Taxi Licensing and Fares

Taxi Fares

Mileage

(a) If the distance does not exceed 200 metres for the whole distance - £2.60

(b) If the distance exceeds 200 metres - for the first 200 metres - £2.60

For each subsequent 94 metres or uncompleted part thereof - £0.10

Waiting Time

For each period of 1 minute or uncompleted part thereof - £0.30

Extra Charges

For hiring's begun between 11pm and 6am and for Bank Holidays (including Easter Sunday) and Between 6pm and 11pm on 24th December (excluding 11pm 24th December to 6am 27th December and 6pm 31st December to 6am on 1st January)...+50% of the above charges.

The fare for distance will be DOUBLED between 11pm on 24th December and 6am on 27th December and between 6pm 31st December and 6am on 1st January.

A charge of up to £50.00 will be applied for the soiling of a vehicle should it be soiled to the extent that it has to be taken out of service to be cleaned.

For additional passengers in excess of 4, or for a specific request to hire a vehicle with more than 4 passengers (excluding wheelchair users accompanied by less than 4 other passengers)...+50%

When a taxi (Hackney Carriage) is hired by distance it is an offence for the proprietor or driver to demand and take a fare greater than that shown on the taximeter. Any discount given to the customer must be discounted from the amount shown on the meter.

Fares for Time

If a Taxi (Hackney Carriage) is hired by time, the fare shall be agreed with the hirer at the commencement of the hiring.

Complaints

If you have any complaints about a vehicle or driver, please email the above address or write to:

Taxi Licencing

Taxis, or Hackney carriages as they are formally called, can operate from taxi ranks or can be hailed directly. Maximum fares are set by the Council and are recorded on a meter in the vehicle. A fare pricing structure list is provide for downloading (to the right).

Private hire vehicles can only carry fare-paying passengers when journeys are pre-booked through an operating centre. Fares are not controlled and must be agreed between the hirer and the firm.

The Technical Services Unit is responsible for the licensing of this trade, involving the testing of drivers and vehicles before licences are issued, with further spot checks being undertaken by the Hackney Carriage Inspector.

It is the Council's aim to ensure that all hackney carriages and private hire vehicles and drivers meet certain minimum standards. All hackney carriages now have a standard livery (white with a green stripe). The testing is carried out at various approved garages and licensing is managed on a day-to-day basis at Swale Borough Council.

• Medical - cost £70.00,
• Criminal Records Bureau - cost £44.00,
• Knowledge Test - Free
• Driving Standards Agency Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Assessment, to take the test during normal working hours Monday to Friday - cost £78.00.
• Saturday or Evenings - cost £94.00,
• Badge - cost £50.00.

Applying for Your Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Drivers License

Please read the following and if you still wish to apply for a Hackney Carriage Licence contact this office to make an appointment to come in and complete your forms, please bring all the relevant documents with you. At your appointment you will complete the Application form and Criminal Record Bureau form.

Your DVLA driving licence MUST show your current address. We will not issue you with a licence if your DVLA shows a previous address.

Your CRB check will cost £36, if you wish to pay by cash let us know when you make your appointment so we can send you an invoice to take to a Post Office or Pay Point, or by card which you can pay at our Main reception. You must bring the receipt and invoice with you to your appointment. If you wish to pay by cheque bring it with you to your appointment.

A Hackney Licence will not be issued until you have passed the Driving Standards Agency Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Assessment. These tests can be taken at Gillingham, Canterbury, Maidstone, Herne Bay and Ashford. You can book on-line at Transport Office or by phone 0300 200 1122.

Registered Taxi Driver Assessment instructors are:

Once you have passed your Driving Test, phone in to us to book an appointment for the Knowledge Test, which are held in the mornings, and will be on a day convenient to both parties. This consists of a mixture of route and general taxi knowledge questions. (50% of route questions will relate to the area you will be working in, with a further 50% questions on the surrounding Swale area). There will also be questions on local policies. We will give you a copy at your appointment to learn before sitting the exam. If you fail, you are given the opportunity to re-sit at another date.

Medical forms can be taken to your own doctor or any surgery to be completed. Please do not separate the pages, return to us when you and the doctor have answered all the questions, this can be done when attending the office for the Knowledge Test.

The following surgeries carry out medicals:

• Grovehurst Surgery, Grovehurst Road, Kemsley - Call: 01795 430444
• Dr Kay Wilcox Surgery, 32 London Road, Sittingbourne - Call: 01795 472109
• Dr VK Ramu, Dr SJ Witts and Dr Chandran, Sheerness Health Centre, 250-262 High Street, Sheerness - Call: 01795 585001, Fax: 01795 585840, Email: subash.chandran@nhs.net

Once you have passed your Knowledge Test, Driving Test and subject to your Police Check being cleared, you will be given your licence to drive a Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicle in the Swale Area. You must ring in to make an appointment to collect your badge, if you do not have an appointment you will not be seen. You will need to bring in 2 identical passport photographs. The photographs must show you facing forward and looking straight towards the camera with a neutral expression, and taken within the last month. The photo must be professionally printed and not printed at home. Passport booths are acceptable. The photo must not have any writing on the front or back. All fees can be paid by cash at the Post Office or a Pay Point, you must bring the receipt and invoice with you or the Badge/Plate will not be issued. Failure to produce the receipt and invoice, the badge/plate will not be issued. If you prefer to pay by credit/debit card you may do so at the main reception with the invoice when you come in for your appointment. Payments made by cheque can be made at your appointment with our staff and you must bring the invoice with you.

How we collect and use information

We will use the information you have given to process your Hackney Carriage License. By law, we may check the information you have provided against other information we already have to make sure the information is accurate. This authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you have provided for the prevention and detection of fraud. We may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes. We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use information about you for other purposes, unless the law allows us to.

Swale Borough Council is the data controller for the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Licencing Fees

Swale Borough Council, in accordance with the provisions of section 70(3)(a)(b) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1976 HEREBY GIVE NOTICE that the fees chargeable under this section for the grant of hackney carriage and private hire vehicle, driver licences and private hire operator licences, together with additional costs appertaining to such licences, shall be varied as from 1st June 2011 to be:-

Fee increase from 1st June 2011

Additional Information