Taxi drivers in Reading are due to get some relief from rules controlling emissions restrictions and the age of the cars and vehicles they use.
Black cabs, formerly known as hackney carriages and private hire taxis are both regulated by Reading Borough Council.
Earlier this year, changes came into effect that dictate all new licensed vehicles must be ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV) and less than five years old.
Also, from October 2028, all new vehicles must have a Euro 6 emissions rating.
But drivers have asked for some clemency on these rules, arguing more time for transition is needed.
In the summer, the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke with taxi drivers who objected to the tougher rules.
Azad Asghar claimed a Toyota Prius hybrid would even fall foul of the restrictions.
While Prius cars from generation four onwards (2016 to 2022) have a Euro 6 emissions rating which is compliant, the third generation from 2009 to 2016 are Euro 5 and are therefore not compliant.
He said: “The emissions limit they have set is way too low.
“I mean, not even a normal Prius would be eligible for a license.
“We can't go fully electric because the platform is not there for both public and private charging points.
“Purely electric minibuses can only do 120 miles. It would just get me to Gatwick and back, that's it.
“If I have back-to-back bookings, I have to charge up and wait half an hour to 40 minutes to charge, then I'll lose out on my next job, so that's exactly what the problem is.”
Mr Asghar is a private hire driver, who can only take passengers who book in advance.
Only hackney carriages can be hailed.
Nazneen Ali, a home-to-school transport driver, stated that drivers like her must now follow the same licensing conditions as private hire operators, despite not working the same hours and making the same earnings, arguing the rules are inappropriate for them.
She said: “We've got the issues of licensing not accepting Euro 6 and the fact that we need electric vehicles.
“We don't work like the private hires. We don't work 24 hours round the clock.
“We work entirely differently to the way private hire works.
“A lot of our workforce are senior, retired or semi-retired workers and parents.
You can't ask them to shift back into full-time work.”
Councillors have recently agreed to make changes to the Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing Policy to enable a longer transition period.
A report into the proposed changes by Clyde Masson, the council's principal licensing enforcement officer, states: “Discussion with the trade representatives and operators highlighted that the limited availability of larger vehicles, namely seven-seat multi-person vehicles and wheelchair accessible vehicles that meet the criteria, was causing problems for private hire operators, especially those that provide home-to-school transport, which in some cases use specialist transportation.
“Officers conducted extensive research of vehicles available on the market that meet the new emissions and age policy.
“The outcome of this research showed that there is sufficient availability and affordability of vehicles suitable for transporting between four and six passengers.
“Officers recognise that the availability of appropriate vehicles to transport seven passengers and wheelchair accessible vehicles is not as abundant and is creating supply difficulties and potential economic disadvantage.”
He therefore proposed pausing the vehicle emissions policy to allow currently licensed vehicles to remain on the fleet, with any new vehicles being a
minimum of Euro 5b.
Councillors approved the changes to the council's taxi licensing policies for a consultation, which will take place over six weeks.
The decision was made at the council's licensing applications committee meeting on Thursday, November 5.
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