Welsh Government has published ‘Taxi and private hire vehicles: licensing guidance’ aimed at licensing authorities, which includes short term recommendations intended to help manage the sector while new licensing legislation is developed. 

The foreword to the guidance states:

“Welsh Government are developing new legislation and will be engaging with key stakeholders over the next 12 months to ensure this meets the needs of the sector. Our long-term aim is to produce a licensing system with a focus on, public safety, equality, improving the environment and customer experience.

“The new legislation will take some time to develop properly. Consequently, Welsh Government has been working with the Welsh Local Government Association and taxis licencing leads from Local Authorities from across Wales to develop some short term recommendations to help to better manage the sector between now and the new legislation being and place.

“These recommendations are a step towards achieving a consistent, more effective approach to taxi and PHV licensing in Wales. The main focus of the recommendations is to promote safety of the travelling public. We want to ensure that all Wales’s taxi and PHV drivers, operators and vehicles are safe and suitable for licensing.

“The recommendations in this guide have identified areas that could improve public safety consistently across Wales. If the national and local governments in Wales are going to be able to provide a consistent, more effective and safer approach to taxi and PHV licensing in Wales, prior to new legislation being enacted, I would request that all local authorities adopt these recommendations without amendment as a priority.”

Source: https://gov.wales/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicles-licensing-guidance-html