Taxi Driver Online

Where in the name of Rishi to start with all this

For a kick off, the first part all makes it sound like there's been no new PHV licences granted because of lockdown, LEZ etc, but after several paragraphs were finally told there's a cap on PHV plates

A jumble of numbers and confusing terminology (start with the headline). And it all conflates badges and plates, so to that extent the numbers are meaningless - it's not clear whether the numbers are about badges, or plates, or both. Also the new grants/renewals thing is also a bit jumbled as far as I can see.

But I'll have to go and have a lie down before having a proper read of it


No private hire taxi licences granted in two years as renewals plummet

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/no-pri ... in-glasgow

Following the easing of Covid restrictions last year, there were widespread complaints about the difficulty of getting a cab.

Following the easing of Covid restrictions last year, there were widespread complaints about the difficulty of getting a taxi.

Many operators let their licences lapse as they found alternative work as delivery drivers during the pandemic.

A Freedom of Information request by STV News has revealed that just one new private hire licence was granted in 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the UK.

None were issued in 2021, and as of June, there have yet to be any in 2022.

The number of new applications for taxi licences dropped by two thirds from 2019 to 2020 and remained at just 33% in 2021.

In 2019, there were 267 new private hire applications, and this fell to just three in 2020 and 14 in 2021.

A cap on the number of private hire car driver licences was introduced in 2019 – what the council called an overprovision policy.

Glasgow City Council said a similar policy was already in place for taxi drivers and the more recent cap was brought in after a rapid increase in private cab drivers since 2008.

While the number of hackney cab licenses granted did not experience such an extreme fall, with 19 issued in 2019 and 13 in 2022, the levels of renewals have dropped dramatically.

In 2019, 708 taxi driver licenses were granted renewals however this fell to 393 in 2020.

In 2021, 532 renewals were issued. During Covid, all applications due to expire between March and September 2020 were extended by six months.

However, the council said there had “been a drop in taxi drivers renewing their licence”.

Private hire renewals have also slumped, going from 892 in 2019 to just 341 in 2020.

Glasgow City Council said it did not keep records of the number of taxi licenses held in the past but that, as of June 2022, there were 1,831 black cab and 3,301 private hire drivers licenced by the authority.

The fall in numbers comes as the council prepares to fine drivers that breach a ban on polluting vehicles in the city centre through a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) policy.

Glasgow taxi drivers have warned the LEZ is the end of the trade “as we know it”.

The new scheme means many older vehicles which do not meet the minimum emissions standards were banned from the city centre from Wednesday – although there is a year-long grace period before it will be enforced.

In October, Glasgow City Council announced that taxi operators in the city who do not have access to funded retrofit solutions to meet LEZ requirements will be given extra time to prepare.

The plan to grant a “time-limited exemption” of one year will see enforcement deferred until June 1, 2024.

In Glasgow, the LEZ is already in place for buses and penalty charges will be handed out from June 1, 2023, with an extended grace period for local residents to June 1, 2024.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “The number of approved applications for private hire car driver licences reflects the Licensing and Regulatory Committee’s policy on the provision of licences in the city.

“A cap on the number of private hire car driver licences was introduced in 2019 following a public consultation that included feedback from key stakeholders such as taxi industry representatives and operators, police, transport providers and the city’s hospitality sector.

“A similar cap was already in place for taxi drivers and the decision to introduce the policy followed the rapid growth in private hire car drivers numbers in the city since 2008.

“A limit of 3,195 private hire car driver licences was established by the policy and there are currently over 3,250 valid licences held by drivers in the city.

“All licensing applications are determined on a case-by-case basis, but recent private hire driver licence applications have been declined in line with the committee’s policy on over-provision.”

Well let's ignore the first few paragraphs, then we get:


So presumably instead of 'private hire taxis' we're on to HCs now? But haven't they been capped for years? And even ignoring the terminology, the sentence doesn't really make that much sense statistically, or at least could be clarified


Then we're immediately back to PH licences. But what are they, if there's a cap? Are they new badges, or plate applications that weren't actually granted? It can't be granted plates, because the numbers contradict the first few paragraphs in the article


Which kind of explains things, but not the numbers above. Unless of course the new applications were in fact rejected, but we're not told that


Er, wrong - there's no cap on driver numbers, either for PH or HC. (So to that extent the paragraph above about a cap on PH *driver* licences is also nonsense.) And it's the fact that badges are unaffected which explains some of the other numbers in the article


But aren't they capped? And the numbers can't be about badges, I think, because the numbers should be a lot higher. Or maybe it's just new badges. Or it could be that HC plates are below the cap number, in which case it might actually be about *new* plate applications


Thought there was a typo or similar in there, but it does kind of make sense. But presumably this must definitely be renewals because of the numbers


Badges or plates?




So they're doing SUD surveys for HCs, and overprovision surveys for PH, yet the don't have historical numbers before 2022?

Last time I looked, it's easy enough to get the numbers for all authorities from the Scottish Government's Transport Statistics publication, and this goes quite a few years back. Just try Googling for a few minutes


Lots of 'comms' blather there, but even the council obviously doesn't know the difference between plates and badges


Same mistake


The Scottish Transport stats for 2021 (table 1.4) say 4,513 PH badges and 3,419 cars, so the numbers above must be cars rather than drivers.

(Presumably the cap number was set below actual plate numbers at the time.)

https://www.transport.gov.scot/publicat ... -vehicles/


Rewinding back to this paragraph, that kind of looks like badge numbers for black cabs, but plate numbers for PH

But if that's really 1,831 black cab badges then, can't be bothered looking back, but I'm sure there were at least 2,500 about ten years ago. So historically there's been around 1,400 HC plates, so HCs have went from mainly doubled cars to mainly singled

On the other hand, I think HC plates may have actually gone below the cap and are now at 1,200 or so, due to lockdown and impending LEZ etc.

All of which might explain why the council seem to have lost all records of numbers prior to 2022

Anyway, that's more than enough, and can't be bothered going through every single paragraph of the whole article.

And if anyone finds errors in my own contributions, it's because I just can't be bothered going back over it all and checking it

Anyway, who knows what the average member of the public - who the article is aimed at - will make of it all. If you don't look closely at the details and numbers, then I suppose it's quite useful in portraying how lockdown and LEZ have affected the trade, so to that extent the average reader will at least be more aware of those issues and the general decline in numbers when they can't get a car

Guessing the Scottish Government doesn't do a yearly taxi/PH stats report?


Should have read down a sentence to see they actually do.

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IDFIMH