HIGH DEMAND tempting taxi drivers back into cabs, but high numbers of PCNs makes return trickier

London taxi drivers are being tempted back out of retirement as demand soars, but ‘unprecedented amounts of PCNs and fines’ is making the return trickier for some says taxi representatives.

Since the last remaining coronavirus restrictions were dropped, demand for licensed taxi services has sky rocketed. That demand is expected to stay high until the amount of drivers working can meet the demand.

Work levels during the pandemic plummeted which meant many cabbies took on different employment or hung up their badge to retire. Some have since returned to the industry given the high demand.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) say they’ve have seen a spike in people returning but are concerned by the high number of PCNs being handed to cabbies and other motorists.

Sam Houston, LTDA Senior Rep, said in TAXI Newspaper: “Demand has remained strong, if a little patchy and geographically concentrated at times.

“There’s no reason to expect anything other than a busy Summer – many people seem to be taking holidays and trips out that were postponed from 2020 and 2021. In the past month, I’ve been to two events that were postponed from 2020.

“We’ve spoken to a number of drivers tempted out of retirement or back from other jobs by the prospect of easy money, but it’s not all plain sailing out there. We are also seeing unprecedented amounts of PCNs and fines for minor traffic offences. Councils like to earn money too and camera enforcement is off the charts, so be careful out there and observe all signage carefully.”