Portsmouth City Council set to U-turn on plans to make cab drivers display council livery at all times

The council's licensing committee rejected a widespread overhaul of its policies in December in response to their concerns, instead asking for 'stronger penalties' for breaches.

And next week the committee will be asked to approve a new set of rules which still allow the use of magnetic livery but also could lead to permission being revoked for drivers who do not display it.

Taxi drivers operating in Portsmouth are required to display the city council livery but in 2019 rules were relaxed to allow drivers who work for multiple companies to use a removable version.

However, council figures showed three per cent of all Portsmouth-licensed vehicles had been recorded without it visible, prompting concerns for passengers.

‘The use of an approved vehicle livery to promote and to identify a locally-licensed vehicle goes to the heart of promoting public safety and reassurance, particularly to those vulnerable passengers awaiting a pick-up at night,' the December report said.

The industry said the move was ‘a blatant restraint of trade’ and that the data was ‘limited’.

‘Yes, there have been offenders,’ Uber representative Peter Sutherland said. ‘Yes, some of these offenders are repeat offenders, of that there is no question - but there are over 1,000 licensed vehicles in Portsmouth.

‘I have suggested to enforcement officers on more than one occasion that there are different punishments that can be given to offenders, especially repeat offenders, to eradicate the problems swiftly and cover all the concerns.'

The council has now revised its proposals which the committee will consider on Monday.

‘This particular aspect of the consultation...has now been removed,’ a new report says. ‘It is proposed that the licensing service will now instead use the existing penalty points system and other delegated powers to enforce the requirement...under a stepped approach.’

Under this plan drivers who breach the rule will receive two warnings before being required to use a permanent version of the livery on their vehicle with any further breach punished through a suspension of their licence and its potential revocation.

Other new restrictions, including the requirement for drivers to use newer vehicles, have been kept under the latest version of the draft standards document.