Taxi aware: Information for passengers

See also:

Taxi licensing

Public Health & Regulation's taxi licensing unit is responsible for licensing hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and their drivers in Adur and Worthing and the team is committed to providing a professional, safe and high-quality transport service.

Adur & Worthing Councils' main objective when licensing drivers and vehicles is ensuring public safety. Consequently, when you get in an Adur or Worthing licensed vehicle you can be assured that our drivers:

have gone through an exacting testing system to qualify for their licence
have health and criminal record checks
are constantly checked to make sure they continue to meet those standards

Adur and Worthing vehicles have to meet extremely high road safety standards.

You should always plan to get home safe and take an Adur or Worthing taxi you can trust:

make sure that you only ever get into a licensed vehicle and that you also know the difference between a hackney carriage and a private hire vehicle
check that you are paying the right fare
pre-book your taxi where possible, especially when travelling alone
know where the taxi ranks are
ask if the venue you are in can book a taxi and will let you wait inside until it arrives

Both Adur and Worthing hackney carriage and private hire drivers are issued with an ID badge showing their photograph and licence details. This badge must be visible and can be worn or displayed in the vehicle.

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Passenger rights

When you hire a taxi or pre-book a private hire vehicle you have certain rights. These are:

The driver cannot charge more than the fare that is shown on the meter (taxis)
Private hire fare is agreed before the journey commences
The driver must comply with your instructions as to route etc
The driver must take you to your destination by the shortest possible route unless you instruct otherwise
The driver must not allow other passengers to share the vehicle without your agreement
When requested, the driver should assist in loading and unloading luggage and should also carry it to or from a house, station or place where the passengers are taken up or set down

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Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles - know the difference

Hackney carriages can be hired from a rank or flagged down in the street.

Private hire vehicles must be booked through a private hire operator in advance.

Why is it important to know this? If a member of the public is transported in a private hire vehicle that has not been pre-booked then that journey is in breach of the driver's and vehicle's licences and the vehicle's insurance is invalidated.

In Adur:

Hackney carriages:

Adur hackney carriages can be any colour
London-style cab, MPVs and minibus vehicles are wheelchair accessible
they can be flagged down on the street, at an authorised rank, or can be pre-booked
display blue front and rear taxi licence plates
display roof lights with the word 'taxi'; and
charge metered fares that are regulated by the council

Private hire vehicles:

Adur private hire vehicles can be any colour
saloon or minibus vehicles which display orange front and rear private hire licence plates
display roof lights with the operator's telephone number
charge fares set by private hire companies; and
can only be pre-booked through a private hire operator company - they are not insured to carry you unless pre-booked!

In Worthing:

Hackney carriages:

Worthing hackney carriages are white vehicles
London-style cabs, MPVs and minibus vehicles are wheelchair accessible
they can be flagged down on the street, at an authorised rank, or can be pre-booked
display blue front and rear taxi licence plates and doorplates
display roof lights with the word 'taxi'; and
charge metered fares that are regulated by the council

Private hire vehicles (mini cabs):

Worthing private hire vehicles are any colour except white
saloon or minibus vehicles which display front and rear private hire licence plates
display door stickers with the name of the private hire company
display roof lights with the operator's telephone number
charge fares set by private hire companies; and
can only be pre-booked through a private hire operator company - they are not insured to carry you unless pre-booked!

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