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Soaring costs and frozen pay have caused real problems for taxi drivers in London, forcing some to find other ways to make a living, while those who stay struggle to recover with the effects of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.

Covid-19 restrictions had a huge impact on London’s black taxi drivers who missed out on the millions of tourists and visitors they would normally transport around the capital.

A free taxi-hailing app has been launched in London to help good causes as ride-hailing apps battle it out to get the capital’s cabbies to join their platforms.

The move comes as Uber expands its global operations and revealed plans to add all licenced taxis on to its platform by 2025 – something many drivers in the UK’s capital want to resist.

Taxi drivers earn their living on the road and the fear of losing their job can take a huge toll on their mental health.

Driving a black cab or private hire vehicle is still a male-dominated industry in which there remains a stigma about asking for help or showing anything perceived as weakness.

Clean air and low emissions zones are expanding across the UK and taxi drivers whose vehicles don’t meet tougher environmental standards fear the daily charges could force them off the road.

As Glasgow city centre’s LEZ goes live next month, taxi drivers were worried that the £60 charge for older, non-compliant vehicles would stop them operating in the area.

The lack of fast and reliable EV charging points has been one of the biggest barriers stopping taxi drivers from making the switch to electric.

Drivers of black cabs and private hire vehicles need to spend more time on the road than they do charging their vehicles in order to earn a living.

Each person in the UK is recorded about 70 times a day by CCTV cameras in places ranging from shops and streets to our homes and offices . . . but they remain a contentious issue for taxi drivers.

Arguments for and against installing cameras in black cabs and private hire vehicles have rumbled on for years.

Taxi drivers pay higher taxi insurance premiums because of the amount of time they spend on the road, so it is no surprise that they could face even greater costs after a claim or conviction.

But this does not mean the end of the road for good deals on their taxi insurance – as long as they are honest with their taxi insurer and taxi insurance broker, when it comes to taking out or renewing their policy.

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.

Taxi drivers often welcome celebrities into their cabs – but there have been taxis in which the person behind the wheel was the famous face. And, whatever they went on to do, the taxi driving experience has usually remained close to their hearts.

Many actors take on everyday jobs to help make ends meet in between roles or as they wait for their big break.

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.