The State of the Taxi and Private Hire Industry: The View from the NTC 2021

After a covid hiatus last year, the Institute of Licensing's (IoL) National Training Conference (NTC) was back on with a vengeance for 2021. Both delegates and exhibitors were overjoyed to be back at an in-person event. And considering the past 20 months, no one can blame them! As one delegate said, the NTC is the ‘pinnacle’ event in the licensing calendar and was sorely missed last year.

There were a host of great sessions on over the conference. TaxiPlus attended as many as possible, to try and get a sense of the industry as it builds back post-pandemic. And it became clear early on that a key theme was emerging.

The New Normal

Over the past 20 months, the industry has suffered. The pandemic has had a huge impact. But as we recover from the worst of it, positives are beginning to emerge. The biggest theme over the three days has been that no one is planning to go back to how things were done before.

Licensed industries have had a reputation for being stuck in their ways. But the pandemic has forced a seismic shift in the way that they work. People are trying to adopt a more agile way of working with the help of technology. Microsoft Teams has been the saviour of many licensing departments. People are beginning to realise that they can work far more flexibly than ever before.

This rapid adoption of technology has also made people question how they do things in other ways. As one speaker said, the pandemic has created ‘a willingness to learn and escape pedantic thinking’. Whether this is the start of a new normal or just the residual effect of overcoming the worst of the pandemic remains to be seen. But there seems to be a real desire to challenge the status quo in the world of licensing.

Updates from the DfT

One of the most well-attended sessions was the ‘National Standards and Best Practice Update’ from the Department for Transport (DfT). The DfT delegation was there to provide an update on best practice for the Statutory taxi and private hire (PH) vehicle standards. The ‘statutory’ guidance that isn’t actually mandatory, but licensing authorities have a ‘legal duty to have regard’ to.

They announced they are ‘imminently’ due to release new best practice guidance to replace the outdated 2010 document. The sector has significantly changed since that was released and the new guidance is going to reflect that. Unsurprisingly, They didn’t announce timescales. What they did say is, consultation on the draft guidance will be available in the coming months for trade reps to submit their views.

However, it was pointed out by multiple speakers at the conference that this guidance has been ‘imminent’ since 2014. And according to one speaker, the draft consultation was supposed to be published in time for the NTC2021. But it remains to be seen when this will actually be published. We’ll be sure to dive into the guidance in more detail when it’s finally released.

Ultimately, there was nothing brought up that people in the industry don’t already know. Questions were answered with an expected government patter. This led to a distinct sense of dissatisfaction from most of the delegates attending the session.

What does the future hold?

In the short term, drivers could be in for a profitable season. Reps from hospitality said since Boris Johnson announced there would be no lockdown this winter, they have seen a spike in Christmas bookings. This bodes well for the taxi and private hire trade. Hospitality is a key feeder industry for taxis so if they’re preparing for a strong festive period, drivers should benefit.

In most cases, the pandemic has led to a desire for licensing authorities and trade reps to work closer together for the benefit of the industry. As John Garforth (Oldham MBC Licensing) noted in his talk alongside Steve Wright (LPHCA), before the pandemic, it would have been a rare sight to see trade reps and licensing officers running a session together. Closer partnerships between the two are going to be essential for a successful recovery post-pandemic.

If these partnerships can be strengthened, it can only be a good thing for the industry going forwards. There are still a number of challenges that need to be dealt with. The biggest of which seems to be a shortage of drivers. Steve Wright highlighted the industry is at least 160,000 drivers down thanks to the pandemic.

The knock-on effect of this is increased unrest on the streets after closing time, a potential increase of drunk drivers and vulnerable people being unable to travel freely. A couple of delegates suggested that removing knowledge tests for private hire drivers could be useful. In licensing authorities where they have temporarily waived knowledge tests, they have seen a huge increase in driver numbers.

If you weren’t able to attend the NTC 2021 in person, don’t worry. Ryan and JP will be recording a special edition of the ‘What Time You On ‘Til?’ podcast next week. They’ll be covering the key talking points, and some of the behind-the-scenes action as well. So, keep your eyes out for that on our socials and all major streaming platforms.

For more information about how TaxiPlus can help deliver online pre-licensing solutions, get in touch! You can drop us an email to hello@taxiplus.co.uk or submit a contact form here.