OUT-OF-AREA-WORKING
Article by Talal Malik, Solicitor Transit Legal
www.transitlegal.co.uk
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE Where cross-border working becomes unlawful
A practice that has moved from exception to routine
Out-of-area working has become a defining feature of the modern taxi and private hire sector. Vehicles licensed by one authority are now routinely seen operating well beyond the district that issued the licence, turning what was once occasional into everyday practice in many parts of the country.
For drivers and operators, the attraction is clear. Licensing regimes vary
significantly between
authorities, including vehicle standards, compliance requirements and fees. Obtaining a licence in one district while undertaking work in another can therefore present a commercial advantage.
However, the legal framework governing private hire services was never intended to permit unrestricted geographic mobility. Cross-border working is lawful in certain circumstances, but only within the defined statutory structure established by the legislation.
The legal principle behind cross-border hiring
The statutory framework distinguishes between the location of a journey and the acceptance of the booking. A private hire vehicle may undertake journeys almost anywhere, provided the booking has been accepted by a licensed operator, and the operator, driver and vehicle are all licensed by the same authority.
The legality of the journey, therefore, depends not on where the passenger is collected or dropped off, but on who accepted the booking and whether it was accepted within the statutory framework. This is why many cross-border journeys are lawful. A passenger in one district may book through an operator licensed elsewhere, and once the operator accepts the booking and dispatches a driver licensed under the same authority, the journey may take place outside the licensing district without breaching the legislation.
In practice, regulatory concerns rarely arise from the journey itself, but from situations where the statutory booking structure has been weakened or bypassed.
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A number of operational arrangements commonly encountered within the sector fall outside the intended legal structure. One example arises where a driver licensed in one authority effectively operates independently in another district, accepting work directly from passengers or through informal arrangements that bypass the licensed operator. PH drivers cannot lawfully accept bookings themselves. Where the operator’s role becomes nominal or absent, the legal basis of the journey is undermined.
Another difficulty arises through dispatch systems that allocate bookings across drivers licensed under different authorities. Where a booking is accepted by one operator but fulfilled by a driver licensed elsewhere, the statutory requirement that the operator, driver and vehicle share the same licensing authority may not be satisfied.
Licensing authorities also encounter situations in which vehicles licensed in distant authorities operate almost entirely within another district. The legislation does not prohibit vehicles from working outside the area where the licence was issued. Nevertheless, where vehicles appear to have little practical connection with the licensing authority that granted the licence, regulators may question whether the arrangement reflects the intention of the statutory scheme.
In each of these situations, the central issue is the same. The lawfulness of private hire work depends upon the integrity of the statutory booking structure. Where that structure is weakened or circumvented, regulatory scrutiny is likely to follow.
The responsibilities of private hire operators
Within the private hire framework, the operator occupies a central regulatory role. The operator accepts bookings, maintains journey records and dispatches drivers. Because of that role, operators carry primary responsibility for ensuring that cross-border operations remain within the statutory framework.
This responsibility extends beyond administrative record-keeping. Operators must be able to demonstrate that their dispatch systems, booking processes and driver arrangements operate in accordance with the legislation. In larger operations,
JULY 2026 PHTM
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