Recent statistics show that over 9,000 licenced taxi drivers have been lost to the trade but other drivers say they’re slowly getting back to what’s to be the new norm. DfT released its annual report which includes the total number of taxi licences, wheelchair accessible taxis and the profile of taxi drivers.
DfT Findings
The Department for Transport has recently released its annual report for the taxi and private hire industry across England. Published on 30 June the information is correct from March 2021. The total number of licenced taxis (including private hire) has decreased from 298,600 to 251,100 which is a drop of 15% compared to March 2020. Licensed taxis stood at have dropped from 67,800 to just 58,300 – 9,500 or 14%. When looking at driver licences the figures are down by 5.7% to 343,800. DfT reported that the decrease is largely down to the coronavirus pandemic. The decrease in vehicles compared to licences is partly because the length of the licence term is shorted for taxis that it is for the drivers.
Other figures show that over a third of licenced taxis are based in Greater London. The average age of a driver was 48 years old, and the majority of taxi drivers are male. However female drivers have increased from 2% in recent years to 7% in 2020/21. The percentage of drivers who work 7 days a week has dropped and now 40% of drivers work 5 days a week. There was an increase from October to December 2020 with 23% of drivers reported as usually working seven days a week. This takes us back to the levels seen before the first national lockdown in 2020.
Accessibility
There has also been some disappointing statistics reported for those with mobility constraints, as the number of licensed wheelchair-accessible taxis dropped by 19% from 38,900 in 2020 to 31,700. In London, they have dropped from 19,000 to 13,400 this year. However, in London, all licenced hackney taxis are wheelchair accessible as this is a requirement of Transport for London’s taxi licensing. Looking at private hire taxis, however, only 1% in London have wheelchair access. This figure increases to 9% in more rural areas. With regards to wheelchair policies, 66% of authorities require all or part of the taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible.
Increasing Usage
Recent reports from taxi fleets and payment solution providers in London show positive results on the number of taxi bookings. As restrictions ease across the country, taxi drivers are being drawn to where footfall and demand are increasing. Now that the retail and hospitality sectors have been able to reopen, there has been an increase in those venturing into towns and cities for shopping or events. A spokesperson from Cabvision, a taxi card payment provider, said “Our data has been showing that Mondays and Tuesdays remain subdued but that all other days recovering well.” They added, “Wednesdays to Sundays are now consistently respectable days.”
Taxis can provide passengers with a safe space to travel in the coming months and we hope to see fares continue to increase. For more information on our range of wheelchair accessible taxis please call the number at the top of the page or visit us online.
Sources: https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/taxi-statistics