Y
ou are probably sick of hearing about declining industries in the UK. Not only have we been consistently told that the UK economy is declining in general, every day it seems some old tradition is on its way out – be it car manufacturing, farming, or fishing.
So how true are the rumours that taxi drivers are under threat from an ever-decreasing market size and the arrival of the “Taxi Antichrist”, private hire firm Uber?
Well, new statistics released this week seem to indicate that the rumour, while not entirely unfounded, seems to be untrue. The National Statistics service announced that:
- The total number of licensed taxi and private hire vehicles in England increased by 9.3% to 242,200 between 2013 and 2015. This represents the highest number of private hire vehicles since records began in 2005
- Private hire vehicles make up 69% of all licensed vehicles in England
- 35% of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in England were registered in London
- While 58% of licensed taxis are wheelchair accessible, 100% of taxis (not private hire vehicles) in London are wheelchair accessible
- There were 297,600 taxi or private hire vehicle driver licences in England, an increase of 12,400 over the number in 2013
- 55% of licences were private hire vehicle only, 21% taxi only and the remaining 24% dual licences
Just to be clear, the difference between taxis and private hire cars is that taxis can be hailed, but private hire vehicles have to be pre-booked. So the majority of taxis from taxi companies are private hire only.
As you can see, there are big increases across the board. While that is good news, as it shows the market is still alive and thriving, the stats don’t isolate which private hire taxis are “true” taxis, and which are linked to companies such as Uber, currently being accused of trying to kill the traditional taxi business.
Uber, an American company, was launched in 2012 in London, and has now expanded to Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield. The App-based service allows users to put out a trip request, which will be sent to nearby registered Uber drivers, who use their own car. Drivers must be licensed, but anyone with a license can join.
Taxi firms are saying their business is being wiped out because they can’t compete with a global company. They also argue that Uber faces fewer restrictions than they do, and are unfairly charging people more during “surge” times, wherein prices automatically shoot up (they tripled in London during the recent tube strike).
So should taxi companies be worried by this spike in private hire vehicles, or be content that the growth only indicates that the market for taxis is growing, and that increase in customers will likely affect everyone?
That will depend on a few factors. Uber is only available in major cities, so there are a lot of places that won’t feel the impact of the service at all. Also, if negative press about Uber continues, the market might see a curtailing, thus allowing traditional taxi companies to come roaring back. And just to soothe the nerves further, Uber is hemorrhaging money – recently leaked documents suggest that the company is set to make an annual loss, in the region of $470m, for the third year running.
