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Private hire operator licences jump 17% as thousands target England’s expanding PHV market
- Perry Richardson
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Private hire operator licence numbers have risen sharply across England as more businesses seek a position in the expanding PHV market.
New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that 19,000 licensed PHV operators were recorded as of 1 April 2026. This was an increase of 2,700, or 17%, compared with the 16,300 licences recorded in 2024.
The rise broadly follows the growth in licensed private hire vehicles. England’s PHV fleet increased by 13% over the same period to approximately 290,000 vehicles, including 196,600 licensed outside London.
An operator licence is required for a business to accept private hire bookings and dispatch vehicles. The growth therefore points to an increase in the number of licences available to businesses arranging PHV journeys, from small local operations to larger app-based platforms.
However, the national total does not necessarily represent 19,000 separate businesses. The DfT figures count operator licences rather than unique licence holders, and an operator trading across several licensing authority areas may hold more than one licence.
Licensing authorities received approximately 3,700 applications for new PHV operator licences during the latest reporting period. That was only slightly higher than the 3,600 applications reported in 2024, despite the 17% rise in licences on issue.
The relatively small change in new applications suggests the higher total cannot be explained by a sudden surge in applications alone. The figures show that less operators left the industry after stabilising post-pandemic.
For established PHV businesses, the increase also points to a more crowded operator market. While a licence does not confirm that an operator is actively trading or indicate the size of its fleet, the figures show that considerably more operator licences were valid in 2026 than two years earlier.
Operator responsibilities include maintaining booking records and ensuring journeys are dispatched to appropriately licensed drivers and vehicles.
The operator figures form part of a wider expansion in private hire licensing. PHV-only driver licences increased by 13% to 296,800, while the number of PHVs outside London rose by 20% between April 2024 and April 2026.
