WOLVERHAMPTON PRIVATE HIRE LICENSING SURGE: ‘Saturation of the market threatens the entire industry’ says union
The GMB Union has issued a stark warning as Wolverhampton City Council's licensing policies continue to dominate the Midlands' private hire landscape.
Fresh data obtained by the union via a Freedom of Information request reveals that Wolverhampton has granted nearly 90% of all new private taxi licences in the region during the first five months of this year.
Between January and May 2024, Wolverhampton issued 8,563 new licences, accounting for over 87% of those issued by major authorities in both the East and West Midlands.
This figure dwarfs Birmingham’s 277 new licences, despite Birmingham being five times larger in population. Other regional councils, including Solihull, Walsall, and Leicester, collectively issued just a fraction of Wolverhampton’s numbers.
The surge in licences has led to concerns from the GMB Union, which is urging Wolverhampton Council to act to protect drivers’ earnings. The union argues that the influx of licences is creating an unsustainable level of competition, driving down wages for those in the private hire sector.
Wolverhampton Council have been proactive in attempting to regulate the industry. It was the first in the UK to implement restrictions on private hire vehicles displaying signage, an effort aimed at reducing the number of unregistered or bogus taxis.
The GMB is now pushing for similar decisive actions to safeguard the living standards of drivers across the Midlands. With Wolverhampton issuing licences at such an unprecedented rate, there are fears from the union that the market could be saturated, impacting both driver livelihoods and the broader quality of services provided.
These findings place Wolverhampton’s licensing strategy under scrutiny. With the disparity in licensing numbers between Wolverhampton and neighbouring councils so stark, the union insists more needs to be done to achieve balance and fairness in the sector. The question now is whether Wolverhampton will adapt its approach to ensure long-term stability for its growing fleet of private hire drivers.
Kate Gorton, GMB Organiser, said: “Wolverhampton’s private hire licence dominance is a well-documented phenomenon.
“But the fact remains that Private Hire Licenses’ give thousands of working people their income every month, including GMB members across the Midlands.
“More and more drivers report a flooded marketplace is pushing down income.
“The imbalance between supply and demand is meaning drivers are waiting for longer between jobs and are forced to compete with inflated competition.
“Wolverhampton bosses rightly point out barriers to capping application - but we’ve got one council essentially issuing licences for the rest of the whole region.
“The saturation of the market threatens the entire industry.
“We need urgent action to ensure standardisation across licensing authorities, in terms of price, testing and timescales and Wolverhampton has a key role to play in making sure that happens.”
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