Private Hire and Taxi Vehicle Licensing Fees
| Licence Fee (12 months or less) |
|
| Private
Hire |
£257.50 |
| Hackney Carriage |
£300.00 |
| |
|
| Retest Fee |
|
| Private Hire |
£85.00 |
| Hackney Carriage |
£85.00 |
| |
|
| Horse Drawn Hackney Carriage |
£126.00 |
| |
|
| Replacement Plate |
£28.40 |
| Replacement Pass Certificate |
£28.40 |
| |
|
| Cancellation of Appointment |
|
| 24 hours notice given |
£28.40 |
| less than 24 hours notice given |
£85.00 |
| |
|
| Change of Name/Licence Details |
£28.40 |
| |
|
| Transfer of Proprietorship of Licensed Vehicle |
£28.40 |
Click here to
download Vehicle Guidance Notes and Application form
Click here to
download Private Hire Vehicle Conditions
Click here to
download Taxi Vehicle Conditions
Exemption from Carrying Dogs
For those drivers with medical
conditions that would be aggravated by carrying assistance dogs,
the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 makes provision for
licensing authorities to grant exemptions on medical grounds only
and to issue drivers with a Certificate of Exemption.
Please click
here to download a Dog Exemption Application Form
Please click
here to download a Dog Exemption Medical
To view a public register of Taxi and
Private Hire vehicle Licensees, please visit http://www.licensing.bedford.gov.uk/.
This on-line register may not include all items that are available
to the public for inspection and, therefore, further enquiries may
be necessary of the Authority.
If you would like to make
an on-line payment, please use the link in
the listing on the left hand side of this page.
If you would like to receive an application
form by post, please use the link below which will generate a
request with your requirements.
Request Form
|
Licence Summary
|
A
private hire or hackney carriage vehicle
licence is required for any motor vehicle constructed or
adapted to seat fewer than nine passengers, which is provided for
hire with the services of a driver for the purpose of carrying
passengers. The exemptions to this are public carriage
vehicles, wedding cars and funeral cars.
Private Hire Vehicles must be pre-booked by
customers with the vehicle’s licensed operator. Hackney
Carriages may be hailed in the street or receive bookings at
designated Hackney Carriage Ranks.
|
|
Eligibility Criteria
|
To be licensed as either a Private Hire or a
hackney Carriage vehicle, it must be suitable in type, size and design for such a
use, suitable in mechanical condition, safe and comfortable. A Private Hire Vehicle must
not be of such design and appearance as to lead any person to
believe that the vehicle is a hackney carriage. For either
type of vehicle, there must be a valid policy of insurance
that meets the requirements of Part VI of the Road Traffic Act
1988.
For Hackney Carriages, the Authority may
refuse a licence if it is convinced that there is no significant
demand for Hackney carriages which is unmet.
|
|
Regulation Summary
|
A summary of the regulation relating to this licence
Town Police
Clauses Act 1847
|
|
Application Evaluation Process
|
The applicant will complete an application and submit this to
the Authority with the required fee. Details of the V5 Registration
Certificate and Insurance presented will also be examined to see
that they are genuine. The applicant will then need to make
arrangements for the vehicle to be inspected at the Authority’s
testing depot to the standard set by the Authority. The
Authority also has a policy whereby vehicles that have reached nine
years since they were first registered will not normally be granted
a licence.
Hackney Carriages are normally white in colour and so Private
Hire Vehicles should not normally be white.
For seating capacity, the Authority does not normally permit
seating that does not have immediate access to an external door
which they can open from the inside of the vehicle (middle seats in
a row of three seats would normally be permissible). This
policy generally impacts on the seating permitted within MPVs.
In respect of glass in a licensed vehicle, the Authority’s
policy states that the glass should normally permit more than 45%
of visual light to be transmitted through it. For windscreen
and front driver and passenger side windows the normal statutory
limits apply.
Metrocabs and London style cabs such as FX4 and TX10 models are
not normally permitted to be licensed as Private Hire Vehicles.
|
|
Will Tacit Consent Apply?
|
No. It is in the public interest that the
authority must process your application before it can be granted.
If you have not heard from the local authority within a reasonable
period, please contact it. You can do this
online if you applied through the UK Welcomes service or use
the contact details below. The target completion period for
processing these applications is 30 working days.
|
|
Apply online (You will need Version 9 (or
higher) of Adobe
Reader)
|
THIS FACILITY WILL BE
AVAILABLE SHORTLY
You can download application forms using the links on this
page. Once signed, you can also return them
electronically. On-line payment of the required fee is
available using the links on the left hand side of this web
page.
|
|
Failed Application Redress
|
Please contact the Local Authority in the first
instance.
Any applicant who is refused a licence can appeal to their local
Magistrates' court
|
|
Licence Holder Redress
|
Please contact the Local Authority in the first instance.
Any Licence Holder who is aggrieved by a condition attached to
their Licence can appeal to their local Magistrates' court
|
|
Consumer Complaint
|
We would always advise that in the event of a complaint you
should contact the Licensing Authority or if you are located in the
UK, Consumer Direct will
give you advice. From outside the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre
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|
Other Redress
|
None
|
|
Trade Associations
|
Private Hire & Taxi Monthly
National Taxi
Association
|