West Suffolk Council survey in relation to Taxi Services.

Link to Survey www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/X1PPQK/

The taxi trade in West Suffolk plays a significant role in supporting our local economy, including leisure, tourism and education.

In July 2022 West Suffolk Council, which is responsible for the licensing and regulation of the trade, removed the requirement for all new and replacement to be wheelchair accessible vehicles. At the time this decision was made the council committed to carrying out an unmet demand survey to assess the impact of this change.

The purpose of this survey is to establish whether people, including passengers with mobility needs or disabilities, can get a taxi when they need it. This includes looking at where the ranks are to establish if they are still in the right locations, the number of bays on those ranks as well as the vehicles themselves to ensure for instance that people who use wheelchairs can access a taxi when they need to.

The survey seeks the feedback from a range of people including taxi passengers, people with mobility needs or disabilities, businesses as well as the wider public to establish if there are people who are not using taxis due to difficulties of access.

The survey is available online at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/X1PPQK/ and will run until 11 August 2024. Anyone unable to take part online, can contact licensing@westsuffolk.gov.uk or phone 01284 758050 to request a paper copy. We have also written to taxi drivers and operators to seek their views through a similar survey.

The outcome of these surveys will then be discussed with the trade alongside evidence, data, benchmarking and national guidance as we look to engage and work with them around improvements and our strategic priorities for sustainable growth, thriving communities and environmental resilience.

Through this we will be continuing the work of a policy review that began in 2022 and working toward our long term vision for a taxi fleet that is thriving with drivers able to earn a decent living, that is safe both in terms of the vehicles on the road and the drivers behind the wheel, that is accessible to people of all needs right across our district, and has a reduced impact in terms of carbon emissions as we work toward net zero.