The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a consultation into the PSV O-Licencing regime that aims to speed up the issue of new licences and the approval of variations to existing authorisations.
Current rules make the granting of O-Licences slow, says DfT. It believes that may dissuade some potential operators from entering the sector.
The favoured option to allow a more rapid entry is to permit Traffic Commissioners (TCs) to “consider granting an application once they are satisfied that the applicant meets the prima facie requirement to hold a licence, subject to further investigation or the expiry of the period for objections.”
That would involve making an amendment to the Public Service Vehicle (Operators’ Licences) Regulations 1995 to allow a TC to attach a condition to a licence that limits the time that it is valid.
Such a course of action, the consultation document says, would have the effect of granting an O-Licence on a conditional basis while further checks were carried out.
Before the specified date, the TC could either:
- Remove the condition, effectively granting a full licence
- Vary the condition to a date in the future to allow for the completion of checks
- Allow the time period to lapse, effectively removing the right of the applicant to operate vehicles.
“This option is considered to achieve the objective of enabling applicants to commence operations earlier, while still maintaining a thorough vetting process,” says the consultation. “It also allows a facility to react quickly to prevent an applicant from continuing to operate should a TC have concerns on the full application checks.”
Several alternatives, including doing nothing and the introduction of interim licences, are presented. DfT intends to introduce the same change for variations to existing licences as it does for new authorisations, it says.
