The Department for Transport has recently published data for Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Statistics, England: 2023 that make for interesting reading. The full document can be found on the GOV.UK website but we provide some of the statistics below: –

In 2005 there were 184,500 licensed vehicles and by 2020 that figure had grown to 298,600. In 2021 the numbers fell to 251,100 but by April 2023 numbers had grown to 289,400.

Of the 289,400 licensed vehicles registered in 2023 in England about 57,200 were taxis with the remainder being private hire vehicles. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of licensed vehicles went up by 11%. However there was a drop in the number of taxis of 1.3% between 2022 and 2023.

For every 1,000 people in England there were 5.1 taxis and PHVs in 2023 compared to 4.6 in 2022. The place in England with the highest figures was Wolverhampton with 85.3 licensed vehicles for every 1,000 people.

In 2005 there were 242,100 driver licenses and by 2020 that figure had risen to 364,700. In 2022 numbers reduced to 330,000 but rose to 346,300 by April 2023 – an increase of 4.9%. Interestingly, 11% of driver licenses were just for taxis and 67% were just for PHVs. The remaining 21% were for dual PHV and taxi licenses.

In 2023, 13% of licensed vehicles were accessible for wheelchairs. Of those, 55% related to taxis with only 2% of PHVs being wheelchair accessible. All taxis in London are wheelchair accessible as well as some other major cities.

It will not come as a surprise to read that the pandemic had a huge negative impact upon the number of taxis and PHVs operating not only in England but also the rest of the UK. Let us hope that numbers continue to rise for the foreseeable future. As and when further figures are published we will endeavor to keep our readers updated.

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