Taxi Driver Online

Came across this online - some people pointing out that the current transport secretary Heidi Alexander supported a London PHV cap when Sadiq Khan and the DfT's Task and Finish Group (I'm assuming that's the DfT 'report' referred to below) were advocating one. She was deputy mayor for transport in London at that time. This is from September 2018:


Competition watchdog says proposed minicab cap would lead to fare hikes for Londoners

https://www.cityam.com/competition-watc ... ould-lead/

The competition watchdog has criticised proposals to grant councils the power to cap the number of minicabs in the capital following a plea last month by London mayor Sadiq Khan.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was responding to a government-commissioned review into taxi and PHV licensing after stakeholders suggested that current legislation was no longer fit for purpose.

Among the recommendations made in the report, carried out for the Department for Transport (DfT), is that councils be granted the power to cap the number of vehicles and that there is an end to cross-border hiring, whereby a driver can obtain a licence in area and trade in another area, where regulations may be more lax.

Last month the London mayor demanded new powers to bring in a controversial cap on the number of PHVs operating in the capital, following a similar clampdown in New York. Khan said a cap was needed to curtail the “unsustainable, huge increase” in PHV numbers.

The CMA's head of enforcement Michael Grenfell said: "I am concerned that a numerical cap on the number of providers of taxi/PHV services risks having the effect of artificially and unnecessarily constraining competition, to the detriment of passengers – depriving them of the best prospect of high service standards, value for money and innovation in service provision."

He said any proposal to cap cab numbers in the capital should be subject to "a clear, well-evidenced and considered public interest test" before being applied but that he was "not convinced that the case for any kind of cap or numbers has been adequately made out".

"Even if there were to be such a cap, the factors taken into account in a public interest test should at least include the effects on competition, including on service standards and affordability of fares, bearing in mind that the absence of affordable fares can induce people to travel by less safe modes of transport."

During the summer Transport for London (TfL), which is chaired by Khan, and Uber were engaged in a public battle over the renewal of its licence in London after it was revoked by TfL on the grounds the taxi-hailing app was not "fit and proper person" to hold a licence.

After a series of changes by Uber it was granted a temporary 15-month licence to continue operating in London.

In a nod to the licence battle, deputy mayor for transport Heidi Alexander welcomed the report's recommendation for a cap, saying the current laws "weren't strong enough".

"I’m delighted that a group of experts made up of trade union representatives, regulators, politicians and safety campaigners are recommending we get the powers to go further – including putting an end to cross-border hiring, recognising injustices around low pay and exploitation, and giving us the power to cap the number of private hire vehicles," she said.

"The government needs to set out urgently how they are going to respond to these proposals as they could make a real difference – improving safety for passengers, pushing up standards, and making our city a better place for everyone.”

Steve Wright, chairman of the Licensed Private Hire Car Association, called the proposed cap "anti-competitive, protectionist, un-environmentally friendly and safety compromising".

"This proposal, if adopted, could bring about shortage of supply and make it very difficult for hire and replacement vehicle companies to operate. This in turn could leave consumers at risk of being stranded because of volatile and unpredictable demand factors, such as the weather and seasonal demands. This proposal also lacks any tangible safety benefits and in our view, it would compromise rather than enhance safety."

...and, for what it's worth, this is an article from a few weeks prior to the above piece, when Khan first requested the cap.

I think this article - or a similar one - is on here someplace, so maybe not a whole lot of point in repeating it.

But the Heidi Alexander angle above is quite interesting.

Anyway, usual stuff below, and Steve Wright sounded like he might blow a fuse


Sadiq Khan tells government: Give me the power to limit number of cars

https://www.cityam.com/sadiq-khan-tells ... mber-cars/

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has demanded new powers to bring in a controversial cap on the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs) operating in the capital, following a similar clampdown in New York.

Last week New York became the first major American city to introduce the one-year cap on cars used by platforms such as Uber, in a move Khan’s counterpart Bill de Blasio said would control congestion and traffic and improve driver wages.

In a letter to transport secretary Chris Grayling today, Khan asked for the powers to help control what he said was an “unsustainable, huge increase” in PHV numbers.

He said there were now more than 110,000 actively licensed drivers in London, an 83 per cent increase on seven years ago – numbers that some operators have disputed.

Khan wrote: “Last week New York – which is facing similar problems with the significant increase in private hire vehicles on their roads – took the necessary step of instituting a year-long cap on app-based private hire companies. Unlike New York, I don’t have the power to cap the number of private hire vehicles in London.”

Critics have hit out at the idea, with Richard Dilks, transport policy director at London First, saying the calls for a cap were “crude”, while Steve Wright, chairman of the Licensed Private Hire Car Association, branded the plan “absolutely potty”.

“This is good old-fashioned protectionism; there is absolutely no business case for this whatsoever,” Wright told City A.M.

He warned the proposal could attract the attention of the competition watchdog as it would be likely to push up prices owing to the reduced availability of cars.

Private hire has become a boom market for London.

Companies such as Uber, Addison Lee and Green Tomato represent a large share of the market, while newcomers such as ViaVan and Lyft are steadily muscling in as rivals.

Khan’s call comes just months after Transport for London granted Uber a 15-month probationary licence, having stripped it of its right to operate in the capital last year on the grounds it was not a “fit and proper” person to hold a licence.

An Uber spokesperson said: “By competing with private cars, getting more people into fewer vehicles and investing in our clean air plan, we can be a part of the solution in London.”

Mark Littlewood, director general at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said companies such as Uber had brought down prices and that any restrictions would make it more difficult for consumers who rely on them.

“Capping the number of PHVs in the capital puts us back on the road towards these services only being available to the wealthy. Surely we want to move in the opposite direction,” he said.

However, general secretary of black cab lobby group the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, Steve McNamara, supported the proposed cap.

“With the number of PHVs on London roads nearly doubling in recent years, Londoners have seen a rise in congestion and a negative impact on air quality,” he said.