The Licensing Service manages Bedford Borough Council's role to ensure that drivers, proprietors and operators of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles are ‘fit and proper’ persons to hold such licences.
When considering if a driver is ‘fit and proper’ it will refer to the taxi and private hire policy. All drivers whether existing or proposed should have regard for the policy.
View the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy (effective from 1 June 2022).
Taxi licensing information
Within this section you can:
- apply for a private hire and taxi driver licence
- apply for a private hire and vehicle licence
- apply for a private hire operator licence
- apply for a client transport authorisation
Please email any enquiries you may have about new applications and renewals to Licensing@bedford.gov.uk
Have you witnessed a licensed driver doing something they shouldn't?
Road traffic offences (speeding/jumping the lights/accidents etc) and complaints of violence or aggression should be reported to the Police in the first instance.
Parking offences are dealt with by Parking Enforcement (eg yellow line/red route issues).
Matters such as driver behaviour/vehicle parked on a hackney carriage rank/illegal plying for hire/touting should be reported to us. In order for us to deal with the matter appropriately, please contact us as soon as possible at licensing@bedford.gov.uk.
We will ask you for details such as time/date/location of what you have witnessed and we will ask you for a witness statement. This is because we want to be in the best possible position to take the strongest action where an offence or infringement has occurred. This does not mean we cannot act on anonymous information, but it is a great help to us when we have complainants who are prepared to help in this way.
Please do not post your photographs/videos on social media and please do not use a hand held device whilst driving to record alleged offences. We have seen too many videos/photographs taken 'evidencing' minor breaches of conditions where the 'evidence gatherer' appears to have committed a serious road traffic offence in doing so.
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 eg telephone bookings and on-street hailing.