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Make a comment, compliment or complaintThe Council has decided that the Councils policy of quantity control on the number of Hackney Carriage vehicle licences should be maintained. It considers that the Council is best placed to determine local transport needs and that those needs must be determined in the context of the (long standing and consistent) traffic and transport policies in Oxford.
The City Council has maintained quantity control over the numbers of Hackney Carriage licences it issues for well over twenty years. However, it commissions regular surveys, conducted by independent specialist consultants, into whether there is, at the time of the survey, unmet demand for the services of Hackney Carriages in Oxford. Where the survey has found that there is unmet demand, the Council has issued additional licences so that supply equates with demand. In addition, both in connection with the survey and at other times, the Council has reviewed the amount and location of taxi stands. The Council has both full-time and part-time taxi stands, in the City centre and elsewhere.
Quality Control
In terms of quality control, the Council has driven up the quality of Hackney Carriages and Private Hire vehicles, and their drivers, so that the Council believes the quality and safety of the services provided by Hackney Carriages and Private Hire vehicles in Oxford is that of other leading local authorities. All Oxford's Hackney Carriages are wheelchair accessible. The Council is not complacent however, and continually reviews quality control, by enforcement and by other means.
Unmet Demand Review
An independent 'unmet demand' survey is commissioned every 3 years, and it's results are presented to the Full Council to determine whether the number of licensed Hackney Carriages in Oxford should be increased.
For information regarding the outcome of the latest review into the policy of quantity control over the issue of hackney carriage vehicle licenses, see the document below:
Hackney carriage services - unmet demand review (21kB PDF)
