A HOST of measures aimed at improving passenger safety in taxis and private hire vehicles across the Bradford district have been rubber-stamped by councillors.

Reductions in advertising costs and vehicle fees were also approved, as was a tougher English language test for drivers.

Members of Bradford Council's regulatory and appeals committee voted in favour of the changes during a meeting at City Hall yesterday, where some cabbies voiced their concerns over the safety checks required if a vehicle is involved in an accident.

Geoff Binnington, Bradford Council's principal officer for fleet and transport services, said there had been a "significant increase" in the number of drivers failing to inform the Council if their vehicle had been damaged in an accident and subsequently written off.

To be deemed roadworthy again, Council policy dictates the vehicle has to undergo a specific Autoline inspection, the closest provider of which is in Leicester.

Khurram Shehzad, chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, argued minor damage to vehicles should be able to be repaired locally.

"If someone scratches a car or has the window smashed, some insurance companies will write the car off, meaning they need to go to Autoline," he said.

"This process could be done by the Council, the policy needs to be reviewed."

In response, Mr Binnington said it would lead to "too many variations" to manage the system in a consistent manner.

"We are only dealing with vehicles that are written off, but our workshops are not able to provide the same service as Autoline, we are not qualified to inspect those vehicles," he said.

Under the new guidelines, operators will be responsible for the safety and insurance of vehicles and drivers, even if their licences are provided by councils outside the Bradford district.

It was said more than 100 vehicles with outside licences were currently operating within the district - many coming from Rossendale in rural Lancashire - and operators will now need to ensure that drivers have written evidence they have told their insurance companies they are working in Bradford.

Councillor Imran Hussain, deputy leader of Bradford Council, who attended yesterday's meeting, said: "We have a duty to ensure customers who use taxis do so with the utmost safety, and that is always going to be the priority.

"The use of out-of-district vehicles is a situation I am extremely uncomfortable with, but it is legal.

"The drivers of vehicles from Rossendale, or elsewhere, need to organise the necessary checks, it has to be their responsibility, not the operators.

"We have real issues with people going outside the district for a licence due to the excessively high insurance charges in Bradford, which we need to work to reduce."

As part of the new English language test, rather than reading a paragraph from a book, cabbies will be expected to chat about things like the weather and where they took their last customer before a licence is approved.

"The questions would be around knowledge pertinent to the trade, very simple, and no trick questions," said Mr Binnington.

"The overall changes will make it safer for any travelling member of the public, and will also make the situation more profitable for the trade."