Taxi and private hire licensing

Licensing Office closed Friday 3 May, morning

The Licensing Office will be closed on the morning of Friday 3 May 2024. It shall reopen in the afternoon of the same day.

Hackney carriages and their drivers are licensed under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Private hire vehicles, drivers and operators are licensed under the 1976 Act, which was adopted by the council on 10 October 1986 with effect from 1 January 1987.

Taxi and Private Hire Policy

The council has adopted a taxi policy. Appendix 2 of that policy details the policy for hackney carriage drivers' licences

Drivers Code of Conduct

In order to promote the image of the hackney carriage and private hire trades, the Council has adopted a Code of Good Conduct, which should be read in conjunction with the other statutory, policy and condition requirements set by the authority.

Please note: The city council licences the taxi trades but does not employ any of the taxi trade. Enquiries about taxi services should be made with the providers directly. Complaints can be made with the service provider as well as with the council.

Types of licence

Hackney carriages, often referred to as taxis, may be hailed, hired from a taxi rank or pre-booked. Licensed vehicles have a roof sign and a distinctive red and white licence plate on the rear. Vehicles must be white in colour. Maximum fares for journeys within the city are regulated by the city council and a taximeter will be used
Hackney carriage drivers may drive a Southampton licensed hackney carriage, and must wear and display their licence badge
Private hire vehicles may only be pre-booked and are identified by signs on the side of vehicle which give details of the licence number and a distinctive white and blue licence plate on the rear. Vehicles may not be white in colour. Fares are not regulated and should be agreed at the time of booking. A taximeter may be used, if one is available
Private hire drivers may drive a Southampton licensed private hire vehicle and must wear and display their licence badge
Private hire operator's licences are required by individuals or firms which take bookings for the hire of private hire vehicles.

More information about:

Making a complaint against a taxi or private hire vehicle

You can make a complaint about a hackney carriage (taxi), private hire vehicle, driver or operator licensed by the city council by downloading a taxi or private hire complaint form.

Remember: If your complaint relates to a road traffic infringement, such as alleged "road rage", your complaint must be made to Hampshire Constabulary in the first instance.

Wheelchair accessibility

Please see the list of the city's licensed hackney carriages and private hire vehicles which are wheelchair accessible - this includes contact details for the proprietor or operator of each vehicle, where this information has been made available.

Remember: This list is provided for information only, and that Southampton City Council cannot guarantee that individual operators, proprietors or drivers will be able or willing to provide any particular taxi or private hire service.

The Department for Transport has announced that it intends to implement Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to require all hackney carriages to be wheelchair accessible with effect from a date to be set. These proposals are still being developed, and have been further delayed from the 2010 target date.

Public Registers

Details of licences granted for hackney carriages, hackney carriage drivers, private hire vehicles, private hire drivers and private hire operators are available through Public Access - there is also an extract of the register of hackney carriage and private hire drivers.

Lost property

If this was in a hackney carriage you should check with the proprietor of the vehicle or the police as the proprietor is required to hand in lost property to the police, any articles not taken by the police are to be retained for a period of 28 days.

If this was in a private hire vehicle, you should check with the company/operator they are run by, as the driver is to hand any items to them. They should then be able to identify lost property using details from your booking, to see which drivers did which jobs.

Accessing roads in a moving traffic area, including bus lanes and bus gates

Certain roads within Southampton City have restricted access to vehicles. If you need access to these roads and are on the list of vehicles that can request an exemption, you can do this using our online form. More information can be found on our access moving traffic area webpage.

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Wheelchair Accessible Taxis	xlsx	126.8 KB