Private hire taxis must display signs

Private hire taxis in Cardiff will now have to display signs on their doors, indicating that they must be pre-booked.

The decision was made by Cardiff Council following a meeting with the public protection committee, during which professionals from the private and public hire taxis trade gave their views.

According to the story in The Guardian, the request for the vehicles to be display proper signage came from a public taxi provider. The Hackney Carriage Association told the meeting of a problem in which private hire cars pick up people that haven’t pre booked in Cardiff. However, one representative said that clients did not want signs on their cars, as customers hire them for their discreet service.

Gareth Owens, the director of Dragon Taxis was representing Premier and Tiger taxis. He is cited as having said: “We are equally required to provide a certain standard of service by the council, but we are totally against any signs.

“There’s a proportion of our drivers who have invested in expensive vehicles because they work for a high class customer. When you go to pick up Simon Cowell from Cardiff Airport, he doesn’t want a sign on his door.”

Whilst the committee felt there was not enough evidence to support the claim that private hire taxis were picking up passengers who had not previously booked, they did agree that signage should be displayed on the cars, stating it would be useful for some members of the public.

The exact wording of the signs is yet to be agreed, but it is thought the total cost for producing them will be £4,500.