Taxi numbers dip whilst private hire rises in latest government report

A government report showing the latest Taxi and Private Hire statistics for 2018 shows a slight decrease in taxi licensees, whilst minicab maintains its ascent across the country.

All regions in England saw an increase in the total number of driver licences with the exception of London. The largest increase was seen in West Midlands since 2017 which was largely down to the controversial Wolverhampton authority who grew by a whooping 84% since last year.

Since the previous year, PHV-only driver licences increased by 2.8% to 223,300 whilst the number of taxi-only driver licences decreased by 3.4% to 57,900. South West and Yorkshire and the Humber were the only regions to see an increase in the number of taxi driver licences.

The total number of licensed drivers increased in 182 out of 293 licensing authorities in England. The number of taxi-only driver licences increased in 53 areas. The number of PHV licensed drivers increased in 120 areas. The number of dual driver licences increased in 130 areas. There were 361,500 total licences in England, 5,600 more than in 2017. Of the total licences, 62% were PHV- only licences, 16% were taxi-only licences and 22% were dual taxi/PHV licences.

The largest increases from the previous year in total licensed drivers were seen in Norwich, Wolverhampton, Worthing, Oadby and Wigston.

In contrast the biggest decreases were found in Rossendale and Shropshire respectively.