Black Taxi numbers rapidly dropping in Liverpool since the rise of Uber

Liverpool's black taxi trade has seen a decline in licence numbers since the arrival of ride-hailing app Uber. 

New government figures show a rapid increase of private hire licences that have been issued as drivers flock to join the tech giants from Silicon Valley.  

Figures show that private hire licences now outnumber hackney carriage licences, with many taxi drivers pointing the finger at the lack of regulations put in place to cap the amount of Phv licences that are issued. 

Surrounding areas have also seen a major increase in Phv licences with Sefton being the most notable. Figures have grown from 3,399 in 2017 to 4,286 the same time this year. 

Many taxi drivers say that drivers licensed outside of Liverpool drive into the city centre to pick up work from ride-hailing apps making it even more difficult to earn a living. 

According to a report in the Liverpool Echo, there are now, across Merseyside, three private hire drivers to every one hackney carriage. 

All fingers point towards the Deregulation Act 2015 which has left loop holes allowing “out of town” drivers pick up work in areas that they are not licensed in. 

Taxi drivers in Liverpool claim they are now not only competing with private hire drivers from Liverpool, but also from areas as far afield as Birmingham and Manchester. 

The Mayor of Liverpool is a big advocate of having a specific Liverpool City Region licence that all private hire drivers would have to adhere to. 

Taxi drivers are now deeply concerned that the industry is being eroded by the huge amounts of private hire licences that are being handed out. 

Uber has said that although cross border hiring is not an illegal process, it has put into place a geofencing system in certain locations to help eradicate drivers picking up work in areas they are not licensed.