Written question asked by Lee Scott (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 October 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 October 2007. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Monday, 29 October 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Taxis: Licensing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate she has made of the number of private hire vehicles that will apply for a special restricted PSV operator's licence if Clause 26 of the draft Local Transport Bill becomes law;

Answer: The decision to include clause 26 in the draft Local Transport Bill was prompted by a recommendation of the Bus Partnership Forum's Innovation and Inclusion Task and Finish Group. The recommendation that holders of private hire vehicle (PHV) licences should be allowed to obtain a special public service vehicle operator's licence to provide local bus services, in the same way as licensed taxis can do already, was seen as giving added flexibility to meet local transport needs, particularly in rural areas.In the knowledge that there would be full consultation on the draft Bill, clause 26 was not discussed specifically with the taxi and PHV trades before being included in the draft Bill. We have received a small number of representations—both for and against the proposal. Those against the proposal referred in particular to the particular circumstances of PHV operation in London. We are now considering all the responses as part of the post-consultation analysis process which will determine the final content of the Bill.We have made no estimate of the potential uptake of the proposal, but expect it to be relatively modest (in line with the use made of the existing power for taxis to provide local bus services). The proposal is simply intended to give PHV owners an added flexibility where they see an opportunity to use it. We would expect the provision to be of more value in rural areas where a smaller vehicle might be more cost-effective on a particular route.

Secondary information