Why robust taxi standards need to be the norm across the country
The need to get tough on taxi standards is underscored by the report released today by the Transport Committee. MPs are calling for Ministers to inconsistent standards across the country.
The very idea that drivers are shopping around for licences should be a red flag. Drivers and operators deliberately obtain licences from an authority with less stringent requirements than the one in whose area they primarily operate. The discrepancies in standards are an oversight that are putting the public at risk.
There are many people in this region who are reliant on taxis, that is why the Government needs to get a grip of out-of-area working for taxis.
‘Licence shopping' is also undermining safeguarding efforts. Baroness Louise Casey’s report last year into group-based sexual exploitation highlighted this fact.
The Government’s plan for national minimum standards are to be welcomed but that must not mean they are low by default.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has warned against “driving down standards” in constituencies like her own. Taxis were frequently used to ferry around grooming gang victims in Rotherham. In 2024, Adam Ali, 45, was jailed for abusing girls in the back of his taxi in the early 2000s.
Since then, the council has introduced a “gold standard” licensing scheme, which includes the requirement for CCTV in cabs.
It isn’t about demonising cabbies. The good taxi drivers, who take great care in getting their passengers to their respective destinations safely, will welcome robust standards.