Public Hire

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.

There have been calls for national taxi legislation to ensure standards across the UK, as well as closing loopholes that benefit some taxi drivers over others.

One of the biggest issues has been legislation which allows taxi licences to be issued by one authority while the driver is actually operating in another. A consequence of this loophole has been that some drivers have benefitted from some licensing authorities charging different fees.

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.

Plans to give Newcastle’s black cabs a distinctive makeover have been parked for now following concerns from the city’s taxi drivers.

Newcastle City Council planned to introduce white bonnets to the city’s fleet of almost 600 public hire black taxis – to reflect Newcastle United’s famous black and white shirts – in a bid to make travelling by taxi safer for everyone.

It is great to see kind-hearted taxi drivers once again give up their time to give veterans a well-deserved treat.

The popular trips have been taking place for 75 years and are a highlight for those who have served our country and are testament to the taxi drivers who volunteer their time to treat our veterans, giving up a day’s pay when they still have bills such as maintenance and taxi insurance coming in.