Bradford Council, along with Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees, Wakefield and York Councils, are proposing the introduction of new policy which will provide a common legal position in that drivers who have committed serious criminal offences will never be licenced.  The policy also looks to reduce the number of penalty points a driver may have on their licence for motoring convictions.

It is envisaged that this will raise standards and greatly contribute to the safety of the travelling public across West Yorkshire, including those children who travel to school by taxi.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We are working closely with our neighbouring Local Authorities to ensure a common standard for drivers across West Yorkshire.  We believe that the introduction of a new policy will provide greater confidence for those who use hackney carriage (Taxi) and private hire vehicles and will also ensure that our passengers are as safe as possible, which is the number one priority for Bradford Council.

Licenced Operators may contract work across Council boundaries and it is therefore important we all work to the same, or similar standards, when licencing drivers in order to protect the public.”

The online survey runs to midnight this Saturday 15 December and can be found by visiting https://surveys.bradford.gov.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=154169832117

The policy can be found here: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/media/5060/policy.pdf