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Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for moving his amendment. We certainly agree with his main proposition that accessibility for disabled people is an important factor in taxi provision. That is why my honourable friend the Minister in another place has made clear our expectation that, within the next decade, vehicles will comply in those terms in prescribed areas. We say ““in prescribed areas”” because there is a difference between taxis used in urban areas and those used in rural ones. I accept that we want disabled access but we may be prepared to tolerate different forms of that in different parts of the country. I fear that my noble friend is proposing that the black cab should be a universal model for taxis in all areas, which would have significant implications for the employment, use and provision of taxis in many parts of the country. Whole livelihoods would be destroyed if all taxis had to be black cabs. The technical specifications of the black cab are extremely significant, onerous and expensive. The noble Lord will know the cost of a black cab. A lot of taxis across the country provide an exceptional service to the many citizens who depend upon them but are run by people who could not invest in a black cab. I shall give one obvious illustration: one specification of black cab design is that they should have the extraordinary and hugely admired limited turning circle. Drivers of ordinary vehicles are left in glorious envy of that feature when they see London taxis and other vehicles spin on the proverbial sixpence. But turning-circle specifications are not needed on cabs in other parts of the country. They are needed in some cities, which is why we see the so-called London cab in Manchester, Leeds and elsewhere, but a turning circle is of limited concern to users in many other places. I understand that my noble friend seeks to ensure that the taxi trade serves citizens to the best of its ability. There is no doubt that we will insist on that. My honourable friend the Minister in the other place has indicated that he works to a timescale for compliance in that respect. But that is vastly different from an amendment that would produce a universal design concept. Although the black cab is the glory of London and greatly used in some of our other major cities, it is scarcely the basis for the design of taxis for hire across much of the United Kingdom.