On Friday afternoon, Peter Gibson, the Member of Parliament for Darlington, introduced the second reading of his Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill in parliament.
The Bill, if it passes, will reform licensing rules for taxis and private hire vehicles, and start an overhaul in the way taxi and PHV licensing happens. This overhaul is vital in an age of rapid innovation in mobility, digitisation, decarbonisation to protect passenger safety.
This will be done by encouraging cooperation between local authorities to prevent dangerous drivers obtaining licences.
Introducing the Bill in the House of Commons, Mr Gibson said that fundamentally:
“this Bill has a very simple purpose – to ensure that only those fit to hold a licence are entrusted to carry the public.
The Taxis and Private Hire (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill will enhance public safety through mandating the sharing of relevant and necessary information. Simply put, better decisions are made when more information is available.”
The Bill, having received cross-party support during its second reading will now enter its committee stage. During this stage, the Bill will receive line-by-line scrutiny by a selection of MPs from across the House.
