PART 1 - ASSESSMENT OF COSTS/BENEFITS

The Government’s objective, is to ensure that disabled people, including those who use and wish to remain in their wheelchairs can get into and out of, and travel in licensed taxis in safety and reasonable comfort. There will be benefits to disabled people from so doing but there will also be costs to the trade. The Government’s formal consultation on the draft taxi accessibility regulations will be accompanied by a full regulatory appraisal assessing the costs and benefits of proposed regulations. Costs to small businesses will be highlighted. Responses to the proposals in this document will contribute to that exercise.

It is not possible at this informal stage of consultation to set out a complete regulatory appraisal. However, we have set out below our most up to date indicative costs for new vehicles. We invite comments on those, and views on the risk of the regulations pushing taxi operators into switching to private hire. In the meantime, DETR has asked Cranfield University to gather the data necessary to produce the regulatory appraisal for the formal consultation. Cranfield have been asked to undertake the following work:

A comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of compliance with the draft technical specification. This assessment will incorporate, as a minimum:-

• the increase in capital costs per vehicle resulting from compliance with the relevant technical specification, drawing on other relevant data and research. The effect of different timescales of implementation may be considered in assessing this factor;
• assessments of changes in numbers of passengers who are likely to use the accessible vehicle services including collating all known experience and data on the results of introducing accessible taxis from both UK and overseas sources, to inform such assessments;
• the whole life costs of different vehicle types;
• identifying any other cost factors, or benefits which may accrue from the introduction of accessibility regulations, provided these are both clearly marked and properly costed.

Cranfield will also compile data, both from existing source material (both from UK and overseas sources) and in discussion with industry, so as to present reports on the financial impact. These reports will comprise:

• Overall economic impact of the costs/benefits of compliance for the UK as a whole;
• The financial effect on the UK taxi operating industry as a whole and the impact on individual operators. This will be expected to consider operators’ return on investment as a prime indicator;
• The financial effect on the UK vehicle manufacturing industry as a whole, including manufacturers of purpose built taxis and vehicle converters. This will again be expected to consider return on investment, and also forecast any effect on import penetration resulting from particular timescales and manufacturing constraints;
• The financial effect on small businesses;
• An assessment of the effect on the second hand vehicle market.

The study will also take account of the possibility of exemptions being granted (under Section 35 of the Act). It will also consider the existing accessibility requirements of licensing authorities in assessing the impact of national requirements.

The study will also take account of the different operating conditions prevailing over the country. The particular circumstances involved in rural transport provision will be explicitly considered, along with any economic factors which could be considered likely to jeopardise or enhance existing taxi provision.

Cranfield will be interviewing vehicle manufacturers, taxi operators and licensing officers and will also approach individual taxi drivers via their National Associations to obtain the information for the effect on small businesses.

Indicative costs

Until the full compliance cost assessment is produced the following information will provide a broad picture of the current licensed taxi parc and an indication of the current costs of existing accessible taxis.

In considering the costs of meeting the requirements outlined in this paper, respondents should consider that compliance with the regulations may not require taxi drivers to purchase a brand new vehicle outright. The proposals also allow for second-hand vehicles. There is also a number of ways of acquiring new vehicles including leasing, hire purchase and personal contract plans (PCPs) (see questionnaire E1 and E2).

As at 31 December 1994

England and Wales (including London)

50,987 licensed taxis

of which:

27,738 were in areas, including London, operating mandatory orders. Those vehicles would be required in any event to be wheelchair accessible by the proposed implementation date for DDA regulations of 2002.

Scotland

8,000 (approx.) licensed taxis

of which:

2,500 (approx.) were of the purpose built variety of which some 2,300 were based in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. All taxis operating in Edinburgh (excluding the Airport) were required to be wheelchair accessible from 1 January 1997, thus pre-dating the proposed implementation date for the DDA regulations.

Northern Ireland

1,350 licensed taxis

of which:

170 are in Belfast which had introduced a requirement for all taxis to be wheelchair accessible in the year 2000; two years ahead of the proposed implementation date for the DDA regulations.

New accessible taxi purchase prices as at 31 January 1996

These costs are based on existing wheelchair accessibility packages.

Conversion of second-hand purpose built taxis

There is no comparative data on the conversion costs for second-hand MPVs or van based vehicles, but for illustrative purposes it might be useful to consider that the cost of converting an existing purpose-built taxi to the existing wheelchair accessible package is between £1,500 and £2,500.