View the report:  National statistics - Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics, England: 2022

Headline figures:

The report shows that between 2021 and 2022, the total number of licensed vehicles increased slightly, while the number of licensed drivers continued to fall.

• 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.
• 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.

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

Over four-fifths of authorities required taxi drivers (89% or 248 out of 278) and PHVdrivers (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.

As at 31 March 2022, 67% of authorities submitted data to NR3, and 69% used NR3when making licensing decisions. These both represented a large increase from 31 March 2021, when the equivalent figures were 48% and 50%.

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

The majority of authorities also required barred lists checks for taxi drivers (97%, 270 out of 278) and PHVdrivers (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.

This statistical release presents information on taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) in England as at 31 March 2021. This includes PHV operators and drivers who use app-based technology. However, the report is 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.