Taxis and Minicabs
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.
The following Taxi Ranks have been established in Bedford Borough’s
area:
- Bedford Railway Station (off Ashburnham
Road) – at all times
- Bedford Bus Station (off Greyfriars) – at
all times
- Broadway-De Parys Avenue junction – at all
times
- St Peter’s Street (outside Nexus
Nightclub) – 23.00hrs to 03.00hrs only
- St Paul’s Square (opposite Corn Exchange)
– 23.00hrs to 03.00hrs only
- Mill Street (outside George and Dragon) –
23.00hrs to 03.00hrs only
- Midland Road (outside Malu’s Restaurant) –
23.00hrs to 03.00hrs only
In addition, the Council operates a Taxi
Marshal scheme in Bedford High Street whereby the lay-bys outside
of ‘Time Out’ and ‘Bedford Lounge’ are reserved for Taxis and the
lay-bys outside of ‘Debenhams’ and ‘Laura Ashley’ 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.
The following Private Hire Operators have been established in
Bedford Borough’s area:
Private hire
Operators list for website 13 11 2007