Have your say on improving safety for London’s black cab and minicab passengers
Transport for London (TfL) would like you to have your say on its plans to improve safety for black cab and minicab passengers. Here we find out what the benefits or negative impacts may be and how you can have your say on the proposed changes.
Protecting children and vulnerable adults
The focus of the changes is on protecting children and vulnerable adults, although all passengers are expected to benefit. The proposals should reduce the risk of crime and also make it easier for passengers to report problems with taxi and private hire services.
However, the proposals could create additional costs or barriers that may affect the number of licensed taxi and private hire vehicles (PHV) drivers. This could have some negative impacts for passengers including:
- Some taxi fares could increase
- Some PHV fares could increase
- People may have to wait longer for a taxi or PHV
Why is TfL suggesting these changes?
In July 2020, the Department for Transport (DfT) set out new standards to protect taxi (black cab) and PHV passengers.
The Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards were the result of detailed discussions with the taxi trade, regulators, safety campaign groups and a public consultation.
Most of the Standards are already in place in London but there are 10 Standards TfL still need to comply with. So, we are consulting on how we propose to implement these remaining Standards.
We also continually review our policies and requirements to see what else we could do to improve taxi and PHV passenger safety and standards more widely. As a result, we are proposing nine additional proposals and reviewing a further four areas, which we believe will build on the DfT’s Standards.
What is TfL proposing?
TfL’s consultation is split into three parts. The table below provides an overview.
[table id=4 /]You may notice some differences in what is proposed between taxi and PHV services – this is in part due to the different legislative powers TfL has.
We want to hear your views on our plans, how these could impact you and any alternative suggestions you have. There is also an opportunity to share your views on four other areas, including sharing rides and how passengers can check if a taxi driver and vehicle are licensed.
The consultation is open until 12 May 2023. To find out more and to share your views visit tfl.gov.uk/tph-safety or email haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk.
An Easyread version of the consultation and British Sign Language video are available on our website.
By Transport for London
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