Taxi Driver Online

A London version of a lot of the articles in the provincial/regional/local press, but this is in the UK's newspaper of record - the Times of London

And it'll be the London HCDs spewing over this headline. And the photo

I'd be a bit more sympathetic if there wasn't a lot of quoting from the LTDA's Steve McNamara, who takes the usual binary good v evil approach to HC v PH.

But the stats portrayed here hardly show the black cabbies as being whiter than white - don't forget there are only 16,000 HCDs, as opposed to 106,000 PHDs.

The latter figure is cited in the article, but not the former. So the crude number of revocations etc probably unduly flatters the black cab side of the industry, because I'd guess the average reader won't be aware of the huge numerical disparity between the two sectors.

I mean, don't forget the Cornwall HCD earlier this week, who said, roughly speaking, that there are two PH to every HC. In fact, it's actually closer to seven PHDs to each HCD

To that extent, the numbers below should be construed accordingly...


London taxi drivers lose licences over drink, drugs and sex offences

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/london/arti ... -7l8h0rfkj

Hundreds of private-hire permits revoked in what has become a London transport ‘lottery’

Almost 500 private-hire drivers had their licences revoked by Transport for London last year, including for serious sexual offences and drink-driving.

Licences can be revoked for a range of offences. A freedom of information request to TfL revealed that 17 licences had been revoked for serious sexual offences. Two black-cab drivers had theirs revoked for the same reason.

Some 23 licences were revoked for drink and drug-driving disqualifications; two black-cab drivers were removed from the road for the same offence. Three private-hire licences were revoked due to causing death by dangerous driving.

The largest number of the 494 disqualifications of private-hire licences was for “other” driving disqualifications. In addition, 54 black-cab drivers had their licences revoked, of which half related to failing an age-related medical.

A total of 82 private-hire licences were rescinded after a driver was arrested or charged with a serious offence, and one was revoked for possession of a weapon. There was one instance of a licence being removed from a black cab driver for false identity.

TfL, when alerted by the police to an allegation against a taxi or a private-hire driver, assesses whether there is a risk to public safety. It may immediately suspend or revoke the driver’s licence prior to charge or conviction if it believes it is in the interests of public safety. Though the numbers provided are subject to change as a result of legal proceedings and investigations, TfL sometimes takes licensing action immediately irrespective of police action and any subsequent court proceedings under a “fit and proper” framework.

“It’s got to the stage now where taking a private-hire vehicle in London is a bit of a lottery,” said Steve McNamara, the general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents London’s black-cab drivers.

https://d794zrj93nv83h.archive.is/QzNyN ... 041aa.webp

“You can get lucky and be safe or you can get unlucky and not be safe. The standards are atrocious, they’re not being enforced properly and it should be a concern to everybody.”

London black cabs and licensed private-hire vehicles are regulated by TfL and require drivers to pass a DBS check, medical fitness checks and, for black cabs, the Knowledge of London test.

Safety concerns in the capital, when it comes to unlicensed and fraudulent private-hire vehicles, have been well documented. The issue of driver identity remains a flashpoint in London’s transport politics.

While apps have introduced facial recognition, in October the London assembly called for a cap on private-hire licences after growing concerns over the impact of app-based services such as Uber, Bolt and Freenow on traditional taxi services, driver welfare and road safety.

London has more than 106,000 private-hire drivers licensed by TfL, many of whom work long hours.

“The reason for all of this is that many private-hire drivers are exploited,” said McNamara. “Many of them are on very low incomes, working very long hours for very little pay. And as a result of that, people take chances. The black cab that you get on the street has the most checked and regulated driver anywhere in the world. The vehicle is checked, the driver is checked.

“When you’re getting into a private-hire vehicle, you need to take a picture of the car, you need to take a picture of the driver and you need to check if it’s the driver that you’ve booked on the app because very often it’s not, and you need to share those details with your friends before you leave.”

Uber said: “Using false documents is a crime and completely prohibited by Uber and, while rare, any instances of this will result in permanently losing access to the app. Uber has changed how we travel and from foundational safety tools to industry-first features, we have built safety into every trip and continue to invest in this as a priority. TfL rightly sets extremely high standards for private-hire operators and we were pleased they renewed our licence in both 2022 and 2024.”

TfL was approached for comment.

In actual fact, the numbers here are pretty much in the same ball park, pro rata. So in terms of the numbers presented in the piece, as regards 'serious sexual offences' you're not much safer in a London HC than PHV

To be fair, though, the numbers are tiny in terms of statistical reliability.


And as regards, for example, being revoked after being arrested or charged for a serious offence, the article gives the impression that there were 82 PHDs, but zero HCDs. Don't know if that's factually correct, but it would have been better if the piece had provided precise comparative figures for all categories, but the article looks a tad selective in terms of which figures are disclosed

It might be interesting to compare TFL figures with Wolvo figures but I suspect that as london has become a city with an abnormally young and mostly English as second language population it might be expected that the figures would be higher than the rest of the UK as the worker pool is made up mostly of people not brought up with traditional British values.

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

Well they've changed one word in the headline, and no surprises for guessing which one


London taxi drivers lose licences over drink, drugs and sex offences

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/london/arti ... -7l8h0rfkj

Hundreds of private-hire permits revoked in what has become a London transport ‘lottery’



London minicab drivers lose licences over drink, drugs and sex offences

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/london/arti ... -7l8h0rfkj

Hundreds of private-hire permits revoked in what has become a London transport ‘lottery’

...the article looks identical apart from that one word change.

It was probably an editing error - in old-style newspapers at least, the sub-editors (or copy editors) compose the headlines, as opposed to the journalist who actually wrote the piece.

Anyway, just as bad were those I saw moaning about it on social media, who obviously hadn't even read the piece beyond the headline. Or, like the LTDA rep, were effectively misrepresenting what it actually said

Next they'll be complaining that the URL still just uses the words 'taxi drivers'

Maybe the article should be headed 'Taxi and Private Hire drivers lose license through drink/drug driving'.

Clearly, some from the black cab trade have got the hump with the headline, but they need to get a life?

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IDFIMH

This is the raw data here.

And, in fact, it reveals that while the original Times headline might have been a bit misleading, strictly speaking it wasn't actually inaccurate

Or, to be completely accurate based on what's in the data, the headline here:


London taxi drivers lose licences over drink, drugs and sex offences


...should have more accurately read:

London taxi drivers lose licences over drink/drugs and sex offences


...spot the subtle difference


https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparen ... -3824-2526

...anyway, the most interesting stat there that I could see was that only three London PHDs were convicted and revoked for plying for hire

Therefore, just like the North Ayrshire guide dog case, I'd guess the TfL plying for hire stats here yet again demonstrates that you can't compare compliance and enforcement numbers across the UK.

I mean, 106,000 PHDs in London. Three convicted and revoked for plying for hire?

They do that many in South Oxfordshire during the Henley Regatta alone

And I very much suspect that those TfL PH drivers who have lost their licenses due to plying for hire didn’t lose them for doing so in London.

_________________
IDFIMH

Interesting observation, Sussex, and I hadn't even thought about the cross-border aspect and how that might distort the stats

And a quick search on here suggests at least three plying for hire prosecutions of TfL PHDs - two at Henley, and one in Reading