Licences - Hackney carriage (taxi)
Your idea of a taxi may be that of the "London Cab" black taxi as seen in most major cities. However, taxis within West Lothian comprise of saloon vehicles (cars) and Multi-people carriers (MPV). Anyone may apply for a taxi operators licence, and subject to avilablility of plates and the mandatory background checks a licence may be granted. The number of taxis within West Lothian is restricted, this restriction is reviewed at regular intervals by the council.
The council has set a specification for vehicles which may be licensed as a taxi. These specifications are subject to review to ensure they continue to provide a standard to meet public expectation regarding safety, comfort and ease of access. The council adopted the policy that all new vehicles authorised as a taxi must be wheelchair accessible.
The specification for vehciles is attached to the application. Additional information may be obtaied from the Licesnsing Services team (numbers shown at the right), or you may e-mail using the e-mail link on this page.
Licence fees:
- Initial grant (one year) £321.00
- Renewal (one year) £291.00
A full list of all licence fees and applications forms are available from the links below:
Downloadable documents
- Application - Change of Vehicle (Taxi) (PDF, 239 Kb)
- Application - Taxi Operator's Licence (PDF, 260 Kb)
- Current Fare Table (for metered cars only) (PDF, 221 Kb)
- Licensing Services - Fees charged for the various licensing schemes (2007 - 2008)- (PDF, 37 Kb)
- Service Standards - Taxi Operator (PDF, 63 Kb)