Taxi Driver Online

Well this is interesting

But the central argument here seems contradictory. Nationally, the shortage is perceived to be because of a lack of applications, while Wolves claiming below that the shortage has meant they're inundated with applications

Of course, it could be that Wolves is even more attractive to new applicants now than it was previously, which would square the circle. But one of Wolves' attractions was the speed of processing applications, and now they've got some kind of huge logjam...

On the other hand, maybe other licensing authorities are even slower than they were before lockdown. WFH, anyone?


Three month wait for taxi drivers as Wolverhampton 'inundated' with private licence applications

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black- ... e-25900455

National shortage of taxi drivers results in backlog for local authority

A national shortage of private hire taxi drivers has resulted in Wolverhampton Council being inundated with licence applications from outside the local authority - due to the city's faster processing times and lower fees. Until 2015, drivers and their vehicles had to be licensed within the local authority they would be working in.

However, a change in the law opened up the market nationally, allowing councils to engage in cross-border licensing. Since the change, Wolverhampton has invested heavily in its digital licensing service, thereby reducing the time and cost it takes to process applications.

But a steady decline in the number of private hire drivers nationally - triggered primarily by the consequences of Covid-19 - has resulted in increased pressure on the local authority. In a report to the council's regulatory committee, licensing manager Greg Bickerdike said: "Because of the shortage of drivers, Wolverhampton has been inundated with applications from across the country, in part due to slow processing times and high fees in their home authority.

"This has created a backlog of applications. The service is struggling to meet demand. As of December 15, 2022, there were 2,634 applications in the queue, which is approximately a two-month wait.

"There are currently 1,924 applications which have been processed but are awaiting information from the applicant. There are 927 drivers who are awaiting a hearing to determine their application.

"Since 2017-18, Wolverhampton’s net increases to the number of drivers in England has been around a third of England’s gain. As such, Wolverhampton is playing an unequivocal role in attracting and increasing the number of private hire drivers in the trade.

"Excluding London, the largest increase on record is 5,051 drivers for 2018-19, which was Wolverhampton. This is likely to be broken by Wolverhampton again this financial year," he added.

"Since a peak in 2019-20, the number of private hire drivers nationally has been in decline. This is causing significant problems for users of licensed vehicles, particularly in the night-time economy, as the demand is not being met, leading to increased waiting times in city centres across the country.

"Many drivers left the trade altogether during the lockdown era, some did not renew their licence due to the uncertainty of the industry and others now spend part of their time doing other related work such as food or parcel deliveries. This has left private hire vehicle operators short of drivers, resulting in many operators applying to Wolverhampton for a licence, as Wolverhampton has access to the largest pool of drivers.

"The council has recruited 20 employees into the service this year, to meet this demand. More licensees also leads to more compliance work and more licence reviews, which requires appropriately trained decision makers. There is a risk that the service will over-expand, as it is impossible to judge when the demand for new licences will plateau," said Mr Bickerdike.

"There is currently a queue of 5,000 for the driver training programme. This is approximately five months work, including the current two-month backlog. The council prioritises the needs of its local trade to ensure that there are sufficient drivers, particularly for its night-time economy.

"As such, these applicants are contacted and given priority booking for training." The council's regulatory committee will discuss the issue next Wednesday (January 11).

An interesting admission


Another interesting admission

So is taxi licensing meant to be a free market enterprise ? which is essentially what wolves council are saying it is.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

All a load of old fanny.

Wolverhampton has been at the bottom of the barrel for many years. Licensing laws are a thing that other councils have to deal with on their behalf throughout the UK.

If they are struggling with manpower I couldn't give a flying f***.

They have spent years telling the world how good they are at this and that, but all they are any good at is being a two bob council licensing anything that moves.

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IDFIMH