TfL’s £200,000 minicab licensing bonanza! Over 1,000 new vehicle licences processed in one week

Transport for London (TfL) licensed over 1,000 new private hire vehicles (PHV) and 500 new drivers in just one mammoth week of licensing in the capital.

In comparison, just 2 new taxi driver licences were issued and 38 new black cabs were licensed for the first time.

The continued boom in minicab licensing, which has allowed 1,004 new PHVs onto London’s already congested roads this week alone, comes as operators ramp up recruitment to meet demand.

It costs £124 for a TfL PHV driver's licence, which equates to over £63,000 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 an astonishing £140,560. Combined, the revenue generated tips over £200,000 in just one week.

Ride-hailing firm Uber continue to actively push their latest recruitment drive 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.

While the numbers of minicab drivers booms, the number of black cab drivers continues to drop on a weekly basis. 33 cabbies left the industry and just 2 drivers joined the ranks meaning numbers fell to just 18,608.

TfL and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan have long stressed their wish to avoid a ‘car-led recovery’ from the pandemic. However, since April 2021 the regulator has licensed over 8,000 extra minicabs to be used on the capital’s road network.

Currently, if an applicant meets the statutory eligibility criteria, TfL are legally obliged to issue a licence. The Mayor has previously called on the Government to provide further legislative powers, so it can cap the total number of PHVs in London.