Purpose

Currently the licensing service
has a process for all new applicants to become licensed drivers,
all licensed drivers are hackney carriage / private hire drivers
and can work as a hackney carriage or private hire driver, in
addition all can apply to undertake school transport
jobs.
 
The school transport service
must transport eligible children to school every day. This is a
difficult task to achieve as the Council currently relies solely on
hackney carriage and private hire drivers licenced by the service
to undertake the school transport journeys. The shortage of local
private hire drivers wanting to undertake school transport work,
has resulted in a cost to the Council of providing school transport
increasing by upwards of 30% over the last two to three
years.
 
The licensing service are aware
of 2 / 3 national companies, that specialise in providing school
transport services, these companies are approaching local
authorities asking if they would consider issuing a
“restricted” licence. The purpose of seeking a
restricted licence is to enable them to employ drivers who solely
want undertake work transporting children to and from school;
currently legislation does not differentiate between drivers who
want to undertake normal private hire work and those that want to
undertake contract work for school transport only.
 
Therefore, in line with other
local authorities, and under delegated authority a restricted
licence has been introduced within Kirklees. This will mean drivers
are issued a licence, but it is restricted to carrying out school
contact work but will not be permitted to carry out normal /
everyday hackney carriage or private hire work.
 
It is anticipated that offering
a restricted licence will allow these specialist companies to bid
for school contracts benefitting the school transport team as it
will increase the pool of companies and vehicles able to bid for
contracts and therefore drive down costs, it will also increase the
pool or wheelchair accessible vehicles which are in short supply in
Kirklees.
 
In order to introduce a
restricted licence, amendments were made to the Council’s
existing pre application requirements to streamline the process. In
addition, the conditions attached to licence to reflect the work
that will be undertaken and limit the work that can be undertaken
to school transport contracts.
 

Content

Taxi Licensing pre
application process for new drivers amended to allow for the
issuing of a restricted private hire / hackney carriage drivers
licence for the purposed of carrying out home to school
contracts.