Wolverhampton council ‘inundated’ with private hire licence applications due to lower fees

Until 2015, drivers and their vehicles had to be licensed within the local authority they would be working in. However, a change in the law opened up the market nationally, allowing councils to engage in cross-border licensing.

Since the change, Wolverhampton has invested heavily in its digital licensing service, thereby reducing the time and cost it takes to process applications. But a steady decline in the number of private hire drivers nationally – triggered primarily by the consequences of Covid-19 – has resulted in increased pressure on the local authority.

In a report to the council’s regulatory committee, licensing manager Greg Bickerdike said: “Because of the shortage of drivers, Wolverhampton has been inundated with applications from across the country, in part due to slow processing times and high fees in their home authority. This has created a backlog of applications.

“The service is struggling to meet demand. As of December 15, 2022, there were 2,634 applications in the queue, which is approximately a two-month wait. There are currently 1,924 applications which have been processed but are awaiting information from the applicant. There are 927 drivers who are awaiting a hearing to determine their application.

“Since 2017-18, Wolverhampton’s net increases to the number of drivers in England has been around a third of England’s gain. As such, Wolverhampton is playing an unequivocal role in attracting and increasing the number of private hire drivers in the trade.

“Excluding London, the largest increase on record is 5,051 drivers for 2018-19, which was Wolverhampton. This is likely to be broken by Wolverhampton again this financial year,” he added.

“Since a peak in 2019-20, the number of private hire drivers nationally has been in decline. This is causing significant problems for users of licensed vehicles, particularly in the night-time economy, as the demand is not being met, leading to increased waiting times in city centres across the country.

“Many drivers left the trade altogether during the lockdown era, some did not renew their licence due to the uncertainty of the industry and others now spend part of their time doing other related work such as food or parcel deliveries.

“This has left private hire vehicle operators short of drivers, resulting in many operators applying to Wolverhampton for a licence, as Wolverhampton has access to the largest pool of drivers.

“The council has recruited 20 employees into the service this year, to meet this demand. More licensees also leads to more compliance work and more licence reviews, which requires appropriately trained decision makers. There is a risk that the service will over-expand, as it is impossible to judge when the demand for new licences will plateau,” said Mr Bickerdike.

“There is currently a queue of 5,000 for the driver training programme. This is approximately five months work, including the current two-month backlog. The council prioritises the needs of its local trade to ensure that there are sufficient drivers, particularly for its night-time economy. As such, these applicants are contacted and given priority booking for training.

The council’s regulatory committee will discuss the issue next Wednesday.