Taxi Ranks and Private Hire Operators
Request a Taxi
Rank
Taxi ranks are located adjacent to railway, bus and coach
stations, and major attractions, including late-night venues, where
a consistent demand for the service is apparent at specific times
of the day or night.
Ranks should be sited so that passengers can board or alight
from the taxi onto the footway on the nearside of the vehicle in
safety. However, in exceptional circumstances, a Rank can be
established so that passengers board and alight on the off-side of
the vehicle. This possibility is likely to arise where there are
two rows of a taxi rank each adjacent to a footway. For wheelchair
access, passengers will need to utilise ranks where access to taxis
is from the nearside.
Whilst the Council can establish a taxi rank we have no powers
to insist that the licensed taxi trade provide a service at the
rank as they may lawfully engage in other types of service
provision e.g. telephone bookings and on-street hailing.
Map showing Taxi
Ranks
In addition, the Council operates a Taxi Marshal scheme in Bedford
High Street at the High Street Taxi Ranks mentioned above and the
lay-bys outside of ‘Debenhams’ and ‘Laura Ashley’ which are
reserved for Private Hire Pick-ups.
Request a Private Hire Operator Taxi
Private Hire Operators are the business people or companies who
operate services that in London would be called ‘minicabs’. These
services are a car with a driver that you book in advance through
visiting their office, telephoning their base etc. The operator
provides the business that you book your journey with and who then
arranges to despatch a licensed car and licensed driver to take you
on the pre-booked journey. Private Hire Services are used by a
range of people for a range of different reasons. The vehicles used
by Operators range in size and may be licensed for 4-8 passengers.
They may also have vehicles that can carry passengers in
wheelchairs.
Some Private Hire Operators may provide specialist services
(such as chauffer services for large businesses, specialist
transport services for those with particular needs etc) while
others will provide services of a more general nature.
Each booking for a journey is a contract between the person
making the booking and the Private Hire Operator. As such, if there
are issues around when a vehicle arrived for a booking or how much
the charge was for the journey they should be addressed by the
Operator and the person who made the booking. Bedford Borough
Council encourages all Private Hire Operators to have procedures in
place to consider complaints against them.
To obtain a Private Hire Operator’s Licence to operate within
Bedford Borough, the individual or company must apply to the
Borough Council. The Council may grant a Licence and, for those who
are licensed, it can suspend/revoke a Licence in particular
circumstances.
Licensed Private Hire Operators must comply with conditions
attached to their Licence. If you are not sure whether someone is
licensed as an Operator or whether they are complying with
conditions of their Licence, please contact the Registration &
Administration Unit’s Licensing Service.
Please use the links on the left hand side for more information
on these areas of licensing.