Taxi Driver Online

Was just thinking when reading this that it's the only press article I've seen about the new DfT stats, except for some analysis on Taxi Point (which I meant to read, but haven't summoned up the effort yet...).

But this piece is also a local take based mainly on rehash of the Taxi Point stuff

Anyway, I seem to recall some earlier stuff about vehicle spec and the like down there that may be a factor in all this. But can't be bothered looking back at that either



Forest of Dean taxi shortage: only 58 vehicles for 90,000 residents

https://www.theforester.co.uk/news/fore ... age-939810

THE Forest of Dean has one of the lowest numbers of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles per head in England, new figures have revealed.

Department for Transport statistics show there were just 58 licensed vehicles serving the district’s population of 89,753 as of April 1, 2026.

That is equivalent to only 0.6 vehicles for every 1,000 residents, placing the Forest among areas highlighted as potential rural “taxi deserts”.

The district’s total comprised just six licensed taxis and 52 private hire vehicles spread across the Forest of Dean.

The figures were highlighted by taxi industry publication TaxiPoint, which warned rural communities can be left with few transport options when buses and other services stop running.

Across England, there were around 342,300 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles, up nine per cent compared with 2024.

However, the national rise was driven by private hire vehicles, which increased by 13 per cent to 290,000, while the number of taxis fell seven per cent to 52,300.

There was also a significant divide between urban and rural areas.

Urban areas close to major towns or cities had 7.6 licensed vehicles per 1,000 residents, compared with 1.9 in intermediate rural areas near major towns.

TaxiPoint said the situation could be even more difficult in practice because licensing figures do not show whether vehicles are actually available locally at particular times.

Vehicles registered in one council area can operate elsewhere, while some may be committed to school or contract work.

The publication argued taxis and private hire vehicles should be treated as an important part of rural public transport, particularly for people without access to a car.

It said future licensing reforms should consider evening availability, unmet demand, wheelchair-accessible vehicles and cross-border journeys to avoid reducing already limited rural provision across communities in the wider Forest area.

And the other side of the coin is that some areas may be largely served by vehicles licensed in another area, so there may actually be more cars available locally than the stats show

And, of course, on a grander scale Andy Burnham's Manchester is maybe a case in point, which is the thing he's actually been banging on about in terms of stats...

(And while I try not to pay much attention to national politics, anyone else picked up on all the stuff about Andy Burnham and the whole pro-bus thing?

Could write a wee book about that sort of stuff locally, and conflicts on interest in terms of politics and licensing etc )