Safety advice for Aylesbury taxi users from council

Passengers are being reminded to check that the car they are getting into is fully licensed.

Aylesbury Vale District Council says that all licensed vehicles are routinely checked to ensure they meet high standards for passenger safety. Licensed drivers are thoroughly vetted by AVDC before they’re allowed to work, while licensed operators are required to record all journeys undertaken by their vehicles.

You can recognise licensed vehicles as follows:

Private Hire Vehicle

• Must be booked through a licensed operator – cannot be hailed.

• Not able to queue at a taxi rank.

• Not required to use a meter.

• Yellow licence plate on the rear and in the front window.

Hackney Carriage Vehicle (Taxi)

• No booking required – can be hailed.

• Able to queue at a taxi rank.

• Must use a meter.

• Black, with a white licence plate on the rear (town centre taxis).

The council is asking that with both these vehicle types, please check there’s an AVDC taxi licence plate at the rear of the vehicle.

This should have a valid expiry date on it, and the registration number should match the vehicle’s registration plate. You should also check that the vehicle has AVDC stickers on the doors and that the driver is wearing an AVDC Photo ID badge. (Please ensure that the photo matches the driver.)

When booking a private hire vehicle, always give your name. That way, when checking if your private hire vehicle has arrived, you can ask them whose name the booking was made under.

Remember, if you take a private hire that hasn’t been booked, you’ll be uninsured for the journey. (It’s a criminal offence for a private hire driver to take you without a prior booking.)