Taxi Driver's Code of Conduct - Consultation

Data protection, conduct & behaviour

Data protection

  1. You must ensure that you have the correct safeguards for storing personal data that comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This will include details of hirers (pre-booked Hackney Carriages) and also any dash cam footage (the use of dash cams is considered in relation to vehicle licences).

Conduct and Behaviour

  1. You must be honest and trustworthy at all times.
  2. You must be polite and courteous to your passengers, other road users and the public generally.
  3. You must not use abusive or foul language, spit or smoke in or near the vicinity of your vehicle.
  4. You must not use aggressive language or behaviour or engage in any violent conduct.
  5. You must not carry any form of weapon on your person or in your vehicle at any time and under no circumstances must you ever take the law into your own hands.
  6. If the hirer requests, you must provide a written receipt for the fare paid for the hiring, including the amount of VAT (if applicable) shown separately if so requested.  That receipt must also contain details of the journey including the date, pick up point and destination, vehicle licence number, operators name and driver name or licence number.  You must then sign the receipt.
  7. You must not cause or allow noise emitted by any radio or sound equipment in the vehicle which you are driving to be a source of nuisance or annoyance to any person or persons, whether inside or outside the vehicle.
  8. If a passenger objects, you must not play any radio or sound reproducing instrument or equipment in the vehicle.
  9. You must treat everybody decently, equally and fairly.
  10. You must at all times treat passengers, any potential passenger, members of the public, Police Officers and PCSOs, Council officers and all other public servants (NHS staff, fire fighters, HMRC staff etc) with courtesy and respect. 
  11. You must not discriminate against any person because of their race, colour, creed, age, gender, sexuality, or disability.
  12. You must not use abusive, racist, sexist, or any other offensive language or terms with passengers or other members of the public (remember that not everybody shares your sense of humour, or views).
  13. You must protect passengers and yourself. Be wary about entering any premises, especially domestic premises unless you know the person as an established customer. Even then make sure that you take all steps to minimise any risk to yourself or your reputation.
  14. You must not obtain the telephone numbers of or engage on any form of social media with anybody under the age of 18.
  15. You must not engage in any kind of sexual activity within or in the vicinity of your licensed vehicle.
  16. You must behave in a civil and reasonable manner at all times and must comply with any reasonable request made by the hirer.
  17. You must always pick up your passengers on time unless unavoidably delayed.
  18. You must always assist your passengers with their luggage.  If they do not request this, you must ask whether they need help. This includes picking it up from the point of booking, removing it from your vehicle at the end of the journey and setting it down.
  19. You must maintain a logbook in which to record any incidents that you feel are of concern (including but not limited to concerns about child abuse, abuse of any other person, people trafficking, drug carrying, violence or criminal behaviour) or which may result in a complaint being made about you. Such incidents must be recorded promptly with as much detail as possible (date, time, location, nature of the incident, names of the parties (if known) and identifying features). This logbook must be kept securely in the vehicle and the details must be transferred to a storage medium which is not contained within the vehicle (i.e. a copy of the pages stored on a computer) as soon as possible. When you are driving a private hire vehicle all such incidents must be reported to your operator as soon as possible. If you are driving a Hackney Carriage that has been booked via a booking agent, all such incidents must be reported to that agent as soon as possible. Where you suspect that the incident involves criminal behaviour you must report this to the police and Council immediately.
  20. You must maintain a logbook of any complaints that are made to you as a driver. All complaints must be recorded promptly with as much detail as possible (date, time, location, nature of the complaint, names of the parties (if known) and identifying features). This logbook must be kept securely in the vehicle and the details must be transferred to a storage medium which is not contained within the vehicle (i.e. a copy of the pages stored on a computer) as soon as possible. When you are driving a private hire vehicle all such complaints must be reported to your operator as soon as possible. If you are driving a Hackney Carriage that has been booked via a booking agent, all such complaints must be reported to that agent as soon as possible.