Private Hire and Hackney Carriages
This section of the site contains information relating to Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicle, Driver and Operator Licences.
Please Note - Torfaen County Borough Council (The Council) is under a duty to protect the public funds which it administers and to this end may use the information you provide within Torfaen County Borough Council for the prevention and detection of fraud. The Council may also share this information with other bodies administering or in receipt of public funds solely for these purposes. For further information, visit the National Fraud Initiative| area of the website.
Consultation on the Review of the Council's Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Policy
The consultation on the policy has now closed and the results will be published here as soon as they have been analysed. The team have produced a newsletter with lots of interesting and important information which you can view here|
The full policy consultation document| can be viewed here. Paper copies were distributed to all private hire operators, hackney carriage proprietors, community councils and voluntary groups. The following background papers are also available:
Important Legislation Change from October 2010
The Equalities Act 2010 has introduced new regulations that all taxi and private hire drivers will have to comply with.
The duties being placed on the drivers of designated wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles are:
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to carry the passenger while in a wheelchair
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not to make any additional charge for doing so
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if the passenger chooses to sit in a passenger seat, to carry the wheelchair
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to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the passenger is carried in safety and reasonable comfort; and
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to give the passenger such mobility assistance as is reasonably required.
For further information on the requirements and timescales for implementation please see Advice for Drivers|.
A copy of The Equality Act 2010| can be viewed here.
Safety Issue - Kia Sedona MPV
An issue has arisen regarding the Kia Sedona vehicle - download a copy of the Kia Sedona Briefing Note| here to find out more.
Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy
The Private Hire and Hackney Carriage policy was approved by the Cabinet Committee of Torfaen County Borough Council on the 17th June 2008, and came into effect on the 1st July 2008. There were some significant changes to existing procedure and restrictions. The main changes are as follows:
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The removal of the limit on the number of hackney carriages licensed by the council.
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Any new hackney carriage licences will only be granted to vehicles which are side loading wheelchair accessible.
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When hackney carriages are renewed they can be replaced like for like but they must be black.
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Stretched limousines and novelty vehicles that are based in Torfaen will have to be licensed as private hire vehicles and all drivers licensed to drive the vehicles, a reasonable lead in time of 3 months will allow operators and drivers to comply.
Please refer to the policy for full details on each of these points and all other provisions that are required by drivers and operators, in particular the vetting procedures for drivers and testing of vehicles..
Forms
Application Forms will be added here shortly
Complaints/Comments
You can make comments or complaints by emailing us at licensing@torfaen.gov.uk| or by telephoning 01633 647284. We will contact you to discuss the matter further.