Bolt warns sweeping out-of-area taxi licence suspension powers could risk sidelining tens of thousands of private hire drivers
- Perry Richardson
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Ride-hailing giant Bolt has warned that proposed new enforcement powers allowing licensing authorities to suspend entire private hire operator licences could risk preventing tens of thousands of drivers from working, as the Government moves forward with reforms to taxi and private hire vehicle regulation in England.
The intervention comes as peers in the House of Lords revisit cross-border hiring rules, part of a broader push to modernise national taxi and PHV standards for the first time in nearly 50 years. Kimberly Hurd, Bolt’s Senior General Manager for the UK, said the company supports reform in principle but cautioned against unintended operational consequences.
Hurd said: “We also have concerns about recent government proposals for licensing officers to be given powers to suspend entire operator licences. An issue with a single vehicle could result in suspension of an entire operator licence, preventing tens of thousands of drivers from working and disrupting journeys for millions of passengers.”
The company’s warning highlights the potential scale of impact across the sector, where large operators rely on extensive networks of self-employed drivers. A suspension at operator level, rather than targeting individual vehicles or drivers, could halt services across multiple regions simultaneously, raising concerns over service continuity and workforce stability.
Ride-hailing firm raises concerns as Lords debate national taxi reforms and cross-border hiring rules
Hurd described the proposals as “a fundamental change to taxi and PHV licensing” and stressed that they “must be developed with industry input”. She urged policymakers to ensure reforms are “evidence-based, proportionate, and workable”, reflecting concerns among operators about regulatory overreach and enforcement consistency.
Alongside enforcement powers, Bolt also addressed the ongoing debate around cross-border hiring, where drivers licensed in one local authority undertake jobs in another.
Hurd said: “Licensing across local authority borders is a complex issue and one that I would encourage policy makers to work more closely with the industry on.”
She added that restricting drivers to localised boundaries could create unintended disruption. “If we restrict drivers to arbitrary geographical boundaries, we risk significant travel disruption, increasing costs and passenger and driver frustration, without actually improving safety,” she said.
Bolt cited internal data to challenge assumptions around safety, stating: “There is a misconception that ‘out-of-area’ drivers are inherently less safe, but our data suggests otherwise. Complaint data shows virtually no difference between drivers licensed locally and those from other areas.”
The company also pointed to operational reliance on cross-border activity, particularly for airport journeys. According to Bolt, 82% of trips to Manchester Airport are completed by drivers operating outside the local licensing area, suggesting that tighter geographic restrictions could significantly affect passenger access.
While supporting national standards and stronger enforcement tools in principle, Bolt said any changes must avoid destabilising the sector. Hurd said: “We welcome national standards and enhanced enforcement powers to support safety across the industry, and we support licensing officers’ ability to intervene when problems are identified.”
However, she warned that poorly calibrated reforms risk undermining both driver livelihoods and passenger services. “Let’s work together to protect public safety and transport access, ensuring drivers can earn a living and passengers can get home safely, wherever they are,” Hurd said.
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