The London mayor has confirmed that London’s regulators are testing the planned implementation of a nationwide database of taxi licensing and for private hire taxi.
A registry hosted by the Local Government Association (LGA) allows Congress to record details of where taxi or PHV licenses have been denied or revoked and enable local governments to identify new applicants for registration.
The database is expected to assist each local licensing authority in addressing the issue of people submitting applications to different licensing authorities after rejection or revocation.
At this time, if the taxi driver does not reveal the information regarding an earlier revocation or negative response of a license, there is habitually no method for the committee to find out this information. This means that an individual can get a new license in another area, even if the license was obtained elsewhere.
Local Government Association specially made the National Anti Fraud Network (NAFN) and hosts the registry. National Anti Fraud Network is a shared service organized by the Tameside Council to help public institutions to fight fraud and share information.
Authorities must be a member of NAFN to access the registry. About 90% of local governments are already members and have access to the registry at no extra cost. For non-members, we understand that NAFN membership costs £ 1,500 / year, which is a legitimate cost included in the license fee.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has answered a question from Congressman Caroline Pigeon on this issue. He asked the authority to Design and put into practice the database. At present, TfL is testing the database to present it as soon as possible.
Also, TfL support Recommendation 24 hrs of the Working and Finishing Group delegated by the Ministry of Transport. The government has indicated that it will legislate to allow the creation of this database in response to the Task Force’s report and final decision.
For Private car Insurance requirements:
During the licensing period introduced in June 2016, the requirement to ensure personal rental vehicles or to always be paid for transporting rental passengers no longer applies. However, private rental vehicles, even when licensed and used as private rental vehicles, must be covered by rental or incentive insurance.
We are considering the location of rental or compensation insurance in the private rental sector and will provide an update on this soon.
What this means to you:
If you are a new applicant or renew your personal rental vehicle license, the vehicle must be covered by rental or compensation insurance at the time of the license. If the vehicle is not covered by rental or compensation insurance, no new or renewal license will be granted. If you already have a private rental vehicle license, you must always have rental or compensation insurance when the private rental vehicle is used as such. If this requirement is not met and can be handled, appropriate regulatory action will be taken.
