Private Hire

Drivers in London will see the speed limit cut from 30mph to 20mph along 65km of the capital’s roads as part of an ongoing drive for safety – but many motorists are unhappy about it.

As the scheme is rolled out across multiple London boroughs, drivers are also being targeted by plans which would see them penalised for travelling just 1 mile over the speed limit.

Professional drivers know what it costs to run their business and put food on the table for their family.

This is why there has been concern about the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK, especially when many feel the EVs replacing them aren’t yet up to the job.

Being a taxi driver can be very rewarding and many people spend their careers enjoying life on the road.

But, like any career, it is something people have to be passionate about in order to go the distance – and there are ups as well as downs.

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.

Cancelled cabs cause frustration and inconvenience all round and taxi drivers are among those looking for a solution.

The problem is largely the result of improved technology and booking apps which let drivers and passengers know exactly how far away they are from each other.

A taxi driver has been praised for rescuing three young children who were stranded on a railway platform after their mum was stuck on a train as it left the station.

Nana Akua Boakyewaa was on her way home to Telford after a day out in Birmingham with her children when the family became separated at Telford Central railway station.

Drivers of older, more-polluting vehicles in central London have had to pay the Congestion Charge, Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and/or Low Emission Zone (LEZ) charges, which has already had an impact on professionals such as taxi drivers. 

But from today, the ULEZ scheme has been expanded to include the whole of Greater London within the M25 – adding a further 5 million people.

Range is everything when it comes to EVs and is a big issue for taxi drivers every day – will they be able to take a fare wherever they want to go and what happens if they need to charge on the way?

These problems will disappear as battery technology improves and electric vehicles will be able to travel further on a single charge, which is good news for people who earn their living on the road.

As technology and innovation continue to drive the taxi industry forward, drivers and fleet owners need to make sure they have the right taxi insurance in place for the work they do.

The traditional industry model was black cabs or Hackney carriages, which required public hire insurance, and private hire vehicles or minicabs, which needed private hire insurance.

An illegal taxi driver who picked up fares across Liverpool city centre was asked ‘was it worth it?’ after being banned and fined hundreds of pounds.

The Liverpool Echo reports that Liverpool City Council officers observed Mruan Elkehya posing as both a private hire driver and public hire driver over a period of two months.

As the drive for cleaner motoring continues, taxi drivers are already ahead of the curve when it comes to using less-polluting vehicles.

The Government’s Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics, England: 2023 report, which was published last month, offers a fascinating insight into the makeup of the taxi and private hire fleets.

Over the past 18 months, Just Stop Oil protesters have brought roads across the UK to a standstill with a variety of demonstrations.

These have included gluing themselves to roads in towns and cities to block traffic, protests on motorways causing huge disruption, as well as slow marches through London which hold up traffic.