Duties to passengers for taxi and private hire drivers

These duties apply from your first fare. They fall on drivers and, for private hire, on the operators who take bookings. Breaking them is a criminal offence, and your licence conditions can add further requirements. The rules below are for England and Wales, with notes for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The duties to wheelchair users and other disabled passengers also apply in Scotland.

You can be both a driver and an operator. If you are, you owe the duties in each role.

Passengers with assistance dogs

You must carry a disabled passenger's assistance dog and let it stay with the passenger. You cannot refuse the job, and you cannot charge extra for the dog. A booking that you refuse because of a dog is an offence for an operator as well as for the driver.

If you are a driver with a medical reason why you cannot travel with a dog, apply to your council before you rely on it. A council certificate is the only exemption. It works only while the prescribed notice is displayed in the vehicle, so the certificate on its own does not protect you. The exemption is for drivers. Operators have none, so an operator must still accept the booking.

Wheelchair users and other disabled passengers

Your duties depend on whether your vehicle is on the council's published list of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. The council decides what goes on the list. Ask your council whether your vehicle is on it, because that decides which duties apply when a passenger uses a wheelchair.

If your vehicle is on the list, a separate duty replaces the general duty, but only for a passenger who uses a wheelchair. You carry the passenger in the wheelchair. If the passenger transfers to a seat, you carry the wheelchair. You also carry any mobility aids and give the mobility assistance the passenger needs.

If your vehicle is not on the list, you still owe disabled passengers a safe, reasonably comfortable journey and the help they reasonably need. You must also carry any wheelchair or mobility aids. Passengers cannot be charged extra for any of this.

If you drive a private hire vehicle or a pre-booked taxi, take reasonable steps to help a disabled passenger identify and find it. This applies when you were told before the journey started that the passenger needs help to identify or find the vehicle. It does not apply to a taxi hired in the street or at a rank.

As an operator, you cannot turn down a booking because the passenger is disabled. You also cannot turn it down to spare a driver their duty. You have a defence only if it was reasonable not to accept the booking because no suitable vehicle was available. Having no suitable vehicle is not enough on its own. Check your fleet and your drivers before you accept the booking.

A driver can apply to the council for an exemption certificate if a condition makes the mobility assistance duties impossible or unreasonably difficult. The condition can be medical or physical. Show the prescribed notice in the vehicle. The certificate covers the mobility assistance duties only. Your other duties, such as carrying the passenger and the wheelchair, still apply.

Fares and what you can charge

What you can charge depends on the type of vehicle. For a taxi, your council can set a table of fares. Where it has, you charge no more than it allows. The same cap applies when you use a taxi for a private hire booking.

A taxi journey can end outside the council's district. If no fare was agreed before the hiring, charge no more than the meter shows. If the taxi has no meter, charge no more than the council's table of fares.

A private hire vehicle has no council table of fares and needs no meter. You agree the price with the passenger when you take the booking, so state it clearly before the journey starts. If you do fit a meter, the council must test and approve it.

Drivers of either type must not take a longer route than necessary without good reason.

What to do before you carry your first fare

Before you carry your first fare, ask your licensing council about these points:

• whether your vehicle is on its published list of wheelchair-accessible vehicles
• how to apply for a medical exemption certificate if you need one
• where to find the current table of fares for taxis

If you take bookings, brief anyone who answers the phone or runs your booking system, because the operator duties cover every booking you take. For the rules behind your licences, see Taxi and private hire licences and insurance: what you need.