PHV BONANZA: Cash strapped TfL rake in over £125,000 in new PHV licensing fees in just ONE WEEK

Transport for London (TfL) licensed over 500 new private hire vehicles (PHV) and 400 new drivers in just one mammoth week of licensing in the capital.

In comparison, just 7 new taxi driver licenses were issued and 32 new black cabs were licensed for the first time.

The whopping week of licensing, which has allowed 539 new PHVs onto London’s already congested roads, comes as operators ramp up recruitment to meet demand.

It costs £124 for a TfL PHV driver's licence, which equates to over £50,000 in just one week for the cash strapped regulators. Vehicle application fees cost £84, plus a ‘Grant of Licence’ fee costing £56, was also collected this week adding up to £75,460.

Ride-hailing firm Uber have actively been pushing their latest recruitment drive over recent months which aims to see as many as 20,000 new drivers join the platform around the UK.

Addison Lee also reported seeing ‘some positive increases’ in driver recruitment

In October 2021 Addison Lee, one of London’s largest ground transport providers, announced they were looking to recruit 1,000 new drivers to meet growing demand for its services in London as the capital recovered from the pandemic.

TfL recently came to an agreement with Government which will mean further base funding of around £1.2bn from Government until March 2024.

The then Transport Commissioner, Andy Byford, said: “It gives TfL ongoing revenue support should passenger numbers not recover at the rate budgeted, which is crucial at this time of ongoing economic uncertainty.

"It helps us avoid large-scale cuts to services, and means that we will commit £3.6bn to capital investment over the period, with around £200m of new capital funding from Government beyond previously budgeted sources like business rates, which were devolved to the Mayor in 2017. The agreement also allows us to increase our asset renewal programme to help ensure our network remains reliable, and means we can restore our Healthy Streets programme, making our roads safer, and more attractive for those walking and cycling.”