1st Report – Raising the standard: licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles

Key findings

• The legislative framework is unfit for purpose: primary legislation dates from 1847 and 1976, gaps exist in app-based operator regulation, and previous reform efforts (Law Commission 2014, Task and Finish Group 2018) were not implemented.
• Out-of-area working is widespread and problematic: 49% of private hire vehicles in Greater Manchester operate outside their licensing area; Wolverhampton has licensed 33,893 vehicles, enabling licence shopping and reducing local enforcement capacity.
• Extreme fragmentation: 263 licensing authorities set 2,700+ different conditions; Bolt faces 3,900 individual requirements across 50 UK local authorities—described as 'the most complex' globally.
• Government proposes national minimum standards and consolidation to 70 local transport authorities, which the committee welcomes but notes will not alone solve out-of-area working; committee urges additional incentives for local licensing.
• Key safety and welfare gaps: drivers report mental health concerns, low unpredictable pay, long hours (some 60+ weekly), high app commissions; disabled passengers lack accessible vehicles; inconsistent safeguarding standards risk exploitation.

Recommendations

• Use the Law Commission's 2014 draft bill and Task and Finish Group report as starting points for new legislation, updating them to incorporate app-based operators while maintaining distinctions between taxis and PHVs within a single consolidated statutory framework.
• Develop a government plan to curtail out-of-area working and create incentives for drivers to license in their operating locality, enabling local enforcement and restoring public confidence.
• Publish a comparative appraisal of licensing models (local transport authority vs. national approach) assessing which best reduces out-of-area working incentives.
• Ensure national minimum standards are set at high levels to avoid lowest common denominator outcomes and remove incentives for licence shopping; specify standards clearly.
• Establish a national database of licensed drivers and operators; place information sharing between licensing authorities and police on a statutory footing.
• Consult on mandatory in-vehicle CCTV; establish national benchmarks for licensing processing times; create a national complaints portal.
• Mandate disability awareness and equality training for drivers and operators at high minimum standards with regular refresher requirements.
• Publish a national plan to increase wheelchair-accessible vehicle availability, including in rural areas.

Key actors

Ruth Cadbury (Transport Committee Chair), Lilian Greenwood MP (Minister for Local Transport), Miatta Fahnbulleh MP (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government), Helen Chapman (Director of Licensing and Regulation, Transport for London), David Pattison (Chief Operating Officer, City of Wolverhampton Council), Kimberly Hurd (Senior General Manager UK and Ireland, Bolt), Emma O'Dwyer (Director of Public Policy, Uber), James Button (President, Institute of Licensing)