their vehicles. Standardised licensing conditions should give passengers reassurance that both are compliant, providing that effective enforcement is in place.

QE.   What would effective reform look like in terms of enforcement, passenger safety and safeguarding, and regulatory consistency? Is there a role for regional transport authorities.

Answer.  In Combined Authority areas, like North Yorkshire, a regional transport authority, under the Mayor’s control, should be fully resourced to manage the taxi and PHV services.

QF.   How are digital ride-hailing platforms impacting standards in the sector, and is further regulation in this area required?

Answer.  As the first vehicles managed by a digital platform have just appeared in this area, our answer is irrelevant.

QG.  How effective, accessible, and trusted are complaints and incident reporting systems in the taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) sector, for both passengers and drivers?

Answer.  We have no knowledge of these systems since the NYC came into being, April 2023.

QH. How effective is the National Register for Revocations, Refusals and Suspensions (NR3S). in supporting consistent licensing decisions across local authorities? What barriers, if any, are limiting its use or impact?

Answer.   No knowledge of this Register in the NYC area. We believe that a requirement should be introduced requiring full anonymised disclosure of revocations, refusals and suspensions of licenses should be made by each licensing authority.

Qi.   What are the implications for taxi and PHV licensing of the future rollout of autonomous vehicles?

Answer.   Autonomous vehicles will no doubt appear in cities as, I believe that, operators will have lower costs to cover. Our concern is that operators will not want to operate WAVs as they require a driver thus raising the operating costs of the vehicle.  However, these vehicles are most unlikely to appear in rural areas like North Yorkshire.

August 2025