The Department for Transport has recently published some statistics relating to taxis and private hire vehicles covering in the main England that drivers of such vehicles may find of interest. Full details can be found on the gov.uk website but we highlight some of the data below. The figures are based on the 1st April 2024.

The total number of taxis and private hire vehicles that are licensed rose in the 12 month period to 1st April 2024 as has the number of driver licenses. There were 313,000 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles as at that date and there were 381,000 driver licenses. The number of registered taxis fell to 56,400 – a drop of 1.4% but the number of registered private hire vehicles rose to 256,600 – an increase of 10.5%.

Back in 2005, there were 184,500 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles. Apart from during the coronavirus there has been a steady rise in numbers. The same applies to driver licenses with 242,100 being in place in 2005 but with a drop in numbers being seen in COVID -19.

In England and Wales but excluding London the number of registered taxis back in 1972 when statistics first started to be kept amounted to 12,400. In 2024 this figure was 45,800 having peaked in 2017 at 58,800.

In London back in 1972 the number of registered taxis amounted to 10,100 but in 2024 the figure was 14,800 with a peak in numbers in 2015 of 22,500.

It is interesting to read that, on average, the number of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles for every 1,000 people in England amounted to 5.5 compared to 5.1 in 2023. In London there were more licensed taxis and private hire vehicles available for people than in rural areas – 12.1 vehicles for every 1,000 people compared to 2.5 vehicles for every 1,000 people respectively.

There are a greater number of licensed private hire vehicles for every 1,000 people in Wolverhampton than anywhere else in England and Wales – 109 for every 1,000 people. In 2024, in England, the number of licensed private hire vehicle drivers increased to 16,300 – a rise of 8.9% compared to 2023.

In terms of accessibility, 11.5% of licensed vehicles in England were accessible to wheelchairs with this being similar to 2023. Of course, in London all taxis have to be accessible for wheelchairs.

It was a requirement of 8% of authorities that all licensed taxis had to be fitted with CCTV cameras and 7% of authorities made it a requirement that all licensed private hire vehicles had CCTVs installed.

We do hope that both drivers and owners of taxi and private hire firms found the above statistics to be of interest.