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Guidance for Taxi and Private Hire passengers

In this section

  1. Guidance for Taxi and Private Hire passengers
  2. Taxi and Private Hire Policy
  3. Apply for a New Driver, Operator or Vehicle Licence
  4. Vehicle changes and transfers
  5. Renewing your licence
  6. Taxi Safeguarding and Equalities Training
  7. Tax Conditionality Check
  8. Enhanced DBS Checks
  9. National Register of Taxi Licence Revocations, Suspensions and Refusals (NR3)
  10. Taxi and Private Hire Licence Fees 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026
  11. Taxi and Private Hire Licence Fees - Notice of Increase in Stroud District Taxi and Private Hire Licence Fees - from 1st April 2025
  12. Taxi Fares
  13. Taxi Newsletters
  14. Safety Tips for Taxi and Private Hire Drivers

How to tell if a Taxi or Private Hire Vehicle is Licensed with Stroud District Council?

Taxi Vehicle:

  • Taxis can be flagged down and can be found at the ranks in Stroud District
  • They can also be pre-booked in advance with the taxi operator
  •  They have a roof light with the word TAXI on
  •  They have a white plate affixed to the rear and a smaller version affixed to the windscreen which carry details of the expiry date, licence number and vehicle registration.

Private Hire Vehicle:

  • Must be pre-booked through a licensed operator
  • They have a yellow plate affixed to the rear and a smaller version affixed to the windscreen which carry details of the expiry date, licence number and vehicle registration.
  • They are not permitted to display a roof sign.

Taxi and Private Hire Drivers:

  • Will be wearing a Stroud District Council badge with their photo, badge number, name and expiry
  • They should display a second driver badge on their dashboard or somewhere at the front of the vehicle
  • All Stroud District Council licensed drivers undergo regular checks to make sure they are suitable to carry members of the public

Benefits of Pre-booking a Taxi/Private Hire Vehicle:

  • Arranged safe travel home without having to wait if there aren’t any taxis on a rank
  • Arrange a safe meeting point to be picked up at
  • Requesting at the time of booking what the fare is likely to be

How to be safe in a Taxi/Private Hire Vehicle:

  • Confirm the booking with the driver when the vehicle arrives
  • Note the licence number down from the plate on the rear of the vehicle or the disc showing inside the front windscreen 
  • Sit in the back behind the driver
  • Let a third party know details of the journey you are taking

Making a Complaint

If you wish to report an issue about a taxi or private hire driver/vehicle, please provide us with as much detail as possible so that we can identify who is involved . 

Useful information to send us would be the following:

  • Your name, address and contact details
  • The plate number or vehicle registration
  • A full description of the issue/incident and any witnesses
  • The date, time and location where the incident happened or your journey details
  • A description of the driver and the drivers badge number (if known)
  • Report as much detail as you can about the vehicle type, colour and any distinguishing features

You can email your complaint to licensing@stroud.gov.uk

If you need to speak to us please call us on 01453 754440

The following taxi/private hire firms have been licensed by Stroud District Council.

The following taxi companies have asked for their contact details to be on our website. Please note this is not a full list of all Taxi and Private Hire businesses licensed by Stroud District Council.   

 Contact Details For Taxi And Private Hire Companies 

The following taxi/private hire firms have wheelchair accessible vehicles licensed by Stroud District Council and have asked for their contact details to be on our website.

Please note this is not a full list of all Taxi and Private Hire businesses with wheelchair accessible vehicles licensed by Stroud District Council.

Contact details for wheelchair accessible vehicles

If you are a taxi or private hire business licensed by Stroud District Council with a wheelchair accessible vehicle and you want your contact details included on this page, please complete the consent form and return it to the Licensing Section either by post or emailing the completed form to licensing@stroud.gov.uk.

SECTION 167 EQUALITY ACT 2010

Sections 165 to 167 of the Equality Act 2010 make it a criminal offence for drivers of designated taxi and specified private hire vehicles to refuse to carry passengers in standard manual wheelchairs, to fail to provide them with appropriate assistance or to charge them extra. 

The requirements of section 165 do not apply to drivers who have a valid medical exemption certificate and are displaying a valid exemption notice. If the driver is exempt then they will have been issued with an exemption notice. This notice must be displayed in the near side window for approaching passengers and wheelchair users to see.

The exemption notice is not transferable and if the vehicle is shared by another user then the exempt driver must ensure the notice is removed before somebody else uses the vehicle.

See Stroud District Council's licensing registers webpage for a list of all licensed vehicles designated as wheelchair accessible 

 

EQUALITY ACT 2010 as amended by the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 - Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

These Acts make it a criminal offence for drivers of designated taxi and private hire vehicles to refuse to carry passengers in standard manual wheelchairs, to fail to provide them with appropriate assistance or to charge them extra.

All drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles have a duty to carry and assist disabled passengers 

This means they must

  • Not refuse to take a person in your the vehicle because of their disability
  • Not make an extra charge for carrying a disabled passenger
  • Not leave the meter running whilst assisting a disabled passenger get in or out of the vehicle.
  • Give such mobility assistance as reasonably required.

If, when they  take a booking, the customer makes them aware  that a passenger is disabled, they have a duty to assist the passenger to identify the vehicle. Here are some examples

  • give audio directions such as phoning the customer when the vehicle has arrived
  • give visual directions such as colour and registration of the vehicle that will be arriving

A private hire operator you cannot to refuse to accept a booking or make any additional charge because the passenger is disabled.

The requirements to give mobility assistance do not apply to drivers who have a valid medical exemption certificate and are displaying a valid exemption notice. If the driver is exempt then they will have been issued with an exemption notice. This notice must be displayed in the near side window for approaching passengers and wheelchair users to see.

Any complaints about drivers or operators not meeting the above obligations should be reported to the Licensing Team who will investigate the matter. You can email us on licensing@stroud.gov.uk or ring on 01453 754440

The Equality Act 2020 puts a duty on taxi and private hire drivers to carry an assistance dog and allow them to remain with their user without making or proposing to make and additional charge for doing so.

Under the Equality Act 2020, an assistance dog is one that assists a person who has a disability. It includes guide and hearing dogs and dogs that assist their owner with other disabilities such as epilepsy, diabetes, physical mobility problems and more. 

Stroud District Council has a zero tolerance for breaches of the Equality Act 2020 in relation to Assistance dogs. All complaints from member of the public will be investigated. If a drivers refuses to take your assistance dog or will not let it travel in the vehicle with you please let us know by emailing the Licensing Team on licensing@stroud.gov.uk or ringing the Team on 01453 754440

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