Borough’s ‘high standards’ sees a 47% drop in cabbies

‘Tighter rules’ are blamed for the decline

- Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

THE number of taxi drivers licensed in Newcastle has nearly halved in five years - because the borough council has ‘tighter rules’ than other authorities in the area.

Newcastle Borough Council introduced its current taxi licensing policy in 2019, and since then the number of drivers registered with authority has fallen from 1,020 to 546 - a 47 per cent drop.

The number of private hire vehicles licensed by the council has fallen from 600 to 385, while the number of Hackney carriages has gone down from 194 to 127. Members of the public protection committee were told that under the current licensing system, drivers are able to gain licences at other councils but still operate in their home area.

The borough council is drawing up its response to the government's consultation on overhauling the national licensing framework, which could see an end to ‘licence shopping’.