Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, recently met Transport Minister, Nusrat Ghani MP, to discuss the regulations applying to taxis and minicabs (or private hire vehicles - PHVs). A constituent who drives a licensed taxi came to the meeting so the Minister could hear directly from him on the views of the licensed taxi trade.
“Many licensed taxi drivers have come to me with their concerns about poor regulation of minicabs and private hire vehicles operated using ride hailing apps like Uber” Theresa said.
“I wanted the Government to hear their views loud and clear so I arranged for my constituent to come with me to meet Transport Minister Nus Ghani.
“I made the case for strengthening the rules applied to PHVs, on issues such as emissions and disability awareness, so there is a more level playing field between them and licensed taxis (which are already subject to much higher standards). I'm also concerned about what is known as 'cross-border hiring' where PHV drivers bypass the rules applied in their home town by applying for a license elsewhere and using it to drive locally. We need minimum national standards for licensing minicab drivers.”
The Government set up a group to look at reforming the law on taxis. It hasn't yet reported, but Minister Ghani indicated she expected their report very soon and that it was likely that they would recommend that changes be made. She expressed sympathy with a number of the points raised by Theresa and by her constituent.
Theresa added “The meeting was part of my long-running campaign to support the iconic London taxi trade, whilst also ensuring people have a choice between different operators when they want to pick up a taxi or minicab. It’s important to maintain competition between different types of taxi, but we should try to ensure that it is fair competition. I will also continue to press for action to make big overseas companies like Uber pay their fair share of tax.“