Strict new actions could be introduced to boost the standards of Cardiff taxis ageing hail-and-ride taxi fleet.

It arrives soon after inspections by Cardiff council licensing officers found a lot of of the city’s 950 hackney carriages had been in “poor condition”.

Over the past six months, 388 warnings had been issued to Cardiff Taxis about the condition of their automobile, such as ruined bodywork, lacking wheel trims and faulty headlights.

It compares to 295 warnings more than the same time period final 12 months.

In Might, a joint operation in between the council and South Wales Police stopped and checked 79 Cardiff Taxis.

Of those, 26% had been provided a verbal warning, 18% acquired a Cease Notice prohibiting use till the fault is fixed, 15% obtained a Pre-Stop Notice and 16% had been referred towards the council’s public safety committee.

Even so, the taxi trade hit back last evening, saying numerous from the problems were only “cosmetic” damage and didn't pose a hazard towards the public.

The rise in issues comes soon after the tests regime for Cardiff Taxis transformed last calendar year so that hackney carriages were no longer tested only at the Cardiff Bus Screening Facility on Sloper Street.

Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association chairman Mathab Khan, who is calling for the optimum age restriction for cabs to become elevated from 10 to 14 years, labelled the suggestions “nonsense”.

Mr Khan said changing normal saloons for purpose-built, London-style black cabs would price drivers “millions of pounds” and could be unaffordable.

Study far more about Cardiff Taxis at Wales Online