Survey Asks: Which Crimes Should Disqualify Taxi Drivers from Licensing?

People are being asked about taxi driver licenses. They want input on which crimes should block drivers. The council seeks views on banning drivers with certain convictions. This includes weapons, sex crimes, and child offenses.

The survey asks about sex offenders register members. It also includes people convicted of harassment, and crimes resulting in death. People can strongly agree or disagree with each point. “I don’t know” is also an option in the survey.

The survey started in late January and ends on March 9th this year. The council wants feedback on driver suitability. They introduced taxi licensing rules in 2021, and new guidance on licensing came out in November.

Taxi drivers ensure passenger and road user safety. Drivers also have control over potentially vulnerable riders. Criminal convictions strongly affect license approval, applying to both new and existing licenses.

The policy addresses criminal actions without convictions. For many crimes, licenses become possible after some time. Besides serious crimes, they ask about drug and driving offenses. “Unacceptable behavior” also matters here.

The council saw a rise in rejected taxi driver applications. They rejected 53 applications in the year ending September 30, 2024. This more than doubled the prior year’s count of 20.

The council’s refusals often include common driving offenses, such as driving without insurance and phone use while driving. Sex crimes, drugs, and knife possession also factored in.

A licensing officer mentioned the application refusal increase. He highlighted that refusals are a small portion of applications, representing only about four percent of the total.