Depending on whether you’re a private hire or a public hire taxi drivers there are 2 types of vehicles currently licensed by Aberdeen City Council.
- Public Hire Taxis
- Private Hire Cars (PHCs) also known as mini cabs
Taxis
Currently in Aberdeen there are about 970 public hire taxi vehicles that carry a white roof sign and also each taxi vehicle is fitted with a plate licence on the rear of the cab. The plates come in two different colours, yellow for City zoned taxis and green for airport zoned cabs.
Public hire taxis are normally found at designated taxi ranks or can also be hailed in the street. Also taxis can also be pre-booked similar to private hire vehicles. booked. Public hire drivers must have the correct taxi insurance cover in place to use their vehicles for hire and reward purposes.
Private Hire Vehicles
The private hire cars do not carry a roof sign but do have a red plate licence attached to the rear of the vehicle and a smaller red identification plate licence at the front. Around 220 private hire licensed plated vehicles exist in Aberdeen.
All private hire cars must be pre-booked by passengers and cannot be hailed on the street or collect passengers from taxi ranks. If a private hire vehicle picks up a customer that has hailed them on a public road then the driver’s private hire insurance could be invalid.
Fares
Both the public hire taxi and private hire vehicles have a taxi meter fitted that has been calibrated with fare tariffs set by the licensing committee.
Drivers
All drivers must hold the appropriate driver’s licenses for both taxis and private hire cars and to ensure the correct taxi insurance is also in place.