Rethink on private hire 'pre-booked' signs

CITY chiefs are set to adopt new guidance on which private hire drivers can be exempted from having to display "pre-booked hires only" signs.

Since May 2009. all private hire cars have had to display the signs saying they cannot pick up people from the street without having been booked. But a number of companies have demanded exemptions because the signs might put off their clients, such as those travelling to weddings or funerals.

In the new guidance, council chiefs say that in considering an exemption, councillors on the regulatory committee need to judge "whether the vehicle is of a special type, design and condition normally associated with wedding or funeral use".

They also state that requests for exemptions because they are used for "executive hire" should "not generally be allowed".