We all want to get home safely at the end of a great night out, and make sure our friends and family do too. That’s why the licensing team at Preston City Council take their roles very seriously, offering the public advice as well as carrying out vehicle checks with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which I personally witnessed recently.

Taxi drivers – both Hackney carriage and private hire – are invited to the testing centre at Argyll Road for inspection. A thorough check is made of each vehicle – on top of a regular MOT that they must have too. It was interesting to see the guys from DVSA interact with the taxi drivers – obviously polite, but definitely firm. The roadworthiness of the vehicles is paramount and this comes across in their questioning and when asking each driver to carry out certain tasks. If they find problems, vehicles are immediately sent for repair with the work then checked before drivers are allowed back on the road, picking up passengers.

Seeing up close the role of the dedicated licensing team working alongside – and with – drivers helps you realise what a priority public safety is in Preston. We all want to see safe, clean taxis in Preston. It was great for me to see the checks from a driver’s experience and, even more so, understanding from a lay person’s perspective that the vehicles are mechanically sound. We all have a responsibility for our own actions, but this work also helps. We’re here to ensure people are safe when using taxis in Preston.

Councillor Peter Moss, Cabinet member for planning and regulation
Taxi public safety. We have a duty to enforce relevant legislation, byelaws and conditions of licence in order to maintain high standards of service.
Visit our taxi public safety page on https://www.preston.gov.uk/businesses/licensing/taxi-licences/taxi-policy-and-practice/taxi-enforcement-activities/ to find more information on staying safe when using taxis in Preston.