Posted on the 22nd January 2026 in PHTM News

LPHCA DEFENDS WOLVERHAMPTON COUNCIL FOR PROCESSING LARGER NUMBERS OF PHV LICENCES FROM ACROSS UK

Steve Wright, Chair of The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) said in an interview with BBC: "Wolverhampton council is very, very strict and stringent and follows all of the taxi vetting process, with tests proving challenging to pass."

In the last five years, Wolverhampton has tripled the number of private hire vehicles it has licensed to over 30,000.

Wright, said Wolverhampton's standards were "the highest in the country and diligent".

He stated that fast processes for PHV applications were needed after about 100,000 drivers dropped out of the industry after the pandemic.

"Many local authorities are absolutely awful at getting licences processed and done," he said.

"You can't walk in the door and get a licence"

Roger Tomlinson, who works for Tamworth Taxis, said the number of drivers working for the company had reduced by more than a third as Wolverhampton-licensed drivers worked in the town.

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, claimed more than half of private hire vehicles operating in the region were licensed elsewhere, which made the industry unfair for local operators.

However, Wright said drivers working in areas other than Wolverhampton were probably local to another area and had just got their licence in the city.

"It's not true that you can walk in the door and get a licence, it's very, very hard to do so in Wolverhampton," he said.

A spokesperson for City of Wolverhampton Council stressed that it was illegal for it to refuse applicants a PHV licence "on the basis of where they live".

"Applicants are usually local to the area they drive in, but many have chosen to be licensed in Wolverhampton due to our efficient, yet rigorous, licensing process," they said.


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