Commissioner welcomes decision to scrap changes to taxi licencing rules

Sir Graham Bright, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire, has welcomed the government’s decision to scrap proposals which would have led to an increased safety risk for people going home after a night out.  

The changes would have allowed anyone to drive a taxi or private hire vehicle when it was “off duty”. This proposal had the potential to increase the number of unlicensed drivers pretending to be legitimate, increasing risk to the people of Cambridgeshire and across the country.

Sir Graham was one of several Police and Crime Commissioners who campaigned against the plans. Sir Graham says: “I am glad to see that common sense has prevailed and that people’s safety has been prioritised. These changes would have put people at risk through unknowingly using a taxi driven by an unlicensed driver. I would still like to see two remaining clauses, which allow taxis to operate outside their area and extend the length of their licences, removed.”

The measure was part of the Deregulation Bill, which aims to cut red tape for self-employed people and small businesses. Ends