A CHANGING TAXI RENTAL MARKET: How black cab rental fleets have changed over time
The cost of renting a London taxi has long been a talking point among drivers, but a shift in fleet management and rising expenses has made affordability a growing concern.
A fleet expert writing in TAXI Newspaper pointed out that in previous years, rental models were more sustainable. Older taxis funded newer ones, keeping rental prices manageable. The black cab models of the past were often run for years, generating income even after their initial finance period ended. Fleets operated their own garages, handling repairs in-house with minimal external costs. Insurance, now a major expense, was relatively cheap.
Today, the landscape is seen to be very different. Insurance prices have soared and maintenance requires specialised equipment.
The fleet expert said: “One of the criticisms that I hear a lot is about the fleets and the cost of renting versus mushing. Things used to be different with the old fleets when they were running FX4s, Fairways, TX1s etc. Back then it was the old cabs that bought the new ones and rents were more affordable.
“To explain, the rent that could be achieved on a ten-year-old cab, that had been paid for six or even seven years previously, produced enough profit to allow the fleet to rent a newer cab at, or close to, what the finance payments were. This enabled fleets to run new cabs at cost, or cost and a bit, knowing that once a cab was paid for it would start producing an income for the rest of its life. Maintenance was all taken care of in-house. Many had their own spray shops and the only external cost was insurance, which back then was cheap!
“Fast forward to 2025 and insurance is sky high, very few garages have the staff, equipment or investment needed to maintain a modern computerised vehicle – where a laptop is needed more than a hammer. Instead, the maintenance is outsourced, with the associated cost. Add to this the cost of insurance, higher interest rates, where a lot of fleets are paying eight or nine per cent, not to mention the cost of installing the meter, credit card machine and printer, and you realise the average rent being charged on a new TX starts to seem more reasonable, not that this makes things any easier for drivers.
“A few weeks back, I had to rent a car, and to say I was shocked by the cost is an understatement, the cheapest, tiny, four door manual, think Ford Fiesta, small Renault etc, dismiss all thoughts of anything Mondeo size, and I was looking at a minimum of £450 per week! Go for a normal sized saloon, 3 series BMW, automatic and with a Sat Nav and I could not get one for less than £730 per week. As a guide the list price of this £730 rental is less than £40,000, which makes the rent on a £75,000 TX, with Hire and Reward insurance, look very cheap indeed!”
