While taxis might be thin on the ground at peak periods, an in-depth study has concluded no further licences should be issued for Perth and Blairgowrie.
The full findings of the survey will be revealed to members of the council’s licensing committee on Thursday and they will be recommended to stick to the current limit of 70 taxis for Perth and 12 for Blairgowrie.
The report noted most taxis were driven by more than one driver and so were out on the road a great deal of the time.
“For some, an additional driver operates at the weekend,” the report by Vector Transport Consultancy said.
“For others, the vehicles may be driven by two or three drivers on different shifts throughout the week. This level of vehicle utilisation is relatively high.
“The hackney carriage fleet in Perth was generally held to be clean and in good condition, with helpful and well-presented drivers. Members of the public value driver helpfulness and knowledge.
“Whilst there was significant passenger queuing observed on Saturday night in Perth, this was as a result of a large peak in demand.
“When considering the need for additional licences, the availability of hackney carriages, service level perception and public opinion was considered over the week as a whole and not just periods of peak demand.
“On this basis, there is no requirement for the issue of additional hackney carriage licences to address unmet demand as the level of unmet demand is not deemed to be significant.”
The report noted the trade in Blairgowrie was based primarily on operation by owner/drivers, who depend heavily on telephone bookings, rather than hires from the taxi stance.
“Activity at the stance was fairly constant throughout each day surveyed,” said the report.
Through consultation with disabled representatives, it was established the needs of disabled passengers were generally satisfied by the existing licensed fleet, the report said.
A range of initiatives to improve disabled transport in licensed vehicles is being explored.