THE FORGOTTEN RURAL DRIVER: Why taxi services outside cities are struggling – and who is suffering most
- Perry Richardson
- 6 minutes ago
- 5 min read
For people living outside Britain’s big cities, finding a taxi can be a journey in itself. In many rural towns and villages, the once-ubiquitous local cab is becoming an increasing rarity.
Since the pandemic there have been concerns that the countryside taxi trade is at breaking point, hit by rising costs, an aging workforce, and dwindling driver numbers. The strain on these services is increasingly leaving vulnerable residents with few options to travel when public transport or a private car aren’t available. This growing gap in transport provision is prompting urgent questions about regulation, support, and the future of rural mobility.
Thin Margins and Mounting Costs
Operating a taxi in a sparsely populated area has always been a delicate balancing act. Drivers must cover large distances between fares, meaning more time and fuel spent for each paying passenger. With fuel and energy prices rising due to inflation or global conflicts during several recent periods, the cost of simply keeping the engine running has shot up. Fuel, maintenance, and insurance have created a challenging environment for the taxi driver. Insurance premiums have surged, and the result is thin profit margins even for long-established rural cab firms.
Unlike urban drivers who can count on a steady stream of short trips, rural taxi operators often find that one lengthy airport run or hospital trip can take up a good part of their day. Dead mileage (the distance travelled with no passenger) piles on, especially when drivers return from remote drop- offs. Every extra mile means more petrol and wear on the vehicle, further eating into earnings.
According to 2024 national taxi survey data, the most rural regions see drivers racking up the highest annual mileage, with correspondingly higher maintenance bills. Many rural cabbies are effectively working harder and driving further for less reward.
A Shortage of New Drivers
The rural taxi sector is also contending with a manpower crisis. Fewer people are entering the trade, and a large share of existing drivers are nearing retirement age. Nationally, the taxi workforce was already greying even before the pandemic, and in the countryside, many drivers have been behind the wheel for decades. When these veterans hang up their keys, there often isn’t a queue of younger drivers eager to replace them.
Part of the challenge is that taxi driving no longer appeals to younger generations in the way it once did. The long, irregular hours and the costs of entry act as deterrents. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the exodus: as demand collapsed during lockdowns, thousands of drivers left the trade for other jobs and never returned. The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) estimates that around 160,000 cab drivers left during the 2020–21 lockdown period. Even though travel has rebounded, many former drivers moved on to delivery work or retired early.
Official figures highlight the scale of the shortage. The Department for Transport recorded 14,000 fewer licensed taxi (hackney carriage) drivers in England in 2023 compared to 2019. One analysis put the driver shortfall as high as 40% in some areas.
The immediate consequence has been longer waits and unmet calls. In one city (Hull), about 20% of people seeking a taxi have simply been told none was available, and some who did get through were quoted waits of up to four hours. National surveys echo that story: 72% of regular cab users say they have struggled to book a ride in recent times, with over a quarter of those stranded when trying to reach medical appointments. For drivers still on the road, a shortage of colleagues can mean more business on paper in the short-term, but an unreliable service in the long-term is not going to retain customers. And for passengers, especially in rural districts, the concept of a taxi “on demand” is fast becoming a memory.
Lifelines Lost for Rural Communities
If a taxi is a luxury for some city dwellers, it remains a lifeline in rural areas without public transport. Rural Britain’s buses have been thinned out by years of cuts, and many villages have no daily bus at all. Those without their own car, including many elderly or disabled residents, rely on taxis for essential trips like shopping, doctor’s visits or simply staying socially connected. “Taxis form an essential part of a multi-modal transport ecosystem,” the RMT union noted in a briefing, providing crucial services in “rural communities and for disabled passengers”.
In practice, that can mean a lone cab driver covering an entire patch of countryside, doing everything from school runs to hospital drop-offs.
When that last driver in the village calls it quits, the impact is profound. Charities warn that lack of transport can leave people effectively housebound. A survey by the WRVS found that one in ten people over 75 started going out less often due to cuts in local transport. Now, with rural taxi availability shrinking too, the risk of isolation grows.
In rural economies, taxis and private hire cars fill in the gaps where other transport is absent. Fewer drivers on the road means those gaps widen. It could be the isolated farm on the moors waiting hours for a pre-booked taxi that never comes, or a group of shift workers in a market town unable to get home at night. When the fabric of a reliable taxi service frays, the effects are felt most acutely by those with the fewest alternatives: older residents, people with disabilities, and low-income families without cars.
Councils, Red Tape and Patchwork Policies
The rural taxi trade is governed by a patchwork of local council policies. There are around 300 licensing authorities across the UK, each with its own rules on driver tests, vehicle standards, and fees. This variation can make or break the taxi supply in a given area. Some councils have been praised by the trade for keeping costs reasonable and requirements flexible. Others, however, have imposed what operators see as onerous hurdles. For instance, a would-be taxi driver in one region might need to pass a detailed geography test and pay hundreds of pounds in upfront costs, taking months to get a licence. Yet a few miles away, a neighbouring authority might have fewer hoops to jump through.
This uneven landscape leads to anomalies. In certain rural counties, relaxed standards have attracted an influx of out-of-area private hire drivers, usually to the annoyance of local cabbies who invested in meeting higher standards. Conversely, stricter rural authorities sometimes struggle to licence enough drivers to meet local demand. Licensing zones add another complication. Cornwall, for example, is set to merge its six taxi zones into one. The proposal has sparked fears that drivers would flock to the busiest towns, “leaving rural areas abandoned” and “vulnerable residents stranded”, according to the Newquay Taxi Forum. Their concern is that without local controls, taxis will chase profitable urban fares and sparse rural coverage will collapse.
Voices Calling for Change
Taxi and private hire associations are pushing for reforms. They highlight the need for a recruitment drive to bring new entrants into the profession, coupled with a modernisation of licensing. Some suggest that better alignment of standards across councils, without sacrificing safety, would stop prospective drivers from being put off by red tape.
Modernising the job’s image is another challenge: persuading younger people that taxi driving can be flexible, community-focused work rather than an unstable grind. Some operators have started offering new drivers perks or help with vehicle costs to sweeten the deal.
For now, those on the ground continue doing what they can. In one northern village, a sole taxi driver keeps a handwritten log of his regular elderly clients to check in if he doesn’t hear from them in a while.
In another county, a community minibus scheme run by volunteers tries to fill some gaps – yet it’s no substitute for a professional, on-call taxi service. The plight of the rural taxi trade may not grab national headlines often, but in many small communities its decline is keenly felt.
