news analysis: DfT 2022 data
Numbers game The Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on the taxi and private hire industry, and while new DfT data shows signs of recovery, the shortage of drivers remains a major issue Mark Bursa
T
he total number of licensed taxi and private hire vehicles in
England increased slightly between 2021 and 2022, though the number of licensed drivers continued to fall, according to new figures released by the Department for Transport.
Vehicle numbers tumbled during the Covid-19 crisis from an pre-pandemic all-time high of 298,600 at the start of 2020 to 251,100 in 2021. But the 2022 survey shows a slight revival to 260,700, though this is still almost 40,000 down on 2020. And despite an increase in vehicles, driver numbers continue to fall. There were 330,300 driver licences in 2022, a decrease of 3.4% compared to 2021’s 342,100 and almost 45,000 down on prepandemic levels of 264,700 in 2020. The situation could be worse in real terms, as the data includes licenses of drivers who may have stopped driving during the pandemic but whose licenses have not yet expired. The data also shows long-term growth in the sector compared to 2005, when there were 184,500 licensed vehicles and 242,100 licensed drivers. Of the 260,700 licensed taxis and PHVs in England in 2022, just under a quarter (58,000) were taxis. The total number of licensed vehicles increased by 3.8% between 2021 and 2022, driven by a 5.1% increase in PHV numbers. The number of taxis fell by 0.6% over the same period, though numbers on London black cabs
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increased by 9.0%, a sign of post-pandemic revival. During 2020, large numbers of older black cabs were taken off the road and many have not returned to service. Outside London, taxi numbers in England fell by 3.4%, while PHV numbers rose at a greater rate than in London. Of the 202,700 licensed PHVs there was a larger increase in England outside London compared to London, 6.0% and 3.8% respectively. Licensing authorities (outside London) are able to impose limits on the numbers of taxis licensed to operate within their area. However, they are unable to impose such limits on PHVs. In 2022 74 licensing authorities (25% of licensing authorities with licensed taxis) applied a limit on the numbers of licensed taxis, with a further 10 setting limits either for some of the areas they covered, or some vehicle types. These figures have been broadly similar over the last couple of years. In England as a whole, licensed vehicle numbers increased by 3.8% between 2021 and 2022. But there was considerable variation between regions, however, with some regions seeing small falls in numbers, while others saw large rises. The number
of licensed vehicles in the West Midlands increased by 17.2% between 2021 and 2022, for example, while the number in the East Midlands fell by 2.3%.
LICENSED TAXI AND PHV VEHICLES PER 1,000 PEOPLE In 2022, there were on average 4.6 licensed taxi and PHV vehicles per 1,000 people in England, an increase from 4.4 in 2021. The number of licensed vehicles per 1,000 people generally decreases as areas become more rural. In London, there were 10.6 vehicles per 1,000 people, compared with 1.9 in areas that were largely rural. Several rural areas had less than 1 licensed taxi per 1,000 people. Wolverhampton had the highest number of licensed vehicles per 1,000 population, with 49.5, though this figure is distorted by the fact that many Wolverhampton-licensed drivers and vehicles operate in other cities, as it is easier and cheaper to obtain a Wolverhampton licence than in many other places.
LICENSED DRIVER NUMBERS Toe total of 330,300 licensed drivers in England was an 11,800 drop (3.4%) on 2021. Of the total, 65% were PHV-only licences, 12% were taxi-only licences and 22% were dual taxi and PHV licences. Decreases were seen in the total number of driver licences across most regions, but not all. The South East saw the largest fall in driver licences, at 7.0%,
JULY 2022
