QUANTITY RESTRICTIONS OF TAXI LICENCES
43. The present legal provision on quantity restrictions for taxis is set out in section 10(3) of the 1982 Act. This provides that "the grant of a taxi licence may be refused by a licensing authority for the purpose of limiting the number of taxis in respect of which licences are granted by them if, but only if, they are satisfied that there is no significant demand for the services of taxis in their area which is unmet".
44. Local licensing authorities will be aware that, in the event of a challenge to a decision to refuse a licence, the local authority concerned would be required to establish to the satisfaction of the court that it had first satisfied itself that there was no such significant unmet demand.
45. A survey carried out by the Scottish Government in 2003 showed that 16 licensing authorities restricted the number of taxi licenses throughout the council area and a further 5 partially restricted numbers in certain zones within the council area. The remaining 11 authorities set no limit on taxi licences. The Scottish Government takes the view that decisions as to the case for limiting taxi licences should remain a matter for licensing authorities in the light of local circumstances. However, licensing authorities who presently restrict numbers of taxi licences should periodically review this policy.
46. Licensing authorities in reviewing their policy with regard to quantity restrictions on taxi licences should consider whether any restriction presently in place should continue. The matter should be approached in terms of the interests of taxi users. What benefit is achieved for them by the continuation of controls; and how might they benefit if the controls were removed? Is there evidence that removal of the controls would result in a clear and unambiguous deterioration in the amount or quality of taxi service provision?..
47. Authorities may find the attached Annex A helpful. The Annex sets out a number of questions which may be helpful to licensing authorities in any review of policy in regard to the quantity control of taxi licences.
48. The Scottish Government in its response to the OFT Report agreed that, notwithstanding its view that the question of
the restriction of licences should be left to the discretion of licensing authorities, there was nonetheless a need for review of the frequency and component parts of the surveys used by local authorities to measure unmet demand. In regard to frequency, licensing authorities should carry out a survey sufficiently frequently to be able to respond to any challenge to the satisfaction of a court.
49. In the conduct of a survey of unmet demand the Scottish Government would commend advice given to licensing authorities by the DfT in June 2004 which set out a range of considerations. Some key points which authorities should consider are:
the length of time that would-be customers have to wait at ranks. However, this alone is an inadequate indicator of demand; also taken into account should be…
waiting times for street hailings and for telephone bookings. But waiting times at ranks or elsewhere do not in themselves satisfactorily resolve the question of unmet demand. It is also desirable to address…
latent demand, for example people who have responded to long waiting times by not even trying to travel by taxi. This can be assessed by surveys of people who do not use taxis, perhaps using stated preference survey techniques.
peaked demand. It is sometimes argued that delays associated only with peaks in demand (such as morning and evening rush hours, or pub closing times) are not 'significant'. The Scottish Government does not share that view. Since the peaks in demand are by definition the most popular times for consumers to use taxis, it can be argued that unmet demand at these times should not be ignored. Local authorities should consider when the peaks occur and who is being disadvantaged through restrictions on provision of taxi services.
consultation. As well as statistical surveys, assessment of quantity restrictions should include consultation with all those concerned, including user groups (which should include disability groups, and people such as students or women), the police, hoteliers, operators of pubs and clubs and visitor attractions, and providers of other transport modes (such as train operators, who want taxis available to take passengers to and from stations);
publication. All the evidence gathered in a survey should be published, together with an explanation of what conclusions have been drawn from it and why. If quantity restrictions are to be continued, their benefits to consumers and the reason for the particular level at which the number is set should be set out.
financing of surveys. It is not good practice for surveys to be paid for by the local taxi trade (except through general revenues from licence fees). To do so can call in to question the impartiality and objectivity of the survey process.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications ... 18120453/8
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