Figures show one local authority dominates taxi licensing across England, with nearly half of private hire vehicles working in Greater Manchester now licensed ‘out of area’.

The city-region’s out of area figure of more than 12,000 has risen sharply from just under 7,000 in 2023.

Having brought buses under local control in January as part of the Bee Network, Mayor Burnham has now called for radical change to give England’s mayors and city-regions more control of private hire vehicles.

Launching a new campaign ‘Backing our taxis: Local. Licensed. Trusted.’ in Manchester city centre, he outlined the call for the government’s English Devolution Bill to both devolve power on taxis to Mayoral Combined Authorities and put a stop to ‘out of area’ licensing.

Such a legal change would tackle a problem affecting many regions.

Flexibility in licensing laws means vehicle owners are not required to obtain a licence from the local authority where they operate - severing the link between taxi drivers and local communities, through accountability to councils.

Mayor Burnham says such local accountability is critical to ensure public safety and trust in taxis as an essential part of the transport system.

He says the move would not only help drive up standards, but also better support the livelihoods of Greater Manchester’s taxi drivers through control of numbers and better incentivisation.

Greater Manchester kickstarts a 12-week review of its own approach to licensing, working with the taxi trade to get under the bonnet of issues affecting locally-licensed drivers.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Taxis are a crucial part of our transport network. Just as we set out to with Bee Network buses, we want our taxi fleet to be amongst the safest and most trusted in the country. But we can’t do this with the current broken licensing system. Local leaders have zero oversight over nearly half the private hire vehicles on our streets, with no relationship with the drivers, no levers to enforce the standards we want and no control over the numbers of taxis serving our communities.

“We want to guarantee our residents that if they’re getting in a Greater Manchester taxi – no matter how they book it – it’s one that meets high standards we expect across all public transport. To do that, we need national change in the English Devolution Bill to both devolve taxi powers to city-regions and stop the ability for vehicles and drivers licensed in non-GM authorities to operate here. Such a change will give political leaders more control over measures that impact public safety, vehicle standards, emissions and accessibility.

“But this is as much about making Greater Manchester the best place to be a taxi driver – and safeguarding the livelihoods of our cab drivers – as it is about passengers. They’ve been under immense pressure over the last few years, and we want to get behind them.

“We’re today kickstarting in-depth discussions with the trade. We want to get under the bonnet of the issues that affect them, review how we can improve our own licensing and incentivise them to register here without dropping standards. We’re committed to doing what we can under the current system, but it will only be effective if it’s done in lockstep with change on out of area licensing at a national level.”

As well as greater devolution on the issue, the ‘Backing our taxis’ campaign also calls on the government to support drivers to make the switch to greener, more accessible vehicles easier, with recommendations to extend the VAT exemption to new wheelchair accessible taxis; extend the national Plug-In Taxi Grant for electric vehicles; and reduce the rate of VAT on public electric vehicle charging.

Mayor Burnham has also announced a review of Greater Manchester’s current approach to licensing, supported by a 12-week period of engagement with the taxi trade. It was kick-started today (16 April) with a roundtable with key trade representatives. The period will involve online questionnaires, in-person surveys with drivers and in-depth interviews with both trade representatives and those involved in local licensing.

Earlier this year, Greater Manchester agreed an investment-led Clean Air Plan with government to tackle air quality and cut emissions without the need for a charging zone. The 12-week discussions with the taxi trade will include how best to allocate an £8 million fund for drivers of Hackneys carriages (or black cabs), which formed part of the Clean Air Plan deal. Greater Manchester will also explore how private hire vehicles can also be supported to make the switch to modern vehicles, potentially through subsidised, low interest loans.

It has also been confirmed that leaders of Greater Manchester’s ten local authorities have endorsed proposals to give drivers more time to upgrade their vehicles, extending the emission compliance date from the end of 2025 to at least 31 December 2026*.

Whilst the decision will be down to individual licensing committees to consider and agree proposals, leaders have backed the extension, as well as an exemption for vehicles until the maximum age limit (as part of existing licence agreements with individual drivers).

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