THE HIDDEN OPERATOR
Cross-border dispatching illustrates the issue starkly. A vehicle licensed by one authority may lawfully undertake a journey in another area, yet enforcement approaches and local regulatory priorities can differ.
Without pre-booking and pre-contract operator disclosure, passengers cannot assess these factors or make informed choices. Transparency is therefore not a theoretical nicety but a functional safeguard.
Knowledge of the contracting operator enables accountability,
supports consumer choice, and
reinforces the regulatory system designed to protect passengers - particularly those who are vulnerable.
Enforcement gaps, not legal gaps
The relevant legal principles are clear and long- established. Comparable transparency requirements are enforced across numerous digital marketplaces. The challenge re: private hire appears to stem less from legislative deficiency and more from regulatory hesitation in confronting platform-based operational models.
Where private hire operator allocation occurs only after booking confirmation, tension arises with statutory pre-contract consumer disclosure duties.
Conversely, if the operator is known earlier in the
process (at the pre-contract stage), withholding that information becomes difficult to justify.
Regulators - including trading standards authorities and the Competition and Markets Authority - already possess enforcement tools capable of addressing this issue.
A straightforward & proportionate solution The remedy is neither complex nor burdensome.
Before confirming a booking, platforms ought to be required, as a condition of their licence, to display the registered operating licence address, contact details, and the licensing authority regulating the trip.
Such disclosure would align platform practices with existing consumer law, strengthen public confidence, and enhance regulatory coherence without impeding innovation.
Ride-hailing has delivered substantial mobility benefits: convenience, accessibility, and expanded transport choice. Yet innovation must operate alongside transparency and consumer law. Passengers are entitled to know who stands behind the service they are purchasing.
The legal framework is already in place. The question is: why hasn’t it been meaningfully applied?
PHTM MARCH 2026
25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74
