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Private hire and hackney carriage licences

Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles play an increasingly important part in the provision of an integrated public transport system within Walsall. Their role will become more important as new policies develop in the future.

It is the council’s vision and opinion that best practice outlining a common standard should apply both in the vehicles that are licensed and to all the drivers who operate them, no matter the frequency or level of participation.

The first contact many individuals have while visiting Walsall is a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle. The council’s aim is that this should be a pleasant experience as it is considered an integral and important part of any visit to Walsall.

The council advocates that best practice should be adopted as a norm and that hackney carriage and private hire vehicles should be presented in a professional manner.

The licensing service

By law licenses must be obtained before hackney carriages or private hire vehicles can be used for business. These are issued by the Taxi Licensing Office, who have three main aims:

  1. to provide our customers with the assistance and guidance they require to deliver an excellent service to the public.
  2. to improve the quality of the private hire and hackney carriage service.
  3. to protect public safety

This aims form the basis upon which we make our decisions when licensing the vehicle detailed below.

Hackney carriage

Hackney carriage is often referred to as a taxi and can be hired by going to a taxi rank or they can be waived down in public streets within the area they are licensed to operate.   They do not need to be pre-booked.

The licenses issued by Walsall Council are:

When licensed, the vehicle will display a license plates and the driver will have an identity badge (including photograph).  

Private hire

Private hire is run by an operator who takes bookings from customers and passes them on to licensed drivers and vehicles.  They must always be prebooked and should never be waived down in the street.

The licenses issued by Walsall Council are:

When licensed, the vehicle will display license plates and the driver will have an identity badge (including photograph).

Contact us

Licensing Unit
Challenge Building
Hatherton Street
Walsall
West Midlands
WS1 1YG

Telephone 01922 653581
Fax 01922 630697
Text Walsall Taxi and message to 60003
Email licensing@walsall.gov.uk

or use our online contact form for general enquiries, request a service, compliments and complaints.

Opening times

The licensing office is open during the following hours:

Monday to Thursday: 8:45am - 5:15pm
Friday: 8:45am - 4:45pm