COUNCILLORS have blasted the taxi trade for putting ‘people at risk’ after it was revealed nearly half of vehicles are failing condition checks. 

Members of Oldham’s licensing committee have proposed to enter into dialogue with the taxi industry over plans to reduce the maximum age of vehicles from 12 years to ten. 

It came after the annual licensing report showed that since last April, 1,044 taxis – 41 per cent – had failed a vehicle test at the council’s testing station at Moorhey Street.

Reasons for failure included issues with suspension, rear lights, tyre condition and lack of fire extinguishers.

Cllr Graham Shuttleworth told the panel he was ‘seriously concerned’ about the condition of some of the vehicles on the road.

“When people are getting into them and vehicles have been used to ferry people and suspension is faulty – these people are at risk, let’s make no bones about it,” he said.

“A broken rear lamp isn’t a danger to them, although it’s not appropriate but when suspension on a vehicle is a reason for failure I think we have to look at it quite seriously.”

He added that they had worked with the trade to increase the maximum age of vehicles on the basis that conditions would improve, but in fact there had been a ‘deterioration’.

“We need to stop finger wagging with the trade and get firmer with them because I just think this whole situation is totally unacceptable,” Coun Shuttleworth said.

“We either need to reduce the age of the vehicle, we need to deal with the drivers, or we need to get those vehicles off the road permanently.”

Cllr Chris Gloster added: “If we go back two years ago there was quite a hoohah about this extension to 12 years and we said we’d look at it and if there was no improvement we’d again look at what we were doing previously.

“Well quite clearly it’s evidence that there is no change or it’s got worse so therefore we need to revert back to what we did previously.”

Trading standards and licensing manager John Garforth told the panel that a 59 per cent rate of 2,500 tests was both ‘disappointing and concerning’.

“Some drivers are clearly bringing vehicles unprepared and are using the mechanical test as a way of identifying faults on vehicles,” he said.

“We extended the age of the vehicle that was permitted from 10 years to 12 years because we had reassurances from the trade that there would be improvements in the quality and maintenance of those vehicles.

“And quite rightly as members have indicated, that isn’t happening in a lot of cases and we now stand at 59 per cent pass rate where it has been in the high 60s previously.”

The meeting heard that vehicles in Oldham that are over 10 years old are currently tested three times a year, and generally pass upon re-test.

Mr Garforth added that when a decision is made on the Greater Manchester-wide common licensing policies early next year, the age of vehicles across all boroughs would be fixed at 10 years old. 

However the panel agreed to gather more information about the condition failures and present them to the trade, with a view to trying to reduce the numbers.