FAQs

Professional drivers need specialist insurance to make sure they and their cargo are covered in the event of a crash. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, many are making the most of their hire and reward insurance to bolster their business by transporting packages as well as passengers.

The journey to work seems to get worse each day and commuters are trying to find new ways to beat the queues, with one in five turning to e-scooters instead of taxis and their own cars. This could be good news for the drive to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

A council says it is keeping a close eye on thousands of private hire taxi drivers who are registered with it but could be working hundreds of miles away. City of Wolverhampton Council had faced a backlash from some authorities for licensing almost 9,000 private-hire drivers working in Manchester, and 300 operating in the capital.

The motor insurance industry takes two main factors into account when calculating insurance premiums – the risk and the cost of paying out a claim.

We recently looked at how the soaring cost of vehicle parts was pushing up the price of repairs and making taxi insurance and other business motor insurance claims more expensive.

When taxi drivers buy a new vehicle, reliability is one of the key things they look for both for now and in the future.

But it is only when they get an expensive repair bill – on top of taxi insurance and running costs – and have to wait for their vehicle to pass its MoT retest to get it back on the road that they might question their choice of car.

Taxi drivers can ask passengers to pay their fare at any point during a journey – even before the ride has begun.

The biggest reason for this is to stop passengers leaving without paying or refusing to pay the full fare for a journey which, to be clear, is theft. They are using a service they know they have to pay for but are cheating the driver out of the rightful fare.

Taxi drivers spend most of their time in their cars which must be able to do everything they need to earn a living.

As technology improves, there are more gadgets and features to make life on the road easier and more enjoyable. So, what could you not do without in your next taxi or private hire vehicle?

Drivers who hit other vehicles and flee without reporting the damage cause huge inconvenience and expense to their innocent victims, especially if they are taxi drivers who rely on their cars to earn a living.

Damage to any vehicle is expensive to repair and being off the road causes huge disruption because it can affect livelihoods and lead to increased premiums if a claim is made.

A campaign has been launched to recruit more women taxi drivers to strengthen a city’s fleet and keep drivers safe.

There are currently 20,000 licensed taxi and private hire drivers in Wolverhampton, but only 600 of those are women.

As the government continues its drive to make towns and cities greener through schemes like clean air zones, taxi drivers who have yet to make the switch to EVs can face hefty charges to pick up fares.

Drivers in London already pay fees under the expanding ultra-low emission zones (ULEZ) in which vehicles that are not Euro 6 (diesel) and Euro 4 (petrol) compliant are charged £12.50 a day to drive within the zones.

Households are trying to find ways to reduce energy bills and the Government hailed Uber to help show people how.

We previously looked at how bespoke digital advertising could be shown to Uber riders, based on the information the company holds on passengers.

Calls are being made to stop aggression on our roads and make them safer for everyone – including taxi drivers who earn their living behind the wheel.

Whether they run black cabs or private hire vehicles and operate in busy city centres or rural surroundings, taxi drivers can experience aggressive behaviour from other drivers, as well as cyclists and pedestrians.