Posted on the 30th December 2025 in PHTM News

PETERBOROUGH AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE MAYOR DEMANDS END TO BROKEN TAXI LICENSING SYSTEM

Mayor of Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, Paul Bristow, has launched a defiant bid to overhaul the nation’s “outdated” taxi regulations, calling for a radical shift in power to protect local drivers from out-of-town competition.

In a move that aligns him with Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham, Bristow is lobbying the Government to strip city/borough councils of licensing powers and hand them to regional Mayoral Authorities.

The goal is to eliminate "cross-border" licensing, which currently allows private hire vehicles from as far as Wolverhampton to operate freely within Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

The Mayor argues that the current patchwork of regulations is failing both the public and the trade. He contends that the ability for drivers to shop around for licences in different jurisdictions has created a loophole where standards are sacrificed for convenience.

“The system for regulating the industry has well and truly passed its use-by date," Bristow wrote in a letter to the Secretary of State. "The multiplicity of licensing authorities has led to unacceptable local variations with inconsistent standards... these local variations have been a means of driving down standards to a lowest common denominator.”

Beyond safety and emissions, Bristow is framing the reform as a matter of economic fairness for local workers. He noted that he has received "scores of complaints" from Peterborough drivers regarding the current system's inefficiency and the influx of external competition.

  • The Issue: private hire vehicles can currently license with any authority and work nationwide.

  • The Solution: Devolving powers through the English Devolution Bill to give Mayors control over vehicle numbers and enforcement. “I want a level playing field for local taxi drivers in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough," Bristow stated. "Councils often have no relationship with the drivers coming in from outside our region, no levers to enforce the standards, and no control over the numbers of taxis serving our communities.”

By joining forces with other regional leaders, Bristow hopes to force a national change that prioritises local accountability.

His vision is clear: turning the region into the "best place to be a taxi driver" by ensuring that those who work in the community are regulated by the community. “We can’t do this with the current broken licensing system," the Mayor concluded. "I want our taxi fleet to be amongst the safest and most trusted in the country.”


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