LOOKING FOR A ROADER: Just 16% of taxi and PHV journeys generates most amount of passenger mileage in England

Taxi and private hire journeys in England have become longer over the past two decades, despite most bookings continuing to cover no more than 10 miles.

Department for Transport data shows that 84% of taxi and PHV trips in 2024 were for distances of up to 10 miles. The remaining 16% of journeys accounted for a much larger share of the mileage covered.

Trips under 10 miles represented only 39% of the total distance travelled by taxi and PHV passengers. Longer journeys therefore generated 61% of all passenger mileage despite accounting for fewer than one in five trips.

The data does not separate taxis from private hire vehicles, meaning it is not possible to establish whether one side of the industry is responsible for more of the longer-distance work. App-based journeys are also included but cannot be identified separately.

The figures form part of a gradual change in passenger travel since 2002. At that time, 91% of taxi and PHV trips were under 10 miles, compared with 84% in 2024.

Shorter journeys also accounted for a much larger share of the distance travelled in 2002. Trips under 10 miles represented 54% of passenger mileage then, compared with 39% in the latest data.

The seven-percentage-point reduction in the short-trip share may appear modest, but the change in mileage is more pronounced. The proportion of total distance covered through shorter journeys has fallen by 15 percentage points.

The DfT said the average number of taxi and PHV trips taken per person has been slowly declining since 2002, while the average length of those journeys has increased.

Get FREE WhatsApp news updates here

In 2024, people in England made an average of nine taxi or PHV journeys each, unchanged from 2023. The average distance rose from 6.2 miles in 2023 to 6.7 miles in 2024, while the average journey duration increased from 22 to 23 minutes.

For drivers and operators, a greater reliance on longer journeys can change how working time and vehicle mileage are managed. Longer bookings can generate higher individual fares, but they may also leave a driver further away from their preferred working area and generate more dead mileage.

The commercial value of a longer trip can depend heavily on whether another passenger can be found for the return journey. If the vehicle comes back empty, the driver carries the fuel, charging and time costs of mileage for which no passenger is paying.

Journey distance also has implications for electric taxis and PHVs. Longer bookings increase the importance of reliable charging access and sufficient working range, particularly for airport, intercity and rural journeys.

Short trips nevertheless remain the core of the market by volume. More than four in every five taxi and PHV journeys cover no more than 10 miles, supporting local travel to workplaces, shops, stations, healthcare and social activities.

The figures show that trip numbers and mileage tell different stories. Local journeys continue to dominate booking volumes, but a relatively small proportion of longer trips now accounts for most of the distance travelled by taxi and PHV passengers.