Agenda item - Taxi and Private Hire Emissions Policy

On 15 June 2023 the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee agreed in principle the proposal for amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to phase in a requirement that licensed vehicles meet the same emissions requirements as the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone. A 6-week public consultation ran from 19 June until 30 July 2023, and the Committee are asked to consider the responses and approve a revised policy which can be recommended for adoption by Full Council.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1) Consider the responses to the public consultation,

(2) Agree the changes to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as follows; -

a) From 1 July 2024 licences will normally only be granted to vehicles being licensed for the first time that meet the TFL Ultra Low Emission Zone requirements (Petrol: Euro 4, Diesel: Euro 6). An exception will be allowed until 1 January 2025 for proprietors of licensed Euro 4 diesel vehicles that are replacing them with Euro 5 diesel vehicles.

b) From 1 January 2025 licences will not normally be renewed in respect of any licensed diesel vehicle that does not meet or exceed Euro 5 emission standards.

c) From 1 July 2026, licences will normally only be granted to vehicles (including renewal of existing licences) that meet the TFL Ultra Low Emission Zone requirements (Petrol: Euro 4 Diesel: Euro 6).

d) Vehicles that have been specially adapted [i.e., post manufacture] to carry wheelchair users will be exempted from the emission requirement.

e) Vehicles used for the completion of home to school transport under contract from a County Council will be given a one-year extension to each of the phased emission requirements.

f) All hackney carriages must be wheelchair accessible. Hackney Carriages are no longer required to be purpose built/London style ‘black’ cabs. All non-purpose-built hackney carriages will be required to display a ‘Taxi' sign of a minimum width of 76.2cm with lettering of a minimum height of 12.7cm and bearing the words 'Licensed by Epsom & Ewell Borough Council', capable of being illuminated, to be mounted across the roof of the vehicle.

(3) Agree that the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set in Appendix 6 is recommended for approval at Full Council

The Committee received a report asking them to consider the Taxi and Private Hire Emissions Policy Consultation responses and approve a revised policy which can be recommended for adoption by Full Council. On 15 June 2023 the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee agreed in principle the proposal for amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to phase in a requirement that licensed vehicles meet the same emissions requirements as the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone. A 6-week public consultation ran from 19 June until 30 July 2023.

The following matters were considered:

a) Relicensing Vehicles. A Member of the Committee asked whether it has been confirmed that Transport for London offered the practice of allowing proprietors to relicense their vehicles early, prior to the introduction of their emission standards. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that a number of members of the trade have shared that this is what TfL allowed, therefore it would seem a reasonable step to also allow this. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that they would find out and confirm to the Committee whether TfL did in fact allow this practice when introducing their emission standards.

b) Uptake of early relicensing. A Member of the Committee asked what number of vehicles were expected to take up the option to relicense early. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that there are 37 Hackney carriages in the borough and roughly a quarter might decide to get licensed earlier in order to get the benefit for that matter but most of the licensed trade it wouldn't be worth their time.

c) Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicles. A Member of the Committee asked if the policy is to cover all private hire vehicles or just hackney carriage licensed vehicles. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that the policy would be applied to all licensed vehicles. The Member asked how long a licence last for. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that vehicle licences last for one year.

d) Electric Vehicles. A Member of the Committee raised the use of Electric Vehicles and whether they are covered by the policy. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that at present the policy reads that we licence to the same standard as the ultra-low emission zone standard, so that clearly allows electric vehicles to be licensed. The Member responded to asked if the Council are allowed to use the licensing policy to move more quickly towards electric powered engines and to try and encourage their use further. The Principal Licensing Officer responded to confirm that in terms of encouraging the use of electric, the Council do currently have a price differential for hybrid and electric vehicles, however, that is something to look at going forwards, as there is an argument that financially the cost of licensing can only be recovered through the fees and therefore, the cost of licensing an electric vehicle should be the same as the cost of licensing a non-electric vehicle. The Principal Licensing Officer explained to the Committee that a discount can be added but only if the funding is agreed from central funding, meaning that the taxpayers of this council must agree to give their money to the owners of electric vehicles to pay a lower license fee, it cannot be achieved within the licensing fee setup. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that this would be a conversation to have with Finance and Legal to progress further, as there are limits to what you can do in terms of the fee. The Member responded to point out that Uber have told their drivers that they’ve got to have electric cars by a certain date, or they can’t use the app anymore, therefore, there is precedent to move towards electric vehicles more quickly, although there needs to be more infrastructure in place for EVs, mainly having more readily available charging points.

e) Supply change issues. A Member of the Committee highlighted that some consultation responses referenced supply chain issues and how that would affect the time it would take to become compliant and queried whether the six-month extension to the original deadline provides enough time. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that with the recent expansion of ULEZ zone to include all London Boroughs, a lot of drivers were waiting to see what happened before replacing their vehicles, therefore, we are in a situation now where demand is very high, and supply is low. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that there is hope this wall flatten out going forwards and further extensions to the deadline run the risk of making it meaningless. The Principal Licensing Officer continued to explain that the proposal is for the fleet to become entirely ULEZ compliant over 2.5 years which is considered a long enough time to allow people to adapt.