Parliamentary group wants Mayors to have the power to curb private hire vehicles

In its report published this week, the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Taxis calls on the Government to give the Mayor of London, and other Mayors, the power to cap the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs) on London’s streets, stop cross border hiring and set out a robust set of minimum licensing standards for taxis and PHVs across the country.
July 14, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

In its report published this week, the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Taxis calls on the Government to give the Mayor of London, and other Mayors, the power to cap the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs) on London’s streets, stop cross border hiring and set out a robust set of minimum licensing standards for taxis and PHVs across the country.

GMB, the union for private hire and taxi drivers, welcomed the report, saying a cap would improve the quality of life for drivers and hopefully reduce the hours that drivers are forced to work.

It claims that without a cap the industry could well see further exploitation of drivers by companies such as Uber and Addison Lee who attempt to deny their drivers any worker or employment rights in order to maximise profit and avoid their obligations to contribute to the public purse.

Tony Warr, head of Legal, GMB London Region, said, “Private hire drivers already work in very precarious conditions and while overall we welcome the report it was disappointing to note operators licensing will not be conditional on drivers receiving even the basic of employment rights."

The report also calls for the creation of a statutory definition of cross border hiring whereby a journey must “begin or end in the licensing authority where the licence was issued”, as well as consultation on statutory guidance for taxi and PHV licensing and a robust set of minimum licensing standards for all licensing authorities.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Thales to upgrade four London Underground lines
    August 4, 2015
    French transportation group Thales has been awarded a £750 million (US$1,160 million) contract by Transport for London (TfL) to upgrade four London Underground (LU) lines. Under the contract, Thales will modernise the signalling and train control system on the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. Known as the Sub-Surface Lines (SSL), the four lines form a complex network of interlinked routes with numerous junctions which comprise 40 per cent of the LU network and carry up to thre
    Read More
  • Ukraine’s ITS in a time of war
    May 12, 2023
    Following invasion by Russia, work on ITS projects has stopped in Ukraine – but the state road agency and private contractors have pivoted to providing essential services instead
    Read More
  • Car emissions campaigners turn sights on Renault
    November 27, 2015
    Renault's flagship Espace minivan released toxic diesel emissions 25 times over legal limits in a Swiss study, despite complying with EU tests carried out at unrealistically low engine temperatures, a German environmental group said this week. According to Reuters, the tests commissioned by the DUH group, which have not been independently verified, follow Volkswagen's admission that it used illegal ‘defeat devices’ to cheat diesel emission regulations. In a statement, Renault said it contested the fin
    Read More
  • Legalities of in-vehicle systems and cooperative infrastructures
    February 1, 2012
    Paul Laurenza of Dykema Gossett PLLC discusses the paths which lawmakers may go down on the route to making in-vehicle systems and cooperative infrastructures a reality. The question of whether or not to mandate in-vehicle systems for safety and other applications is a vexed one. There is a presumption on some parts that going down the road of forcing systems' fitment is somehow too domineering or restricting. Others would argue that it is the only realistic way of ensuring that systems achieve widespread d
    Read More

Highlighted Content