Petition to the Rt Hon Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport

Subject: Urgent Action Required to Address Cross-Border Hiring Issues in the Taxi and Private Hire Trade

Dear Rt Hon Heidi Alexander,

We, the undersigned, respectfully request your urgent attention to the critical issue of cross-border hiring within the taxi and private hire trade.

The Taxi and Private Hire Task and Finish Working Group was established in late 2017. The Group was set up in order to consider the adequacy and efficiency of legislation and guidance concerning the licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) in England.

The groups findings set out recommendations from Transport for London, supported by the Mayor, (who has been informed by engagement with local licensing authorities, industry stakeholders and debated within the DfT’s Taxi and Private Hire Task and Finish Group), to urgently address issues of cross border hiring within the taxi and private hire trade.

TfL’s engagement with local licensing authorities raised awareness that, nationally, cross border hiring generated serious public safety issues while undermining local licensing regimes. It also restricted the enforcement capabilities of local licensing authorities as they only have limited powers to enforce against out-of-town vehicles.

The issue was originally considered as part of the Law Commission Review which commenced in 2012. To date, these proposals have yet to be taken forward. Since the review, there has been significant and rapid growth in the number of private hire drivers and vehicles and both issues have worsened cross border hiring concerns.

In July 2017, The Right Honourable Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport asked the mayor to provide more details on proposals to address cross border hiring.

In November 2017, the Metropolitan Police Service submitted a paper to the Working Group and gave verbal evidence to the group in December 2017. In their submission on cross border hiring, they state that:

“This is the single largest risk to Policing nationally”.

Andy Byford, earlier TfL Commissioner, said in his TfL Commissioner’s Report:

“While we support the role the best practice guidance can play in ensuring taxi and private hire services are safe, inclusive and accessible, we continue to urge the Government to introduce legislation that will address fundamental issues in the industry, including the introduction of national minimum standards, addressing problems caused by cross border hiring, and the introduction of enhanced enforcement powers.”

Fast forward to 2025, and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has launched a campaign calling for major reforms to England’s taxi licensing laws. He contends that the current system prevents city-regions from ensuring the safety, standards, and accountability of thousands of private hire vehicles.

Statistics show that nearly half of the private hire vehicles in Greater Manchester are now licensed outside its ten councils, largely due to the City of Wolverhampton Council, which licenses over 11% of all private hire vehicles in England. Many of these vehicles are often seen operating in London.

We are therefore calling on the Government and TfL to urgently address the issue of cross border hiring. Legislative change is needed to prohibit private hire vehicles (PHVs) and drivers from signalling their availability to operators outside their licensed area.

Therefore, the formal proposal put forward is:

We propose that private hire vehicles (PHVs) and drivers be explicitly prohibited from signalling their availability to operators outside of their licensed area to ensure public safety.

Please Sign …