What is the difference between a taxi and a private hire vehicle?

Taxi (hackney carriage) vehicles

All taxi (hackney carriage) vehicles in Telford and Wrekin access for at least one wheelchair. They:

• can be hailed from the street
• can operate from taxi ranks, download a list of taxi ranks in Telford and Wrekin (.pdf Size: 24Kb)
• can be pre-booked if you wish
• must have a meter and a fare table (.pdf Size: 95Kb)  displayed
• have a white plate attached to the rear of the vehicle, a tactile plate on the inside of the door and a vehicle badge inside the vehicle which all show the licence number.

Private hire vehicles

Private hire vehicles are family sized vehicles and minibuses which carry up to eight passengers. They:

• cannot be hailed in the street
• cannot use taxi ranks
• must be pre-booked through a licensed operator
• have a yellow door sticker and a yellow plate attached to  the rear of the vehicle displaying the licence number   
• also have the vehicle number replicated on a badge displayed in the windscreen.

If you get into a private hire car without pre-booking (i.e. if you stop it or find it in the street) you may not be covered by insurance.

Private hire drivers are breaking the law to allow you into an unbooked vehicle.