National statistics

Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics, England: 2022

Published 13 July 2022

Applies to England and Wales

We are now providing our statistics releases in HTML format. As part of making this change to the release, we have also made some other changes to the format and content of the release. We would like to hear your comments on these changes. If you have any feedback, please contact the taxi statistics team.

About this release

This statistical release presents information on taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) in England as at 31 March 2022. This includes PHV operators and drivers who use app-based technology. However, we are not able to disaggregate which drivers are using these apps in the figures presented. The release also includes new, experimental statistics on the fuel type and age of taxis and PHVs.

Figures are updated every year through surveying each licensing authority (a unitary or lower tier authority) in England and Wales.

This release largely refers to England only but data for Wales can be found in the associated tables.

Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles

Taxis, also known as hackney carriages, are available for immediate hire, can be hailed in the street (‘ply for hire’) or accept pre-bookings. Taxis have 2 types of licences, a vehicle licence (issued to the owner of the taxi) and a driving licence.

Private hire vehicles, also known as minicabs, must be pre-booked and cannot use taxi ranks. It is illegal for PHVs to ply for hire. PHVs have 3 types of licences, a vehicle licence, a driving licence and an operator licence.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) impact

The data covered by this release is for the year ending March 2022, which included some periods where measures were in place to limit the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic is likely to have had an impact on trends seen in this release.

Headline figures

Between 2021 and 2022, the total number of licensed vehicles increased slightly, while the number of licensed drivers continued to fall.

Summary

Chart 1 shows how the number of licensed vehicles and drivers has changed over time. Between 2005 and 2020, the total number of licensed vehicles increased from 184,500 in 2005 to 298,600 in 2020. This figure then fell by 15.9% to 251,100 in 2021 before increasing slightly to 260,700 in 2022.

Chart 1 shows that there were 330,300 driver licences in 2022, a decrease of 3.4% compared to the previous year. Between 2005 and 2020 the number of driver licences increased from 242,100 to 364,700. It then fell to 342,100 in 2021.

Licence lengths for vehicles are generally shorter than those for drivers. This is likely to at least partly explain why the number of driver licences continued to fall in 2022, while the number of vehicle licences increased slightly compared with 2021. It is likely that the licences of some drivers who stopped driving as a result of the pandemic may only be expiring now.

Chart 1: Total licensed taxi and private hire vehicles and drivers: England, since 2005 - TAXI0102

Long term taxi trends

Chart 2 shows that between 1972 and 2015 the numbers of licensed taxis in London, and in England and Wales outside London, both broadly followed an increasing trend, albeit at different rates. Since 2015, the numbers have fallen, with a particularly sharp fall seen since 2020, which is likely to be at least in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. The number of taxis in 2022 was substantially higher than in 1972. The numbers of licensed taxis almost quadrupled in England and Wales outside of London (increasing from 12,400 to 47,700), while over the same period, the numbers in London increased by 44% (from 10,100 to 14,600). Prior to 2005, the only data available relates to the number of licensed taxis and the number of licensed taxi drivers for England and Wales. Other than for London, data at a lower geographical level is not available.

Chart 2: Licensed taxi vehicle numbers in London, and England and Wales outside London, from 1972 - TAXI0101

Following the Transport Act 1985, the number of taxis outside London increased as more district councils licensed taxis.

2022 summary

Table 1 summarises the 2022 taxi and PHV licensing statistics. Figures for licensed vehicles, PHV operators and drivers are shown for London, England outside London, and England.

Table 1: Summary of 2021 taxi and private hire vehicle licensing figures compared with 2021 - TAXI0102

	London - March 2022 (thousands)	London - percentage change from March 2021	England outside London - March 2022 (thousands)	England outside London - percentage change from March 2021	England - March 2022 (thousands)	England - percentage change from March 2021
Total licensed vehicles	95.1	5%	165.5	3%	260.7	4%
Taxis	14.6	9%	43.4	-3%	58.0	-1%
Wheelchair accessible taxis	14.6	9%	17.3	-5%	31.9	1%
Private hire vehicles (PHVs)	80.5	4%	122.2	6%	202.7	5%
Wheelchair accessible PHVs	0.5	-5%	4.3	3%	4.8	2%
Licensed PHV operators	1.7	-12%	12.5	-5%	14.2	-6%
Total driver licences	119.6	5%	210.7	-2%	330.3	-3%
Taxi only licences	19.5	-6%	20.5	-16%	40.0	-12%
PHV only licences	100.1	-5%	114.2	1%	214.3	-2%
Dual licences	0	Not applicable	71.7	-3%	71.7	-3%
Both taxi and PHV licences	0	Not applicable	4.4	4%	4.4	4%

Other sources of data

Transport for London publishes taxi and PHV statistics for London on a regular basis.

The Scottish Government also collects and publishes statistics on the number of licensed taxis and PHVs in Scotland in Scottish Transport Statistics. Scotland operates under a different licensing regime.

Licensed vehicles

There were 260,700 licensed taxis and PHVs in England in 2022. Just under a quarter (58,000) of these vehicles were taxis (see chart 3). The total number of licensed vehicles increased by 3.8% between 2021 and 2022, driven by a 5.1% increase in PHV numbers. The number of taxis fell by 0.6% over the same period.

Chart 3: Licensed vehicles by type and area: England, since 2005 - TAXI0101

As at 31 March 2022:

• there were 58,000 licensed taxis, a 0.6% decrease from 2021
• licensed taxis in London increased by 9.0%
• taxis in England outside London fell by 3.4%
• there were 202,700 licensed PHVs, a 5.1% increase from 2021

There was a larger increase in PHVs in England outside London compared to London, 6.0% and 3.8% respectively.

Licensing authorities (outside London) are able to impose limits on the numbers of taxis licensed to operate within their area. However, they are unable to impose such limits on PHVs. In 2022 74 licensing authorities (25% of licensing authorities with licensed taxis) applied a limit on the numbers of licensed taxis, with a further 10 setting limits either for some of the areas they covered, or some vehicle types. These figures have been broadly similar over the last couple of years.

In England as a whole, licensed vehicle numbers increased by 3.8% between 2021 and 2022. There was considerable variation between regions, however, with some regions seeing small falls in numbers, while others saw large rises. The number of licensed vehicles in the West Midlands increased by 17.2% between 2021 and 2022, while the number in the East Midlands fell by 2.3%. More detail on trends in regions and individual local authorities can be found in the associated tables.

Licensed taxi and PHV vehicles per 1,000 people

In 2022, there were on average 4.6 licensed taxi and PHV vehicles per 1,000 people in England, an increase from 4.4 in 2021. As chart 4 shows, the number of licensed vehicles per 1,000 people generally decreases as areas become more rural. In London, there were 10.6 vehicles per 1,000 people, compared with 1.9 in areas that were largely rural.

Chart 4: Number of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles per 1,000 people by urban-rural classification, England 2022 - TAXI0105

Wolverhampton had the highest number of licensed vehicles per 1,000 population, with 49.5, while several rural areas had less than 1 licensed taxi per 1,000 people. Differences between local authorities can reflect factors such as licensing policies as well as levels of provision. For example, it is possible that vehicles can be licensed in one authority while operating primarily elsewhere.

Licensed drivers

There were 330,300 driver licences in England, 11,800 (3.4%) less than in 2021. Of the total licences, 65% were PHV-only licences, 12% were taxi-only licences and 22% were dual taxi and PHV licences. Dual licences allow the holder to drive both taxis and PHVs.

Decreases were seen in the total number of driver licences across most regions, but not all. The South East saw the largest fall in driver licences, at 7.0%, while the West Midlands saw the largest increase, at 4.5%. More detail on trends in regions and individual local authorities can be found in the associated tables.

Licensed PHV operators

PHV operators need to be licensed to accept bookings and dispatch vehicles to customers. The number of licensed PHV operators in England decreased by 5.7% to 14,200 from the previous year, and 13.8% lower than the peak in PHV operators at 16,500 in 2009. PHV operators declined by 12.3% to 1,700 operators in London and decreased by 4.7% to 12,500 operators in England outside London.

In the year ending 31 March 2022, 1,900 applications were made by new PHV operators (either new companies, or existing operators not already licensed by that licensing authority).

Accessibility

In England, 14% of all licensed vehicles were wheelchair accessible in 2022. 55% of all taxis were wheelchair accessible while 2% of PHVs were wheelchair accessible. This is similar to the proportions in 2021.

In London, all 14,600 taxis were wheelchair accessible as required by Transport for London’s ‘Conditions for Fitness’ taxi licensing policy. In the rest of England outside London, only 40% of taxis were wheelchair accessible.

In London, only 1% of PHVs were wheelchair accessible, whereas in the rest of England this figure was slightly higher at 4%. Generally speaking, metropolitan areas tended to have higher proportions of wheelchair accessible taxis, but lower proportions of wheelchair accessible PHVs.

Map 1: Proportion of licensed vehicles that were wheelchair accessible in 2022 by licensing authority, England - TAXI0104

Some areas are unable to provide numbers of wheelchair accessible taxis and or PHVs.

Accessibility policies

Training requirements TAXI0110

The increase in the number of authorities requiring disability awareness training for taxi and PHV drivers has continued in 2022. The number of authorities requiring disability awareness training for taxi drivers has increased from 43% in 2019 to 55% in 2022, while the number of authorities requiring disability awareness training for PHV drivers has increased from 41% to 53%.

Wheelchair policies TAXI0110

66% of authorities require all or part of the taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible, a small increase from 64% in 2019. However, only 5% of authorities require all or part of the PHV fleet to be wheelchair accessible. 83% of authorities maintain a list of wheelchair accessible taxis in accordance with section 167 of the Equality Act 2010 (an increase from 72% in 2019), while 73% maintain a list of wheelchair accessible PHVs (an increase from 62% in 2019)

Equality Act 2010 prosecutions in England and Wales

Background information on prosecutions data

The figures relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

This is bespoke analysis from the Criminal Justice System quarterly statistical series, year ending December 2021.

In the year ending 31 December 2021 there were 18 prosecutions for offences committed by taxi and private hire vehicle drivers and operators in relation to sections 168 and 170 (assistance dog refusals by taxi and PHV drivers), and section 165 (wheelchair user discrimination by taxi and PHV drivers) in England and Wales, a small increase on the number in 2020. Numbers for both 2020 and 2021 were noticeably lower than the years before 2020. The lower number for 2020 is likely to reflect the restricted operation of courts as a result of the pandemic. The 2021 figure is less likely to be influenced by this factor.

Chart 5: Prosecutions for offences by taxi and PHV drivers and operators under the Equality Act 2010, England and Wales, 2012 to 2021

In the 10 years from 2012 to 2021, the majority of prosecutions were for failing to accept bookings to carry assistance dogs (61%). In 2021, around 80% of prosecutions led to a conviction. This conviction rate has been fairly stable over the last 5 years, and most convictions result in a fine.

Safeguarding policies

There were 276 taxi and PHV licensing authorities in England as at 31 March 2022. However, for the 2022 survey, responses were received separately from the 7 non-Metropolitan districts that make up the 2 unitary authorities of West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire, which were formed on 1 April 2021. This was because these districts still had different licensing policies in place as at 31 March 2022 due to transitional arrangements following the creation of the new unitary authorities.

There were also 3 authorities that did not have any taxis licensed as at 31 March 2022, and therefore did not provide responses to the questions about safeguarding policies for taxi drivers.

As a result of these factors, the numbers of authorities quoted below does not match the total number of licensing authorities that exist (276).

Child sexual abuse, child sexual awareness, and county lines training TAXI0109

Over four-fifths of authorities required taxi drivers (89% or 248 out of 278) and PHV drivers (89% or 251 out of 281) to complete child sexual abuse (CSA) or child sexual exploitation (CSE) training. These proportions have increased from 70% and 71% (for taxi and PHV drivers respectively) in 2018. Just under 60% of licensing authorities require both CSA and CSE training and county lines training.

Security checks TAXI0109

All authorities required an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) security check for taxi and PHV drivers.

The majority of authorities also required barred lists checks for taxi drivers (97%, 270 out of 278) and PHV drivers (97%, 273 out of 281). The proportions of authorities requiring enhanced DBS and barred list checks has grown from 79% (for both taxi and PHV drivers) in 2017.

CCTV TAXI0108

Similar to the previous year, 5% of authorities had a requirement for all licensed taxis to have CCTV ftted (15 out of 278) and 5% had a requirement for all licensed PHVs to have CCTV fitted (14 out of 280). Of the authorities with the CCTV requirement, 11 had a requirement for the CCTV to have the facility to record audio in taxis, and 12 had this requirement for PHVs.

Almost all of the authorities without the CCTV requirement did allow licensed vehicles to have CCTV fitted. Only 3 authorities did not allow licensed taxis to have CCTV fitted. The equivalent figure for PHVs was also 3.

National register of revocations and refusals (NR3) TAXI0112

As at 31 March 2022, 67% of authorities submitted data to NR3, and 69% used NR3 when making licensing decisions. These both represented a large increase from 31 March 2021, when the equivalent figures were 48% and 50%.

Taxi and PHV drivers

Background information on taxi driver data

Information in this section is based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a large study of the employment circumstances of the UK population, run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The drivers in this section are defined using the Standard Occupational Classification system, SOC 2020, as “Taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs” (code 8213), which will contain taxi drivers, PHV drivers and chauffeurs. The respondent reports their occupation to the interviewer and is then classified in this way during the interview, so the exact occupation of each respondent cannot be determined. As part of the interview respondents are asked whether they are employed or self-employed, but this is self-reported and may differ to their status under employment legislation.

These data differ to the rest of this release in that they refer to those who self-report their current occupation as being a taxi or PHV driver. It is possible for a person to hold a licence and not work as a driver, or for a person to not hold a licence but still claim to work as a driver.

Chart 6 shows the number of “taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs” in England between 2009 and 2022. The number of taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs fell between 2009 and 2013, from around 202,000 to 164,000. This number then increased to around 214,000 in 2019. There were an estimated 127,000 drivers operating in England during 2022, which was 7% higher than 2021 (119,000) but 26% lower than in 2020 (171,000). It is likely that the large fall since 2020 can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic reducing the demand for taxis and PHVs.

Chart 6: Number of “Taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs”, England, 2009 to 2022 (Labour Force Survey)

Who drives taxis and PHVs?

The majority of drivers were male (97%) in 2022. This proportion has been higher than 90% for all of the last 10 years.

Similar to last year, the average age of a driver was 48 years old, with 17% of drivers being aged under 40. Those aged 60 or over made up 16% of drivers. There has been a change in the age profile of drivers over the past 10 years, with a slightly smaller proportion of younger drivers and a larger proportion of drivers over the age of 40.

The two main ethnic groups of drivers were White and Asian or Asian British in 2022, making up 41% and 42% of drivers respectively. This compares to 63% and 29% respectively in 2010. There was an increase in the proportion of non-UK nationals working as drivers in England, rising from 13% in 2010 to 23% in 2022.

Chart 7: Age profile of “Taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs”, England, 2012 and 2022 (Labour Force Survey)

The proportion of self-employed drivers (90%) increased in 2022 to its highest level in the last ten years. In 2010 this figure was 76%. The proportion of part-time drivers (21%) has been broadly stable over the last ten years.

In April to June 2021, 23% of drivers usually worked 7 days a week, while the majority of drivers (46%) usually worked 5 days a week.

Taxi and PHV passengers - the effect of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

National Travel Survey

The National Travel Survey is a household survey on personal travel behaviour carried out in England every year. The findings presented here are based on the 2020 survey. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from March 2020, has had a substantial impact on travel trends in 2020 and has also affected the operation of the survey. Interviews were conducted via telephone instead of face-to-face, resulting in a reduction of more than a half of the response rate to the survey compared to previous years (6,239 individuals in 2020 compared to 14,356 individuals in 2019). There was also substantial missing data for March 2020 and fieldwork was paused in April 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdown measures.

Therefore caution is needed when interpreting these results for 2020 as they are likely to be less representative of residents of England, compared to previous years. Please see the technical note accompanying the survey for more details.

Data from the National Travel Survey (NTS) can be used to analyse the users of taxis and PHVs. Note that data collected on specific travel by taxi or PHV cannot identify which type of service was used or if app-based technology was used to hail or book.

Chart 8 shows the average number of taxi and PHV trips taken per person per year between 2011 and 2020. The average number of taxi and PHV trips taken remained broadly the same between 2011 and 2019, at around 10 trips per person per year. In 2020, the average person in England made 6 taxi or PHV trips and travelled 28 miles by taxi or PHV. Both of these represented a sharp fall from 2019, when the average person made 11 trips and travelled 59 miles. This can be largely attributed to restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

The average taxi or PHV trip lasted 16 minutes in 2020, a fall from other previous years when it was around 20 minutes. While this could reflect slightly shorter journeys being taken, it could also reflect a reduction in journey times due to reduced traffic levels.

Chart 8: Average number of taxi and PHV trips taken per person per year by taxi or PHV, England, 2011 to 2020 NTS0303

Why do people travel by taxi or PHV?

Over half (51%) of trips on taxis or PHVs in 2020 were taken for leisure purposes, the same proportion as in 2019. The other common reasons for trips were commuting (17%), personal business (13%), shopping (9%) and education (7%).

How often do people use taxis or PHVs?

Chart 9 shows the frequency of taxi or PHV usage in England in 2019 and 2020. Most people (66%) rarely use a taxi or PHV (at most twice a year). This figure was higher in 2020 than in 2019, when it was 58%. Around 21% of people travel by taxi or PHV at least once a month and 6% of people travel by taxi or PHV on a weekly basis.

These figures have both fallen since 2019, prior to which they were stable for many years. Findings from the National Travel Attitudes Study suggest that 80% of taxi users were using taxis less frequently in January and February 2021 compared with before the pandemic.

Chart 9: Frequency of taxi or PHV usage, England, 2019 and 2020 NTS0313

Who uses taxis and PHVs?

Mobility difficulties

The NTS definition of having a mobility difficulty is based on those adults who responded to say they have difficulties travelling on foot, by bus or both.

Mobility difficulties

Chart 10 shows the average number of taxi or PHV trips taken per person per year between 2011 and 2020. As in previous years in 2020, the average number of trips taken by taxi or PHV was higher for those with mobility difficulties (13 trips per person per year) compared with those with no mobility difficulties (6 trips per person per year). In both cases, these numbers represented a fall from the previous years. Between 2011 and 2019 people with mobility difficulties took between 16 and 23 trips per year, while those without difficulties took around 10 trips.

Average taxi or PHV usage makes up 3% of all trips for those with mobility difficulties, compared to just 1% for those without mobility difficulties. These proportions have remained broadly stable since 2010.

Chart 10: Taxi or PHV trips per person per year, by mobility difficulty, England, 2011 to 2020 NTS0709

Age and sex

In 2020, on average, women made more taxi or PHV trips than men (7 trips per person per year compared with 5 trips per person per year respectively). This difference was true across most age groups.

Although women make more taxi or PHV trips, males travelled slightly further by taxi or PHV in 2020, travelling 30 miles per person compared with 27 miles for women.

Chart 11: Taxi or PHV trips per person per year, by sex, England, 2020 NTS0601

Car access

In 2020, on average, people in households without access to a car made over 4 times as many taxi or PHV trips than those with access to a car (18 trips per person versus 4 trips per person respectively), and travelled over twice as far (61 miles per person versus 23 miles per person respectively). This pattern has remained broadly stable since 2002.

Household income

The average number of trips taken by taxi or PHV was relatively similar across income quintiles. However, those in lower income quintiles tended to travel less far by taxi than those in higher income quintiles, with those in the bottom quintile travelling 20 miles per person per year, while those in the highest income quintile travelled 32 miles per person per year.

How far are taxi or PHV trips?

In 2020, 91% of taxi or PHV trips were for journeys of less than 10 miles. This was a similar proportion to previous years. Compared with other modes of transport, taxi trips were less likely to be less than 1 mile and less likely to be longer than 10 miles.

Passenger satisfaction with taxis and PHVs

National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction Survey

The National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction Survey collects public perspectives on, and satisfaction with, highway and transportation services on behalf of several local authorities to inform performance management and local transport plans.

The survey was launched in 2008, and is carried out in July to August of each year. The latest data available are for 2021 and covered 109 local authorities in England.

The data at local authority level is captured through a randomly selected postal survey of households. However, because not all local authorities participate the estimates may not be fully representative of the national picture. We have excluded London from the analysis because the coverage in London is low.

The figures in this section are not National Statistics.

On average, in the areas outside of London surveyed in England in 2021, the overall public satisfaction with taxis and PHVs was 64%, which was broadly similar to 2020 and 2021.

Key findings from the 2021 survey included:

• 68% passenger satisfaction with reliability of taxis and PHVs
• 68% passenger satisfaction with availability of taxis and PHVs
• 53% passenger satisfaction with cost of taxis and PHVs

Chart 12: Satisfaction with elements of taxi and PHVs for users (who use taxis or PHVs at least once a month) and non-users (who use taxis less than once a month or never), England outside of London, 2021

Overall satisfaction was 6 percentage points higher for those who use taxi or PHVs at least once a month (69%) compared to non-users (63%). This was reflected across other elements of satisfaction.

Of people who use a taxi or PHV at least once a month, 73% of those with a disability were satisfied, compared to 68% of those without a disability.

Fuel type and age of taxis and PHVs, by region, England

About these experimental statistics

These statistics are experimental statistics, reflecting the fact that they are new, innovative statistics that are still undergoing development, with an intention to develop them further in future years. We would welcome feedback on these statistics and how they might be developed further in future to meet user needs. There are some known limitations of these statistics, and these should be considered when reviewing the data.

The figures in this section are not National Statistics.

About the dataset

These data have been compiled for the first time in 2022 by matching the Taxi and PHV centralised database with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) vehicle database. This allows the taxi or PHV licensing status of vehicles to be matched with vehicle characteristics (such as date of first registration and fuel type). There are some known limitations with this approach:

The Taxi and PHV centralised database is maintained centrally but updated by individual licensing authorities. The frequency and quality of updates will vary across licensing authorities. Administrative errors and omissions are likely to make these figures an underestimate of the total taxi and PHV fleet, with this being more of an issue for some licensing authorities than others. For this reason we are not able to publish robust estimates below regional level at this stage.

Cases where vehicles have changed licence type from taxi to PHV or vice versa have been removed from the dataset to minimise the risk of duplication. This is also true where the licensing authority with which a vehicle is licensed has changed. This therefore means that the dataset does not include this sub-section of the overall fleet.

Therefore while the analysis generally gives a good indication of the characteristics of the taxi and PHV fleet in England, it represents a large proportion (around 90%) of the fleet rather than every vehicle in it. Because of the nature of the Taxi and PHV centralised database, it is also likely that some local authorities have not provided complete data and therefore are not fully covered by the figures.

The analysis that is presented in the publication is therefore at national and regional level, as it is not currently possible to produce robust figures at local authority level. Given that the data represent only a subset of the overall taxi and PHV fleet, the data are also presented as proportions rather than absolute numbers. It would not be appropriate to present absolute numbers when it is known that they would be an underestimate of the true totals.

In future years it is intended that this analysis will be developed further, to try to increase the robustness of the data and produce additional analysis and insights where possible.

Fuel type of taxis and PHVs - TAXI0115

Fuel type of vehicles

Full definitions of the main fuel types of vehicles can be found in the ‘Notes and definitions’ section of DfT’s vehicle licensing statistics.

A diagram showing the key properties of the main fuel types can be found in the DfT vehicle licensing statistics release.

Chart 13 shows that as at 31 March 2022, for the taxi fleet, the most common fuel types were diesel (79%), range extended electric (10%) and hybrid electric (6%). 0.7% of the fleet were battery electric vehicles. Outside of London, 86% of taxis ran on diesel. In London the equivalent figure was lower at 62%. This is mainly because London has a relatively large proportion of range extended electric taxis (36%), whereas this fuel type is not common outside London.

In addition to differences between London and the rest of England, there were also some other regional differences in the fuel type of taxis. For example, the proportion of the fleet that was diesel varied between 91% in the North East and West Midlands and 80% in the East Midlands. Regions with lower proportions of diesel taxis tended to have correspondingly higher proportions of hybrid electric taxis.

Chart 13 also shows that for the PHV fleet, the most common fuel types were diesel (51%), hybrid electric (35%) and petrol (5%), with 5% of the fleet also being battery electric. The proportion of PHVs that were diesel was lower in London (32%) than England outside London (65%). London had a correspondingly higher proportion of hybrid electric PHVs (47% vs 26% in the rest of England).

The North East had a particularly high proportion of diesel PHVs at 88%, whereas in other regions such as Yorkshire and the Humber (52%), this figure was much lower. Regions with a lower proportion of diesel PHVs tended to have more hybrid electric ones.

The taxi and PHV fleet has a different mix of fuel types compared with the overall car fleet. DfT vehicle licensing statistics show that as at 31 December 2021, 59% of licensed cars in Great Britain were petrol, 36% were diesel and 3% were hybrid electric. In other words, amongst taxis and PHVs, diesel and hybrid electric vehicles were more common than for the car fleet as a whole, while petrol vehicles were less common. A higher proportion of taxis (11%) and PHVs (5%) were either battery electric or range extended electric than for cars as a whole (1%).

Chart 13: Taxi and PHV fleet by fuel type, England, as at 31 March 2022

Age of taxis and PHVs - TAXI0116

How age of vehicle is calculated

The age of vehicle is calculated based on the date of first use of the vehicle. This is usually when it was first registered with the DVLA. However, the date of first use is typically unknown for imported vehicles and pre-1973 vehicles that were unregistered in 1973 but have subsequently been registered again. All of these vehicles will be older than their first registration date and therefore are classed as ‘unknown’ in this analysis.

Chart 14 shows the proportion of the taxi and PHV fleet in each age bracket as at 31 March 2022. For the taxi fleet, 39% of taxis were between 6 and 10 years old, with 18% aged 10 to 13 years old and 11% aged 13 years and over. The PHV fleet was generally slightly younger, with 37% of vehicles under 6 years old (compared with 31% for taxis), and a smaller proportion of vehicles aged 10 years and over.

Chart 14: Taxi and PHV fleet by age of vehicle, England, as at 31 March 2022

The average age of a taxi in England as at 31 March 2022 was 7.4 years, whereas the average age of a PHV was 6.2 years. These figures were both lower than for cars, with DfT vehicle licensing statistics showing that as at 31 December 2021, the average age of car in Great Britain was 8.8 years. Around 36% of cars were 10 or more years old, compared with 29% of taxis and 15% of PHVs. This appears consistent with the higher mileage that most taxis and PHVs are likely to do.

There were some noticeable differences in the age of the taxi and PHV fleet by region. While the average age of a taxi was 6.0 years in London, it was 9.0 years in the North West and the West Midlands. In those regions nearly half of the taxi fleet was over 10 years old. Similar regional variations existed for the PHV fleet.

Fuel type and age of vehicle combined TAXI0114

When combining fuel type and age of vehicle, for both taxis and PHVs it is apparent that petrol and diesel vehicles tend to be older on average than other fuel types. This reflects the fact that some of the other fuel types are newer technologies. For example, the average age of petrol and diesel PHVs was 6.6 years, while for battery electric PHVs this was just 1.2 years.

Vehicle model

What is meant by vehicle model

Vehicle models presented here use the generic model from the DfT vehicle licensing statistics, which are groupings of specific models to help compare models on the road.

The most common models of taxi as at 31 March 2022 were the London Taxis International TX4, accounting for 17% of all taxis, and the London Electric Vehicle Company TX, accounting for 10%.

The next most common models were the:

• Mercedes Vito (9%)
• Skoda Octavia (5%)

The most common PHV models were the:

• Toyota Prius (21%)
• Toyota Auris (7%)
• Mercedes E class (6%)
• Skoda Octavia (6%)

Background information

Uses and users of these statistics

These statistics are used within DfT to inform the development and monitoring of policy relating to taxis and PHVs (for example monitoring how many taxis and PHVs are wheelchair accessible) and for ministerial briefing or to answer public enquires.

These statistics will also be used to monitor the implementation of the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards issued in July 2020.

Outside DfT, the statistics are of interest to various industry bodies and provide information for licensing authorities to compare themselves with other areas.

Strengths and weaknesses of the data

The data collected will cover PHV operators and enlisted drivers who use app-based technology, such as Uber. However, we are not able to disaggregate which drivers are using these apps in the figures presented. More information can be found in the background quality report.

National Statistics Status

The continued designation of these statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in February 2013. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs. We also publish details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release.

Further information

To hear more about DfT statistics publications as they are released, please follow us on our Twitter account.

Next release

The next taxi and private hire vehicle statistics release is due to be published in summer 2023.

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Contact details

Taxi statistics

Email localtransport.statistics@dft.gov.uk

Public enquiries 020 7082 6602

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878