Taxi drivers licensed by a Sussex council will soon have to allow customers to pay by card.
The decision was made during a meeting of Mid Sussex District’s full council and follows an eight-week public consultation on the changes.
It was also agreed to remove the cap on the number of hackney carriages the council licenses in an effort to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis on the roads.
A report to the meeting said: “The council received a significant number of complaints regarding licensed drivers refusing to accept card payments, causing concerns for public safety.
“In addition, concerns have been raised about the lack of availability of wheelchair accessible vehicles which has unduly restricted the ability of disabled residents to access a taxi service.”
On the issue of card payments, concerns had been raised by drivers about not being able to connect to the payment system when in more rural areas; and cash-flow problems when waiting for payments to arrive in their accounts.
But councillors agreed that the authority’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licensing policy needed to be changed.
Since 2002, the council has limited the number of hackney carriages it licenses – as opposed to private hire taxis – and there are currently 154.
Of those, only 31 are suitable for wheelchairs.
Despite the changes, as the drivers are self-employed the shortage may still be an issue, as no one can tell them when and where to work.
Most trade is concentrated around the three main railway stations as this is where most of the work exists.
The policy changes are due to come into effect in May 2026.
