TfL and the Government must take ‘radical’ action on private hire licensing to combat the “steep decline” in the amount of taxi drivers operating in London, the London Assembly Transport Committee has said.

Elly Baker, the Labour Assembly Member who chairs the group, said the “advent of app-based operators” – such as Uber, Bolt and Free Now – has “irreversibly changed the landscape” for cab drivers in London, reports Harrow Online.

There are now over 106,000 private hire drivers licensed by TfL to work in London, she said, causing “extreme competition for fares”. This, in turn, has led to drivers working longer days, prompting additional concerns over passenger and driver safety.

In a letter to the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander MP, Ms Baker repeated the Committee’s calls for a cap on private hire licenses and said they “cannot see the reasoning behind continuing to resist this call, which has wide support across taxi and private hire drivers”.

In addition to this, private hire drivers who are licensed outside of London but work predominantly in the capital have exacerbated the density of drivers. However, Ms Baker said ministers have not addressed this issue “urgently” enough, instead kicking the can further down the road.

“There are too many private hire vehicles doing too few trips, adding to congestion and pushing down driver pay,” she said. “As drivers work longer hours to make up their pay, this leads to driver fatigue and raises questions around road safety.

“London is often seen as world-leading when it comes to transport systems. Yet, if we continue to lack the regulatory powers other cities have, we risk attracting bad actors who can exploit drivers and jeopardise the safety of Londoners.”

In contrast, the number of licensed taxis in London fell from 22,810 in 2014 to 14,800 in 2024.

(Pic: TfL)