Watford taxi drivers could be forced to accept card

The borough council is seeking people’s views on whether it should be mandatory for all town-licensed Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles to offer a card payment option.

A positive response may result in changes to the council's policy and the inclusion of a mandatory condition on licences that mean all licensed vehicles must have a card reader machine.

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Councillor Ian Stotesbury, who is responsible for transport, said: “For a large percentage of the population card payments have become the norm, and we realise that there is a growing demand to extend this form of payment to all taxis and private hire vehicles.

“The consultation will help us understand how great that demand is, and I urge both the travelling public and licensed trade to get involved.”

Zaheer Ahmed from the Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers Association said his organisation was in support of the move.

He said: “Its something we’ve been pushing for a while, we recommended it to the council and it’s something we’ve brought up in the last meeting.

“It’s for the convenience of the customers as we are cashless community now.”

Taxi passing Watford Jucntion

He estimated that around 60-70% of taxis already accept card, but some drivers still avoid taking card payments, which is "why we want to make it mandatory".

He added that since customers already know rideshare apps will take cashless payments, guaranteeing taxis do too should make them more competitive.

Card payments are already standard in some parts of the country, including London.

Residents and licensed trade are also being asked about driver medical requirements.

To ensure taxi drivers are safe to drive, currently new applicants must take a medical with their GP before a driver licence is issued.

Licensed drivers must then submit satisfactory medicals every five years from the age of 55, then every year from the age of 70.

Under the new proposal medicals would be submitted upon initial application, then every five years from the age of 45, and every year from the age of 65.

Survey availiable at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/watford-taxi-review

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