Newcastle taxis to be ‘recognisable’ as part of safety measures

Taxis in Newcastle are set to get their own distinctive colour scheme, as part of new safety measures introduced.

Newcastle City Council’s fleet of almost 600 licensed hackney carriages will be all black with distinguishable white bonnets.  The vehicles will also need to display red Council crests on their front doors and have a taxi sign on the roof that is white at the front and red at the back.

Private hire vehicles must be pre-booked and will be required to display the name of the licensed operator on the rear passenger door, and be marked as private only.

The decision was made to make licensed taxis more recognisable to the public, in order to keep people using them safe.

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Councillor Paula Maines, Newcastle City Council Cabinet member for a Resilient City, said: “Everyone who uses a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle in Newcastle should feel safe doing so and that’s exactly what these new measures set out to achieve.

“The new colour scheme for hackney carriages – chosen to reflect those of Newcastle United – and the signage requirements for private hire vehicles will make it easier for people to identify them.

“This will assure passengers that the vehicle and the driver have passed our stringent vetting processes and they will be collected and transported to their destination safely.

“It will also help protect people from unlicensed taxi drivers who illegally ply for trade, particularly at night when people are out enjoying themselves.

“This builds on the fantastic work we are doing with partners through the Safe Newcastle partnership to keep residents and visitors to our city safe.”

The brand-new safety measure will be rolled out as part of the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, which developed following a 12-week consultation.

To support hackney carriage drivers with the new requirements, they will be given a grant of £100 to go towards the cost of the white vinyl wrap on the bonnet of their vehicle. To qualify for the grant, the car should be licensed with the Council on or before Monday, June 19.