Taxis licensed by council triple in five years

City of Wolverhampton Council gives out the largest number of taxi licences in England

The number of taxis licensed by the city dubbed the "taxi capital" of the UK has tripled over the last five years.

City of Wolverhampton Council, which gives out the largest number of taxi licences in England, had licensed 33,893 private hire vehicles in 2025, compared to just 10,768 in 2020.

However, the number has fallen from 35,708 in 2024, the highest ever licensed by the council.

The local authority said it had recruited more than 40 staff this year to address the increase in licence applications, alongside a further five customer service officers to deal with enquiries.

Councils in Manchester, Blackpool, Somerset, Hull and Portsmouth have all voiced concerns about Wolverhampton's taxi licensing, due to the number of taxis the local authority licenses outside of the city, and have called for an end to "out-of-town" taxi licensing.

Up to 96% of taxi driver licences issued in Wolverhampton between April 2023 and the end of March 2024 were for people living outside of the city.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said he and other mayors supported a ban on out-of-area taxi licensing, claiming that more than half of private hire vehicles operating in the region were licenced elsewhere.

Burnham said this posed a safety risk to passengers and made it unfair for locally licenced operators.

The Mayor claimed that the main difference in standards between councils related to the age of vehicles allowed - with Greater Manchester councils requiring newer vehicles to be used on the roads as well as more advanced background checks.

Andy Burnham is one of the supporters of a proposed ban on out-of-area taxi licensing

A spokesperson for City of Wolverhampton Council said: "Under the current law, it is illegal for us to impose a limit on the number of private hire licences we can issue.

"Existing legislation requires that if an application is submitted and requirements are met, then the application must be granted.

"Applicants are able to apply to any licensing authority. Many have chosen to be licensed in Wolverhampton due to our early adoption of digital technology and our efficient, yet rigorous, licensing process."

The local authority said it took enforcement responsibilities seriously, with officers out across the country every Friday and Saturday night.

"The council also does not gain financially from taxi licensing, as the fees are legally ringfenced for spending only on related activities," they added.

In October, the GMB Union alleged that Wolverhampton-licensed taxi drivers were facing "unprecedented delays" of up to five months for renewals due to the weight of applications, calling it a "licence factory".

They claimed drivers were unable to get updates on their licence applications due to unanswered emails and hour-long waits on the phone.

In August, the BBC spoke to a campaign group who claimed a taxi driver was unable to work for two months because of the slow process of renewing his licence in Wolverhampton.

The council said it wanted to reassure drivers that renewals were being processed thoroughly and as quickly as possible.