Licensing committee to consider taxi fees and fares

The fees paid for taxi licences in the Shropshire Council area, and the fares that hackney carriage drivers can charge, will be discussed by members of Shropshire Council’s strategic licensing committee when it meets next week (16 February 2011).

The fees and fares are being considered as part of a wider review of Shropshire Council’s taxi licensing policy.

The committee will be asked to agree a new fees structure and make a recommendation to the meeting of full Council on 24 February.

They will also be asked to agree a new table of fares, which would then go out to advertisement. In the event of subsequent objections the final fares would then be agreed by the strategic licensing committee when it meets again on 16 March.

However, wider issues relating to the new policy, including wheelchair accessibility, vehicle age, and signage won’t now be discussed at the meeting next week, as the council is awaiting the imminent decision in a nationally-important court case relating to Stratford on Avon District Council’s policy on wheelchair-accessible taxis.

It is hoped that these wider issues will instead be on the agenda for the committee’s meeting on 16 March.

Councillor Rosanna Taylor-Smith, chair of the strategic licensing committee, said:

“Our meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. However, we’re keen to inform anyone planning to come along next week that, we will only now be discussing proposed future fees and fares. We hope to discuss the wider policy issues as soon as this court case is resolved.”

The committee has already agreed to remove the taxi zones that currently exist in Shropshire – though this decision is still subject to approval by full Council, at a date to be determined.