Rutland's oldest taxi firm says changes coming into force this week could see the end of hackney carriages in the county. 

As part of its new taxi licensing policy, the clock starts ticking from Friday (November 22) for hackney carriage owners, and they will have two years to buy vehicles that reach certain specifications to enable wheelchair access for any passenger who needs it. 

But Trevor Kyte, who runs Oakham-based Berridge Taxis which has been in business for 40 years, says the new demands are too expensive for the industry and he thinks many will give up the hackney license and change their fleet to private hire instead. 

Hackney carriages are the only taxis that can be flagged down without a pre-booking and can wait for passengers at a rank. Currently there is not one wheelchair accessible licensed vehicle in Rutland. 

Rutland County Council is the taxi licensing authority and the new policy is that hackney carriages must be of a certain make and model, such as a TX4, LEVC TX, or Mercedes-Benz Vito. 

Vehicles over 15 years of age will not be licensed and those that are 10 years old will undergo six monthly checks. There is a caveat in the new policy that where 'justifiable reasons exist' the council's licensing committee may decide to approve a vehicle which does not conform to the new standards. 

The new policy dictates private hire cars cannot be older than 10 years and will be checked twice a year once when they reach eight years old. 

Trevor said: "We are being totally disadvantaged. We can't afford to replace our vehicles with black cabs, which are £56,000 brand new. We have a fleet of 15 vehicles – we could not afford to do it.   

"Currently it works a treat. But it is all in the melting pot now. 

"At the moment I am leaning towards moving to private hire, but I would like to think that we will see a little bit of common sense before then." 

He said his firm is called infrequently by people who need wheelchair access and when that happens he recommends Voluntary Action Rutland, which can accommodate. 

The new policy was adopted by Rutland County Council in November last year and comes into force on Friday (November 22). 

Rutland's taxi operators received a consultation from the county council before last November, but Trevor says the changes were not made clear and he felt it was more 'broad brush than specific'. 

It was not until taxi owners received an email two weeks ago that they became fully aware of the implications. 

The council is also currently consulting on new licensing fees, which could increase the cost of private hire licence renewals for firms that have between 11 and 30 vehicles from £385 to £668.  

New drivers would have to undertake competency tests which would mean a new driver getting licenced would double in cost to just under £500. 

The new charges, which do include some reductions, would come in from April. 

Trevor says another issue is that Rutland County Council has outsourced its taxi licensing department to Peterborough, which means vehicles have to be checked in Peterborough and drivers have to go there for courses. He said this adds costs and is inconvenient. 

Shaun Bennett, who has run A1 taxis in Uppingham for 12 months, says buying new vehicles will be difficult. 

He has four vehicles in his fleet, two of which are Vauxhall Insignias licensed as hackney carriages. As the Vauxhall insignias are not on the new approved list they will not be able to operate as Hackney carriages from November 2026. 

Shaun said: "In the county there are 15 to 20 hackney carriage-licenced vehicles. That, as of two years time, could be none. We will have to go private hire, which is going to lead to complaints." 

He said the rise in costs of the licences would not affect his business so much, due its size, but would make a difference to bigger companies such as Berridge. 

Trevor has contacted the cabinet member for transport at Rutland County Council, Christine Wise (Uppingham – Lib Dem), who has responded to him. 

Cllr Wise said there had been 82 replies to the consultation carried out last year. 

In an email to Trevor, which she shared, she had said it is vital taxis are regulated appropriately because drivers will encounter vulnerable people on a regular basis. 

In the email she added: "The council has a duty to ensure that the public are protected, that vehicles are safe, accessible and fit for purpose, and that drivers can provide the service that is expected of them." 

The message went on to say the proposed fee increases to taxi firms were under consultation, but are designed to cover the council's costs fully so private businesses were not being subsidised by taxpayers. 

She added: "Whilst the proposed fees are approximately 20% higher than the existing fees, this is deemed to be reasonable and necessary. The current fees have not been reviewed (other than annual inflationary increases) for a number of years and are significantly below what other local authorities currently charge."