Private hire union backs DfT integrated transport plan but warns PHV drivers must not be left out
- Perry Richardson
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) has welcomed the Department for Transport’s new Better Connected strategy after it formally placed taxis and private hire vehicles inside the Government’s long-term transport planning for England.
The strategy says taxis and PHVs should support first and last mile journeys and provide services outside peak hours when other public transport is less available, including support for the night-time economy.
For the private hire sector, that is one of the more notable passages in a document largely centred on integration, local transport planning and technology. The strategy also says an inclusive network must include taxis and private hire vehicles because they fill critical gaps in the transport system, particularly for people needing tailored transport to reach jobs and essential services. It adds that ministers are considering whether all local transport authorities should take responsibility for taxi and PHV licensing so the sector can be fully considered in Local Transport Plans.
ADCU said that recognition was welcome, but warned that drivers and their representatives still risk being treated as an afterthought while new regulatory structures are developed. Cristina-Georgiana Ioanitescu, the union’s general secretary, said: “For too long, private hire drivers, who are the backbone of our transport network, have been sidelined in negotiations, leading to regulatory burdens that disproportionately affect them.”
The union said the government’s Better Connected strategy recognises the role of private hire vehicles, but argued driver rights, safety and the impact of automation remain unresolved.
The DfT strategy also sets out tighter expectations around passenger protection. It says the Government will introduce national minimum standards in licensing so that safety and accessibility standards are applied across England, building on existing enhanced criminal record and barred list checks for licensed drivers. That aligns with one of ADCU’s stated aims, but the union said tougher standards must not come without parallel action on pay, employment status and working conditions.
Ioanitescu said: “While the overall direction is promising, critical gaps remain. The focus on passenger affordability is commendable, but a sustainable transport system cannot rely on exploited labour.” She added that many drivers still face what the union describes as bogus self-employment, despite the 2021 Supreme Court ruling on Uber drivers’ worker status, and said the government had failed to hold the company to account. ADCU also raised concerns over algorithmic management, saying the strategy’s push on data and AI sits alongside industry practices such as opaque surge pricing and so-called robo-firing.
The Government document itself puts technology much closer to the centre of future transport planning. In urban areas it says self-driving vehicles should complement the existing integrated transport network, while in rural areas it says they should in future complement the existing taxi, private hire vehicle and bus fleet. The strategy also says new regulations will allow trials of automated passenger services without a safety driver and notes that government is investing £150 million through its Connected and Automated Mobility Pathfinder programme.
That section has become a flashpoint for ADCU, which recently declared what it called a state of emergency for London’s licensed drivers after Waymo’s move into the capital. The union said Better Connected talks about integrating self-driving vehicles but does not set out how today’s PHV drivers will be protected through that transition. Ioanitescu said: “We are facing an unprecedented jobs crisis and demand a job protection guarantee and a plan for a ‘just transition’ for PHV drivers.”
The wider strategy was published in April 2026 as the DfT’s vision for domestic transport in England and says it was built through engagement with more than 6,000 members of the public, more than 1,000 organisations and over 600 stakeholders. It is backed by what the department describes as £30 billion of transport investment and is intended to shape future national policy, local delivery and private sector investment decisions.
For the taxi and PHV trade, the document offers long-sought recognition that the sector is part of mainstream transport policy rather than a side issue. But ADCU’s response points to the harder political question that follows. If PHV drivers are expected to help deliver safer, better connected and more flexible journeys, unions will argue they must also have a formal place in decisions on licensing reform, safety rules, data use and automation.
Ioanitescu said: “We are the experts in the ‘last mile,’ and it is time our voices are heard at the planning table, not just at the end of the process. We urge you to engage with us.”
