Over 1,300 London taxi drivers stuck on Heathrow Airport ‘TAG’ waiting list as ‘one in, one out’ policy blocks access
Over 1,300 London taxi drivers are currently waiting for access to Heathrow Airport’s highly sought-after taxi rank.
Suzanne Sullivan, Airport Representative for the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), has reported that 1,357 drivers are now queued for a ‘tag’, the required device that permits licensed black cab drivers to enter Heathrow’s feeder park and access the terminal ranks.
Sullivan also revealed on the Wizann Podcast that since Heathrow Airport introduced a ‘one in, one out’ policy in June 2019, only 440 drivers on the waiting list have secured tags.
With an average of fewer than 100 tags distributed each year, the wait time for new drivers could exceed a DECADE, making Heathrow’s taxi rank one of the hardest locations for new drivers to make a living from.
Heathrow operates London’s largest taxi rank, with space for up to 500 black cabs. Historically, drivers could register for a tag without delay. However, the 2019 changes made by Heathrow Airport means that new drivers can only receive a tag when an existing driver surrenders theirs.
Since the policy was introduced, the volume of licensed taxis has dropped from over 20,000 in 2019 to around 15,000.
The policy has become a source of frustration for many in the taxi community. Many drivers argue that it restricts access to Heathrow’s passenger base, particularly disadvantaging those who have recently entered the trade. Some industry voices are now calling for Heathrow to review the tag allocation process to address the needs of London’s evolving taxi sector.
Taxi drivers who travel to Heathrow Airport to drop off passengers are unable to pick-up via the taxi airport terminal ranks unless they have a tag device. They must travel away from the airport, even if there are no taxis at the ranks and passengers are waiting.
Travelling away from demand is seen by many in the trade as uneconomical in terms of efficiency, fuel costs, dead mileage emissions, congestion and driver shift time.
