Restricted Taxi-Cab Licence: Approval of temporary application

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A decision made 28 March 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-T-2013-0036
Decision Summary Title :	Application from Luxicabs Ltd for an additional company restricted taxi-cab licence		Date of Decision Summary:	13 March 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Acting Senior Traffic Officer DVS		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Application from Luxicabs Ltd for an additional company restricted taxi-cab licence		Date of Written Report:	13 March 2013
Written Report Author:	Acting Senior Traffic Officer DVS		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Application from Luxicabs Ltd for an additional company restricted taxi-cab licence
Decision(s): The Minister agreed to grant an interim additional company restricted taxi-cab licence to Luxicabs Ltd for use on an electric eco friendly Nissan Leaf which will temporarily increase the number of licences granted to Luxicabs Ltd to 22. The Minister also agreed that when the licence expires on an older non ECO friendly vehicle within the next 12 months that licence will not be re-issued. This will reduce the overall number of licences granted to Luxicabs Ltd back to 21, maintaining the number of ECO friendly vehicles at 16.
Reason(s) for Decision: To permit Luxicabs Ltd to maintain its policy and support the Sustainable Transport Policy in increasing the number of zero and low emission vehicles circulating as taxi-cabs.
Resource Implications: There are no resource implications.
Action required: Head of DVS to advise Luxicabs Ltd of the decision and take any other necessary action in support of the decision.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Restricted Taxi-Cab Licence: Approval of temporary application

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

DVS UNIT

APPLICATION FROM LUXICABS LTD FOR AN ADDITIONAL

COMPANY RESTRICTED TAXI-CAB PLATE

Purpose of The Report

1.1 To obtain the agreement of the Minister for Transport and Technical Services to grant Luxicabs Ltd an additional Restricted Taxi-Cab Licence.

BACKGROUND

2.1 Luxicabs Ltd have recently purchased an all electric Nissan Leaf ECO friendly vehicle to use as a restricted taxi-cab. They already have one of these vehicles operating on a company plate.

2.2 The number of restricted taxi-cab plates issued to Luxicabs Ltd has been reduced from 34 in 2009 to 21 in 2013. There are no vehicles on their present fleet due for retirement that can be replaced by the new Nissan Leaf. The oldest vehicle on the fleet is a Skoda Octavia Estate J111856 which was first registered on 26 June 2007. The vehicle had a mileage of 134,372 when last tested on 06 September 2012 and will most likely be the next vehicle to need replacing.

2.3 It seems Luxicabs Ltd, who have spent a substantial amount of money in purchasing this new vehicle, had intended replacing an older vehicle in their fleet which had broken down and was considered uneconomical to repair. Unfortunately Luxicabs Ltd failed to notify DVS that the vehicle in question was broken down and the licence lapsed, eventually resulting in the plate being withdrawn.

2.4 In addition, the new Nissan Leaf was damaged shortly after delivery before it could be submitted for a Certificate of Fitness examination and had to be returned to the UK for repair. It is likely that this delay, which was not notified to DVS, resulted in the restricted taxi-cab licence being withdrawn, leaving Luxicabs Ltd with no available plate to fix to the new Nissan Leaf.

2.5 Luxicabs Ltd, in support of the Sustainable Transport Policy and with a view to becoming efficient in reducing vehicle emissions, have over the last four years purchased 12 Hybrid vehicles, four stop / start vehicles and one zero emission electric Nissan Leaf. The new vehicle would increase their energy efficient and low emission vehicles to 16 and their overall fleet to 22.

OPTIONS
1. Option 1: Grant a company restricted plate, on the grounds that it replaces the withdrawn plate from the broken down vehicle, with an ECO friendly vehicle. If Luxicabs Ltd had informed the department of the broken down vehicle, the plate would have been put on hold whilst they sourced a replacement vehicle.

This option is worthy of consideration.

3.2 Option 2: Grant a company restricted plate as above, but when the next non ECO friendly vehicle’s licence expires in September 2013, that vehicle should be retired from their fleet and the plate withdrawn. This would reduce their overall number of company licences back down to 21 but maintain the number of ECO friendly vehicles at 16.

This option is recommended.

3.3 Option 3: Refuse to grant an additional company restricted plate in keeping with the present policy. Luxicabs Ltd will have to decide whether to retire one of its existing vehicles immediately or hold onto the Nissan Leaf without using it as a taxi-cab until they decide to present it as a replacement vehicle.

This option is worthy of consideration.

CONCLUSION

4.1. Issuing an extra company plate to Luxicabs Ltd would contravene the present policy of reducing the amount of company restricted taxi-cab plates and may create issues with drivers on the restricted taxi-cab plate waiting list, not to mention other taxi-cab companies, in particularly Liberty Cabs, who have applied for and been refused additional company plates. However, the replacement vehicle being all electric and having zero emissions, does give granting the additional licence some merit.

4.2. Adopting Option 2 is recommended as it only increases the number of company plates for a limited period of time, is in keeping with the Sustainable Transport Policy by increasing the amount of ECO friendly taxi-cabs in the overall fleet and is less likely to cause concern with others in the industry.

RECOMMENDATION

5.1. The Minister is asked to agree that:-

an additional company restricted taxi-cab licence is made available for a temporary period so that Luxicabs Ltd can be granted a licence for a new Nissan Leaf, subject to the normal conditions;

when the licence expires on one of the company’s non ECO friendly vehicles within the next 12 months, that licence is withdrawn, reducing the number of licences granted to Luxicabs Ltd back down to 21.

REASON FOR DECISION

6.1. To permit Luxicabs Ltd to maintain its policy and support the Sustainable Transport Policy in increasing the number of zero and low emission vehicles circulating as taxi-cabs.

ACTION REQUIRED

7.1. Head of DVS to advise Luxicabs Ltd of the decision and take any other necessary action in support of the decision.

Written by: Acting Senior Traffic Officer

Approved by: Director of Transport