VEEZU: LICENSING REVIEW


industry and passenger groups. WAV availability is poor, and these vehicles often cost more than standard vehicles. This has an impact on service provision and needs to be addressed. It is also where enforcement must be consistent, so the failure to fulfil a WAV booking or carry a passenger with an assistance dog is dealt with in the most serious way.


Cross-border hiring


This is the most contentious of all the issues that the Transport Select Committee and any future legislation will have to address. Often safety has been used as the argument against cross-border hiring. There has been little evidence provided to support that. This issue has been overly politicised as part of the debate. There have been local politicians in one area advising passengers not to use drivers licensed elsewhere due to safety. At busy periods this could leave passengers without a safe vehicle in which to get home, with them walking late at night and possibly increasing their risk of harm.


It is fundamental to understand why drivers choose to license elsewhere. Often it is deemed to be due to one licensing area having lower safety standards. It is more likely to be a combination of the approval period for a licence application and the cost of licensing. These are two inconsistent processes and policies across licensing authorities. The point was recently addressed in parliament by Richard Holden MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. He raised concerns about inconsistencies in the time taken by licensing authorities to accept or reject PHV applications. He also asked what assessment had been made of the consequences when authorities take extended periods to reach decisions. Any inquiry or legislation must address this issue before any proposals on cross-border hiring are considered.


The calls to immediately ban cross-border hiring miss the wider issues with the current licensing


PHTM OCTOBER 2025


framework. There are 263 licensing authorities in England according to government statistics. Many single journeys will cross these boundaries and an outright ban on cross border working would make these journeys impossible. Without changes to


licensing boundaries, many


passengers would be left without safe, affordable and reliable transport.


There are some recommendations that propose that a driver can only start or finish a booking in the area where they are licensed or that a driver should only be able to take the majority of bookings in the area where they are licensed.


These two options merit further discussion and research; however, there is a risk that they over complicate the situation. Passengers want to get to their destination as quickly and cost effectively as possible. This means that operators need to be able to run their businesses as efficiently as possible. If policies inhibit this efficiency, then there will be service issues alongside environ- mental ones with hundreds if not thousands of wasted miles per year.


While a ban on cross-border hiring may be tempting to politicians, the unforeseen outcomes, if this is done in isolation, could be disastrous for passengers.


What is next?


The government has signalled its intention to review taxi and PHV licensing and it seems they are serious this time. As with any policy change the government must be clear about what it is trying to improve and who wins and losses. The industry and the passengers we carry will not benefit from quick fixes.


They must ensure that any policy changes improve passenger safety and support a thriving industry that help people with essential journeys that enable other businesses and industries to survive.


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