Plans are in the pipeline to standardise taxis in north and West Cumbria.
Cumberland Council came into being in 2023, but the former taxi licensing zones of Allerdale Borough Council, Carlisle City Council and Copeland Borough Council were kept.
Each zone continues to licence its own taxis and drivers and operates under the byelaws currently in existence for each of the former areas.
This has resulted in differences in rules, tariffs and restricted working areas.
The current system requires drivers and vehicles operating across the whole of Cumberland to obtain two separate licences in each of the three zones.
Now, Cumberland Council is asking people if a single zone should be created for the whole of the district.
If a single taxi licensing zone was created, only two licences would be required – a hackney carriage vehicle licence and a hackney carriage driver’s licence.
A single zone would also allow drivers to have access to all ranks across Cumberland and provide them with the freedom to work wherever preferred.
Cumberland Council’s regulatory committee is carrying out a consultation process, consulting on whether the three existing taxi licensing zones should be retained, or whether they should be replaced with one taxi licensing zone.
The consultation is open until May 22 2025.
Complete the consultation at https://consult.cumberland.gov.uk/policy/review-of-taxi-zones-in-cumberland
