Taxi passengers are in safe hands in west Fife this Christmas.
Fife Council inspections show licensed taxi and private hire vehicles are in excellent working order.
Reports to Fife Council’s Regulation and Licensing Committee revealed that, in the west Fife area, all 107 vehicles which were tested passed first time.
Chairman Bob Young was delighted with the 100% pass rate.
“We’ve been driving it home to taxi operators throughout Fife that we will accept nothing less than excellent customer service and safety levels,” he said.
“The pass rate for November 2013 was 95% so this year’s increase in pass rates shows that operators are working with us and continuing to maintain their vehicles to the high standards expected.”
On behalf of the committee he congratulated the operators on their high standards of maintenance, “which is always important for passenger safety and never more so than in these winter months”.
“Dunfermline taxi operators are leading the way in making taxis as safe as they can be having recently completed a pilot scheme to introduce CCTV to cabs,” he said.
“While the full evaluation is still to be completed, this initiative has proven popular with both drivers and customers helping people feel safe.”
John Aitchison from the West Fife Taxi Owners’ Association added: “This is a welcome acknowledgement of the high standard of taxis and private hires in the west Fife area.
“This has been achieved in the wake of a strict testing policy sensibly applied and should give the public confidence when using taxis and private hires in west Fife not just at Christmas but throughout the year.”
Passengers should always use licensed taxis and private hire cars.
They will have licence plates on the back of the vehicle and in the front windscreen showing the vehicle licence number and drivers will always have their photo ID on display.
Private hire cars, which have white licence plates, can only pick passengers up if they have booked in advance and anyone getting into one which is not booked may not be insured.
Anyone dissatisfied with the vehicle or service can contact companies directly or Fife Council’s licensing team on 03451 551 177 or misc.licensing@fife.gov.uk.