Mayor plans to curb number of minicabs in London amid drop in new black taxi recruits

 
Numbers dwindling: Black cabs during a protest in London over smartphone app Uber (Picture: Getty)
Josh Pettitt16 May 2015

London’s iconic black cab is in danger of being run out of town thanks to the rise of Uber in the capital.

Applications for new licences and renewals are down by 20 per cent while there has been a huge surge in the number of minicab drivers in the capital, according to figures from Transport for London.

Around 15,000 drivers have joined Uber since its launch in 2012 as Londoners flocked to the mobile service, allowing users to order a cut-rate taxis to their doorstep at the touch of a button.

Speaking to LBC Radio this morning, Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "I'd like to talk about the congestion threat caused by the massive increase in minicabs. Your listeners may be aware of this as you'll have seen it around you.

"In the last 18 months, they have gone up by 18%. They've leapt from 65,000 minicabs to 76,000 minicabs - and it's growing at the rate of about 1,000 a month.

"We need to consider that there are 25,000 black cabs and you're starting to see a real threat to the movement of traffic on the roads.

"What we're proposing is that you need to have some legislation and I'll be looking to take that forward to restrict the number of minicabs that can come on the streets."

There are still 25,000 black cabs in the capital, but the decline in new recruits means Uber drivers could soon outnumber the traditional taxi drivers, as has happened in New York.

The number of budding cab drivers taking The Knowledge, requiring cab drivers to memorise 25,000 street names and 20,000 landmarks, has fallen by more than 66 per cent at one of its main examination centres.

Steve McNamara, head of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said: “I’ve never seen declines like this and I’ve been driving a taxi for 30 years.”

Jo Betram, regional general manager for Uber, said: “Londoners have embraced Uber’s technology; thousands rely on us for their job and millions more use us to get where they need to go.

“A cap on the number of private hire licenses is effectively a limit on choice. It would mean higher prices, fewer jobs and would actually result in more congestion as people resort to using their own car again in the city.

“Regulation should reflect the needs and concerns of the city’s eight million citizens and the millions more that visit us. It should protect people - their personal safety and their pockets - not hamper new things they value and that make their lives easier."

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