Passenger safety must come first in taxi and minicab licensing and operations

Following the news that TFL has found Uber to not be ‘fit and proper’ as a licence holder, despite having made a number of changes to its operations, personal safety charity Suzy Lamplugh Trust is urging all operators and licensing authorities to continue to make passenger safety the priority above all else.

Suzy Lamplugh Trust reiterates its call for legislation to overhaul licensing safety standards across all licensing authorities and operators, including a review of the framework used to share information about driver incidents between operators, the police and licensing authorities. It is also calling for a review of the frequency and scope of DBS checks carried out on drivers.

Our research has shown that ongoing loopholes in licensing guidelines may be putting passengers at risk. Suzy Lamplugh Trust has continuously campaigned to improve personal safety in taxi and private hire driver licensing. We are calling for national minimum standards for licensing taxi and private hire vehicle drivers in order to overcome the current inconsistencies between policies developed by individual licensing authorities across England and Wales. Passengers need to be assured that, wherever they get into a licensed vehicle, and whoever the operator or licensing authority is, drivers have been vetted to the highest possible safety standards in order to protect passenger safety.

Suzy Lamplugh Trust has urged the government to reconsider its decision not to legislate for national standards in light of the ongoing failures by some operators and licensing authorities to abide by non-enforceable licensing guidelines.