Council garage tests

Cleaning and hygiene

Our teams continue to be stringent around hygiene and cleaning regimes including thorough, frequent handwashing.

We have also increased our cleaning on our site, particularly for those areas touched regularly by team members and customers.

Our staff change gloves and wash hands between every vehicle job.

Contact

We are being extra vigilant on personal space and exercising social distancing as much as possible.

Please do not attend if either yourself or anyone in your household is symptomatic or you are in self-isolation or quarantine – please call to re-arrange your appointment (you will not be charged for non-attendance in these circumstances). Where possible contact us as soon as you are aware that you will be unable to attend.

If you do not contact us at least 24 hours in advance to cancel or rearrange a booking, subject to the above, then you will be required to pay the failure to attend fee of £104. If you fail to bring the correct documents and your vehicle is not clean or presented in the manner requested the garage reserve the right to refuse to carry out the test but you will still be charged.

Once you have dropped your vehicle off onsite you must leave the Depot for the duration of the test. Please return at the end of your allotted appointment time to collect your vehicle. Doing so will reduce the risk to both staff and customers.

Our process and controls

Pre-test (booking)

• To book your taxi/private hire test please call our Customer Services team

• All bookings should be taken via customer services on the above telephone number

• Please arrive at site on your own (we want to minimise to 1 person to each vehicle) at the pre-booked time

• Vehicles needs to be clean, sanitised and free from rubbish (food and drink cartons, face coverings, gloves etc. Everything needs to be removed from the vehicle prior to arrival). You MUST present your first aid kit and fire extinguisher on the front passenger seat when dropping your vehicle off

• Testers reserve the right to refuse to test your vehicle if upon an initial visual check they are not happy due to the vehicle not being in a good state of repair and/or it does not appear to have be clean, sanitised and free from rubbish. If this occurs you will be asked to leave the site and rebook another test, which may incur another fee

• Please secure all seats belts prior to the test (plug all of your seatbelts in. This reduces the number of points of contact for our testers)

• During the test the tester will be looking in the boot for your spare tyre/fixing kit. Please ensure that the boot is empty with easy access for the tester. If the tester cannot access the spare tyre/fixing kit that will result in the vehicle automatically failing the test

• You must pre-pay when booking your test appointment

• There will be no charge to inspect a vehicle that has been repaired following an accident. However if the tester feels that the vehicle is unsafe to test they reserve the right to refuse to

Please note: to minimise risk to everyone extra care is required on arrival

To minimise your time in our centre then please follow the steps below:

• on arrival, use the buzzer at the barrier to notify a member of staff in reception who will direct you to the appropriate parking spots, and please remain with your vehicle

• the tester will receive a call from reception, and will meet you at the vehicle

• the tester will be wearing fresh latex gloves and will put a fresh seat cover onto the driver’s seat

• the keys will be handed over and sanitised

• you will be asked to leave site

• please do not return until the end of your allotted booked test time. For private hire vehicles that is at least 1 hour after you were booked in. For hackney carriages that is at least 1 hour and 15 minutes after you were booked in

• a copy of the pass/fail sheet will be left in the vehicle

• your keys will be wiped over, placed in a plastic bag and left in the Depot reception for you to collect. The member of staff will be able to direct you how to exit the site safely

After the test is complete

• If your vehicle has passed the test. You will be able to attach the pass sheet to your online vehicle application, which must be made within 2 months of your vehicle having passed the test

• If your vehicle has failed the test then you will be required to rectify the issues identified. If the vehicle fails and is deemed unsafe, unroadworthy, dangerous or is considered not to meet Covid safety requirements then the licence may be suspended and the plates removed

• Once the failure items have been rectified you may book your vehicle in for a retest

• You must have your retest within 28 days of the original failed test

• You are permitted one retest only. If you fail a second retest then you will be unable to make an application

Thanks for your understanding during these challenging times.