Image Credit: WV Public Protection Taxi and private hire drivers are being reminded of the importance of regular tyre checks after licensing enforcement officers discovered a vehicle with exposed tyre cords during compliance activity in Manchester. Wolverhampton City Council’s Public Protection service said its Northern Compliance Team had been working alongside police and other licensing colleagues during a busy weekend of enforcement activity marking the start of Tyre Safet

Nothing beats instant local knowledge, but sat-nav has made memorising thousands of road names less appealing and opens the door for private hire work. It has not and will not make professional knowledge unnecessary though. The modern licensing question across the UK is not whether drivers should be tested at all. It is which knowledge genuinely protects passengers and improves the service, and which requirements merely slow recruitment. Taxi and private hire work begin from

The Met Office says the UK recorded a mean temperature of 16.5C during summer 2026, beating the previous record set only last year. England, Wales and Northern Ireland all recorded their warmest summers, while temperatures reached 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London. During my shifts as a London taxi driver, passengers regularly spoke about how pleased they were to step into an air-conditioned cab. Some had come from hot Underground platforms or had been walking through the city.