Aftermarket tinted-window ban for taxis

Taxi drivers licensed by Telford & Wrekin Council won’t have to remove factory-fitted tinted windows that stop passengers being seen in crystal clarity from outside, councillors have decided.

A meeting was told that passengers will still be able to be seen at least in silhouette inside cabs with road legal tints and it may increase the number of taxis in some parts of the borough.

Officers at Telford & Wrekin Council are confident that safety can be maintained as they remove a costly burden for some drivers.  The newly adopted policy bans “after-market tints.”

It also brings the council ‘into line’ so they do not tell drivers that road legal vehicles have to be altered, a meeting of the licensing committee was told on Tuesday (May 13).

“Road legal tints still allow sufficient lighting for somebody who is in the rear in terms of silhouettes to be visible,” councillors were told at the meeting.

A council official told members: “If you are a driver and you have a road legal vehicle one of the things that might put you off is the fact that you’ve got this issue that you have got to sort out.

“It is more difficult to remove a factory tint than other kinds of tint.”

The meeting was told that the move brings to council “into line” with nearby councils and matches national ‘best practice’.

“The view from officers is that in effect it poses no risk to public safety,” the officer told members.

The meeting heard that some areas of the borough it is ‘difficult to get private hire vehicles’ so increasing the numbers of private hire vehicles for residents to book “is good.”

But the committee was told that councils are banned from making profits from taxi licensing. They have to cover the costs and if more drivers come forward, the costs may fall.

“It’s not a race to the bottom, we’re not seeking to open the floodgates,” the councillors were told.

But the meeting was told that if more cabs are licensed by Telford & Wrekin Council, it increases the control that its officers can have in the area.

Drivers who work in Telford but who are licensed elsewhere can be referred back to the authority that licensed them, the meeting heard.

The officer said Telford and Wrekin Council is ‘business supporting and business winning’ and they hope this move and others will make it a ‘comparable option’ to other licensing authorities and help encourage more drivers to be licensed by the council to work in the borough.

Councillor Karen Tomlinson (Liberal Democrats, Shawbirch & Dothill) said she remains unhappy about a situation where operators can come from anywhere to do business in Telford.

She was told that “we are where we are” with taxi deregulation and have to operate within that environment.

The meeting was told that 300 vehicles, 350 drivers and 24 operators are licensed across Telford & Wrekin.

Councillors also approved the creation of a specialist restricted licence for drivers who wish to only work on school or social transport. They would not be able to ply for other kinds of trade.

Officials say this is another way they may be able to attract more drivers. The council’s licensing policy includes both Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, the meeting heard.

Pic: Private Hire vehicle by Telford Live