1. Introduction
1.1 Age-based limits and emissions standards will be introduced for taxis and
private hire vehicles (PHVs) in London from 1 January 2012. This follows
the publication on 14 December 2010 of the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy
(“MAQS”) after public and stakeholder consultation on a draft of the MAQS
in which such standards were proposed. Transport for London (TfL) is
under a statutory duty to exercise its functions with regard to the MAQS,
including these policies, when it licenses taxis and PHVs. The age based
limits and emissions standards themselves are to be implemented by TfL
by changes to the Conditions of Fitness for Taxis and the relevant Private
Hire Vehicles (PHVs) Licence Regulations which will have effect on 1
January 2012.
1.2 The MAQS set out that there would be further consultation on a limited
number of exemptions to the age-based limits and emissions standards.
Between 23 May and 18 July 2011, TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire office (TPH)
consulted on proposed exemptions. Appendix B sets out the age-based
limits and emissions standards and the proposed exemptions as consulted
on (“the exemptions proposals”). The relevant PHV licensing regulations
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and the Conditions of Fitness for Taxis
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give TfL a general discretion to
permit it to exempt vehicles from these requirements if requested by the
applicant and if TfL is satisfied that, having regard to exceptional
circumstances, it is reasonable to do so. The Transport Commissioner will
take a decision about what exemptions should be granted with effect from 1
January 2012 after considering the consultation responses and the
contents of this report. The Director of TPH will then issue a TPH notice
setting out what exemptions will be granted from that date. This Notice
(Notice 09/11) should be referred to for the confirmed exemptions, rather
than those considered in this report.

1.3 This report provides information about the age based limits and related
emissions standards themselves (Section 2). It sets out how the proposed
exemptions to those limits and standards were consulted on (Section 3),
the responses received and TPH’s consideration of the issues raised. For
clarity, the consideration of responses received to the exemptions
consultation which concerned the proposed exemptions is in Section 4
below; while matters raised during the exemptions consultation which
pertained to the age-based limits and emissions standards are considered
in Section 5, with a separate consideration (Section 6) of the equalities
impacts. Appendix G sets out the exemptions (with applicable conditions)
that are recommended for approval.
2. The MAQS and background to the age-based limits
2.1 The age-based limits and related emissions standards are proposals are
set out in Policy 4 of the MAQS which was published by the Mayor of
London on 14 December 2010. They state that:
• From 1 January 2012 a 10 year rolling age limit will be introduced for private
hire vehicles and a 15 year rolling age limit for taxis unless exempted
• From 1 April 2012, unless exempted, all new, or new to licensing, PHVs must,
as a minimum, meet Euro 4 standards for emissions and be no older than 5
years and all new, or new to licensing, taxis must, as a minimum, meet Euro 5
standards for emissions.
2.2 The MAQS is a statutory strategy required by section 362 of the Greater
London Authority Act 1999. It has to say how the Mayor will achieve UK
and EU legal air quality standards in Greater London. This is particularly
significant as regards the levels in Greater London of particulate matter
(chiefly PM10) and oxides of nitrogen and nitrogen dioxide (NO/ NO2) both
of which have historically been in breach of UK and EU legal limits. The
MAQS must also include measures that TfL will take to achieve the
relevant legal limits, which included age limits and related emissions
standards for taxis and PHVs.
Taxi and Private Hire 2011 Page 4 Taxi and Private Hire 2011 Page 5
2.3 A study commissioned by the Mayor
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suggested that around 4,300 deaths
per year in London are partly caused by long-term exposure to PM2.5,
which is widely acknowledged as being the pollutant which has the greatest
effect on human health. Research has also shown that people living in
deprived areas are disproportionately affected by poor air quality, in part
because these areas are often near busy roads, which tend to have higher
levels of pollution caused by road traffic. Two of the pollutants that cause
most concern within London are particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen,
and research from 2008 has shown that taxis were responsible for around
30% of PM10 exhaust emissions and 10% of NOx emissions. Further
information is provided in Section 5 below.
2.4 The issue of compliance with EU limit values and the contribution that taxis
and PHVs could make in the context of the amount of pollutant emissions
from their vehicles formed part of the consultation with the London
Assembly and Functional Bodies in 2009 (5 October to 30 November) on
the Mayor’s proposals for a revised AQS. A draft strategy document (“the
Draft MAQS”) was put out for the public and stakeholder consultation ((28
March to 13 August) which included proposals for age limits and emissions
standards for taxis and PHVs. These proposals differed from the final
version of Policy 4 in that the Public Draft proposed that the 15-year age
limit for taxis be tightened to 10 years from 2015, and no age limit was
specified for PHVs, although it did propose that new PHVs must be Euro 4
from 2012. A report was released by the GLA during the public and
stakeholder consultation providing an integrated impact assessment of
various likely impacts of the policies and proposals contained in the MAQS,
including those proposed in Policy 4 of the Draft MAQS.
3. Consulting on the proposed exemptions
3.1 A Supplementary Information consultation document (copy at Appendix A)
setting out the exemptions proposals was put on the TPH section of TfL’s
website on 23 May: www.tfl.gov.uk/tph. Between 23 May and 18 July 2011
(when the consultation ended) 785 users downloaded the consultation
document. In the same period there were 1,954 visits and 1,922 visitors to
the consultation page
(www.tfl.gov.uk/businessandpartners/taxisandprivatehire/8832.aspx).
3.2 The consultation document was also emailed to TPH’s regular contacts list,
with a notification of the start of the consultation and how to respond to it.
This list is at Appendix E.

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Report on estimation of mortality impacts of particulate air pollution in London, BG Miller. Available
as ‘Health study into the impacts of poor air quality in London’ from: www.london.gov.uk/airquailty/links3.3 A TPH notice (Notice 06/11) was also put on the same section of the
website, announcing the consultation and signposting to the consultation
document and setting out how to respond. In the week preceding the start
of the consultation, TfL issued a press notice:
www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/20009.aspx
3.4 Around the same time, TPH wrote letters to both taxi and PHV owners
whose vehicles would not be relicensed because they would not comply
with the age limits and emissions standards applicable after 1 January
2012. This letter also notified recipients that there would be a consultation
on exemptions to the forthcoming age-based limits and emissions
standards.
3.5 Posters announcing the introduction of the age-based limits and emissions
standards were placed in vehicle inspection centres and could also be
downloaded from the website for operators to display in their offices.
3.6 Responses could be submitted via TPH’s consultation email address
(tph.consultation@tfl.gov.uk) or by writing to the Director of Private Hire,
TfL, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road SE1 8NJ.
3.7 TPH set out five questions for respondents in the consultation document,
although of course respondents were free to comment on any aspect of the
proposals. The questions were:
• Are the proposed exemptions the correct ones?
• Do you feel any additional exemptions are required?
• If so, what are these and why?
• Do you agree with the proposed definition of vehicle age for the purposes of
the age-based limits (normally calculated from date of first registration with the
DVLA)?
• Do you agree with the proposed date of 1 January 2012 as the cut-off point
for ‘grandfather rights’ where vehicles have had approved conversions
Taxi and Private Hire 2011 Page 6 3.8 The proposed exemptions are intended to be limited in number in order not
to adversely affect the overall impact of the new standards, and thereby
undermine their objective of improving air quality in London to comply with
legal limits and improve people’s health. The inclusion of a few, welldefined exemptions where merited is considered mainly an operational
matter. As a result the consultation on the proposed exemptions was a
relatively small-scale exercise, e.g. compared to the public and stakeholder
consultation held for the MAQS, which actually put in place the age-based
limits and emissions standards. Nonetheless, officers from TPH met with
respondents when requested(detailed at Appendix C), in addition to which,
TPH holds regular meetings with representatives from the taxi and PHV
trades, which presented an opportunity for the proposed exemptions to be
discussed directly.
3.9 Three particular issues relating to the equalities impacts of the age-based
limits and emissions standards were raised by respondents:
• That there should be an exemption where an adaptation has been made to a
vehicle to meet the needs of a disabled driver
• That the age-based limits have a disproportionate impact on BAME groups
• That the age-based limits have a disproportionate impact on older drivers
3.10 These are examined in further detail in Section 6 below. As already
indicated, the age-based limits were not the subject of this consultation,
and an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) was prepared for the MAQS in
2010. Nevertheless, TPH has undertaken a further review of the potential
equalities impacts of the age-based limits (see Appendix F).
4. Consideration of Responses Received to the Consultation on Exemptions
Responses received and issues raised
4.1 Forty-five formal responses were made to the consultation. Late responses
were accepted and have been included in this report.
4.2 Officers undertook an analysis of the issues raised, which are summarised
in Table 1 below. As already indicated, several responses concerned the
introduction of the age-based limits themselves rather than the proposed
exemptions (Items 11-14 in the table below. These are considered in
Section 5.

4.3 Before considering these issues in more detail, it is worth noting that the there
were five proposed exemptions: for alternatively-fuelled vehicles; historic and
niche vehicles; Wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs); Specialist Needs
Transport (SNT); and vehicles covered by requirements of the London Low
Emission Zone (LEZ). These are set out in full in Appendix D.
4.4 The proposed exemptions – with one exception – all took the form of additional
time to comply with the age limits i.e. a period is added to the limit extending the
maximum age limit e.g. by 5 years to 20 years. Only historic and niche vehicles
were proposed for a complete exemption from any age limit (i.e. the vehicle
could be licensed indefinitely, irrespective of age). Therefore the term
“exemption” is used here to cover both meanings: an additional period of time
added to the normal maximum age limit, or a complete and indefinite exemption
from that limit.
4.5 Very few of the responses referred to the consultation questions. In general,
responses concentrated on requests for additional exemptions and comments on
the age-based limits, and these are detailed below. The question on the
proposed approach to calculating vehicle age being as from the date of first
registration with the DVLA was, when there was a comment, endorsed.
Consideration of issues raised and recommendations
Suggests introduction of an exemption for disabled drivers
4.6 One respondent stated that there should be an exemption for taxi or PHV drivers
whose disability means that they need to make adaptations to their vehicle or
drive a certain model of vehicle.
Recommendation
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4.7 The exemptions as proposed included an additional 5 years’ compliance period
for PHVs
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which are also Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs). This was
proposed in recognition of the costs involved in either purchasing a speciallyconstructed vehicle or paying for a conversion; but is not an indefinite exemption
because it is important to maintain the amenity of the fleet overall. Although this
exemption was primarily concerned with disabled passengers, it is reasonable to
extend it to disabled drivers of PHVs and taxis where substantial adaptations
have been made or are proposed to the vehicle in order to accommodate the
particular requirements of the driver’s disabilities or a particular type of vehicle
(un-adapted) is so required. TPH already approves a relatively small number of
adaptations for disabled drivers for licensing purposes on a case-by-case basis
each year. To do so would reflect TPH’s duties to make reasonable adaptations
for people with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010.
4.8 It is recommended that an exemption in the form of an additional 5-year period to
the maximum age limit should normally be granted to PHVs and taxis where:
• substantial adaptations have been made or are proposed to the vehicle in
order to accommodate the particular requirements of the driver’s
disabilities; or a particular type of vehicle is so required (albeit unadapted); and
• the extension is personal to the particular disabled driver, so that he or she
must be the sole driver of the PHV in question (the exemption lapses if the
vehicle is driven by anyone else)
4.9 The applicant must submit an appropriate assessment of their medical or
disability need to drive that type of vehicle or with those particular adaptations.
This would normally take the form of a Motability Assessment plus any
supporting medical evidence that is available.
4.10 Given that circumstances in which this particular exemption arises will be
personal to individual drivers, as will any vehicles or adaptations put forward for
the exemption, it is proposed that TPH grants any such exemption on a case-bycase basis as part of the annual licensing or renewal process for vehicles under
its general discretion to exempt vehicles from licensing requirements (see
above).

4.15 Some responses stated that there should be an indefinite exemption for LPG
taxis rather than the 5-year additional period proposed in the consultation.
Respondents cited the cost of conversion and the relatively lower emissions of
LPG-fuelled taxis compared to conventional fuels. A couple of respondents also
stated that TPH (then PCO) had said in 2003 that there would be an LPG
exemption; and that this had been further reiterated during the development of
MAQS.
4.16 As set out above, ‘exemption’ has been used as general term covering both
an additional stated period of time for compliance or a complete and indefinite
exemption or derogation from the age-limit. The meaning of exemption in
particular cases was set out in the Supplementary Information consultation
document of May 2011.
4.17 Previously, TPH has approved individual LPG systems for use in specific taxi
models; each approval could then be fitted into any number of taxis in the model
range to which the specific approval applied. This will, in principle, continue, but
LPG systems
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will need to show that they meet the required emissions standard
(Euro 5), and that they have been fitted by a UKLPG-approved installer in order
to qualify for the additional compliance time where it is available. It was proposed
that from 1 April 2012, all alternatively-fuelled taxis will need to meet the Euro 5
standard in order to be licensed. Additionally, the 15 year maximum age-based
limit for taxis will apply from 1 January 2012, with additional time extensions for
certain taxis on the basis of those recommended in this report. No exemption
was proposed for PHVs after 1 January 2012 (no representations were received
with regard to alternatively-fuelled PHVs).
Recommendation
4.18 The proposed exemption sought to recognise the costs involved in the LPG
conversion of taxis and the relative benefits in terms of reduced air pollutant
emissions, while also introducing a criteria for all vehicles’ emissions which is
based on a recognised and widely-tested standard (Euro Standard).