HIRING A LONDON TAXI WHEN IS A LONDON TAXI “HIRED”?
A LEGAL VACUUM WITH REAL-WORLD CONSEQUENCES
Article by Christopher Johnson Veteran London hackney driver
There is a question at the heart of London’s taxi regime that should have a clear, authoritative answer - but does not:
When does a taxi become legally “hired”?
This is not semantics. It is the legal trigger point for multiple statutory duties that affect drivers, passengers, and - critically - disabled users of the service. And yet, as recent exchanges with the Mayor’s office confirm, Transport for London (TfL) has not determined that point.
That is not just surprising. It is, in practical and legal terms, staggering.
The legal trigger point that governs everything
Under section 39 London Cab Order 1934, a taximeter may only be engaged once the taxi is “hired.”
That single moment determines: l when the fare legally begins l when a binding hire is formed l when statutory duties crystallise
But it also has deeper consequences. Once a taxi is “hired,” the driver becomes subject to compellability obligations under section 17 Hackney Carriage Act 1853: l up to 12 miles or one hour generally l up to 20 miles from Heathrow Airport
At that point, the driver is no longer free to choose whether to undertake the journey. The law compels performance.
So the question is unavoidable:
When, in the context of app bookings, does that legal obligation begin?
Three possible answers - and none confirmed In practice, there are three candidate moments:
1. At booking acceptance (for immediate hire app requests)
If the taxi is “hired” when the driver accepts a job via an app:
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l The meter should arguably start immediately l The driver is legally compelled from that moment l The hire exists before the passenger is even present
This would mean that a driver could be legally bound - and potentially compelled - to travel to a passenger’s pickup location following an immediate hire request.
It is important to note that, for private hire drivers, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Uber v Aslam, drivers are treated as working and are paid from the point at which they accept a booking. By contrast, taxi drivers may be expected to undertake the journey from app acceptance to passenger pickup without any remuneration. This disparity is directly linked to the unresolved question of when a taxi is legally considered to be “hired”.
2. On arrival at the pickup point
If the hire begins when the driver reaches the passenger: l There is still ambiguity about whether obligations arise during the approach
l The driver may already be “committed” in practice, but not in law
3. When the passenger enters the cab
If the hire only begins at physical pickup: l The meter aligns with the traditional model aligned to a ‘plying for hire’ hiring
l Legal clarity exists only at the final step But this raises a critical problem: What is the legal status of the app booking itself?
The Equality Act problem
This uncertainty becomes far more serious when viewed through the lens of section 164A Equality Act 2010.
That provision requires drivers to carry disabled passengers once they have “indicated that they wish to travel.” In the modern world, that indication is often made through an app.
So if: l A disabled passenger requests a booking, and l A driver accepts it
Then a powerful argument arises that the Equality Act duty is already engaged before pickup, meaning the taxi becomes legally hired at app booking acceptance.
MAY 2026 PHTM
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