2021 Sees a Reduction in the Number of Licensed Taxi and Private Hire Drivers
According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), employers in the UK are grappling with the worst recruitment crisis since 1997. Hiring managers in every sector are struggling to find the staff they need to fill nearly a million vacant roles. Hospitality, tourism and construction have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. But according to government figures, the taxi and private hire trade are also experiencing a reduction in drivers.
In 2020 the number of licensed vehicles and drivers in England stood at 298,800 and 364,900, respectively. Since the start of the pandemic, these numbers have dropped significantly. The number of licensed vehicles dropped by around 15%, down to 251,100, and the number of drivers dropped around 6% to 343,800. The government consider the difference in these figures partly thanks to licence lengths for vehicles being generally shorter than those for drivers. It seems likely that the number of licensed drivers will also drop sharply over the next couple of years.
What does this mean regionally?
Local news outlets have been reporting widely on these figures. Regionally the drop in vehicle licenses translates to between 100-200 fewer taxis or private hire vehicles (PHVs) available for hire. London is an exception to this, suffering a much more drastic drop of 21% (29.2% for taxis and 19.2% for PHVs). The only area that saw any kind of increase over the past year is, Yorkshire and the Humber. While the number of both kinds of licensed vehicles decreased, the number of licensed taxi drivers grew by nearly 10%.
What does this mean for the industry?
A drop in the number of licensed vehicles and drivers is obviously of concern for operators and fleet owners. Many of those that have left the industry due to the pandemic have since retrained and moved into other sectors. The National Private Hire and Taxi Association have said the huge drop in the number of licensed vehicles across England was down to the "sheer absence" of appropriate financial support from the government throughout the pandemic.
Losing experienced drivers is always a blow, particularly when you consider requirements such as knowledge tests and safeguarding training. Replacing these drivers will be a much slower process than it would have been 15 or 20 years ago.
For drivers still in the industry, this reduction in numbers could actually end up being beneficial. It's been widely documented that drivers have been suffering due to a lack of fares. But as feeder industries such as hospitality begin to reopen, the reduction in licensed vehicles on the road ultimately means less competition. This could mean there is potential for a mini boom for taxi and private hire drivers. However, the effects of the past 12 months will likely not be clear for another couple of years.
Other notable stats
While the reduction in the number of licensed vehicles and drivers is the biggest takeaway from the most recent government report, there are a number of other notable statistics:
The number of female drivers increased from 2% to 7%.
The number of local authorities mandating CSA/CSE safeguarding training increased from 70% to 85%.
Overall passenger satisfaction has remained the same since 2018, averaging at 66% across three areas (availability, reliability and cost).
9% of people in England use taxis on a weekly basis.
58% of people only use taxis and PHVs at most twice a year
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