Our member has taken a clear and principled stance on app-based taxi work:
The meter should start the moment a job is accepted.
Let’s be clear — this is not legal advice. Drivers should always consult their union or obtain independent legal advice. However, in the absence of clear public guidance from Transport for London (TfL), and given TfL’s ongoing refusal to seek a declaratory judgment on the matter, our member has formed a view grounded in long-standing taxi law and contract principles.
The Legal Basis
Most app platforms position the taxi driver as the ‘principal’ in the contract with the passenger. In our member’s view, that makes an app booking no different from a street hail or a rank pickup.
And in those situations, the process is clear: the cab is hired, the meter is started.
Section 39 of the London Cab Order 1934 allows the meter to be engaged once the taxi is hired. Our member argues that pressing “accept” on an app job constitutes being hired — a legally binding agreement is formed, and the meter can lawfully be started from that point.
Compellability — and Why It Matters for Public Safety
But this isn’t just a question of contractual formality or payment mechanics. It goes deeper than that — to public safety.
Under Section 17 of the Hackney Carriage Act 1853, a hired taxi is compellable — meaning the driver is legally required to carry the passenger for a trip of 12 miles or 1 hour.
Our member argues that compellability is triggered at the point of acceptance, not pickup. Once a driver accepts a booking, both parties are contractually bound. The driver is under a legal obligation to fulfil the journey, and the passenger has a legal right to rely on that commitment.
This legal protection exists for a reason: to provide certainty, especially for vulnerable passengers — such as lone women late at night, elderly individuals, or disabled passengers — who depend on the reliability and professionalism of licensed taxi services.
App-based cancellations after acceptance directly undermine this protection. They create a dangerous situation where a vulnerable person, believing a licensed taxi is on its way, is suddenly left stranded — potentially in an unsafe or isolated location, without alternatives.
In our member’s view, allowing such cancellations is not just bad practice — it is a serious public safety risk and potentially a breach of TfL’s Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies to eliminate discrimination and protect vulnerable groups.
This is not hypothetical. These app cancellations happen regularly — and our member believes TfL has a legal and moral duty to act.
The Terms & Conditions Trap
App companies often state that drivers cannot start the meter until the passenger physically enters the cab. Our member acknowledges that by agreeing to these terms, drivers may be bound by them. However, he also argues that the terms do not override statutory rights.
These bookings form consumer contracts — and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, particularly Section 50, a trader (driver) and consumer (passenger) may mutually agree to vary contract terms. That means that even if an app prohibits meter activation at acceptance, the driver can lawfully start the meter — if the passenger agrees, for example via an in-app message.
This is arguably a lawful variation and, in our member’s view, strengthens both parties’ rights — and avoids disputes.
TfL’s Authority — and Overreach
TfL has reportedly stated that drivers should only start the meter at the point of pickup. But our member strongly contests that TfL has no legal authority to impose this policy.
TfL did not write the Hackney Carriage Acts. It is not the lawmaker — it is an enforcement body. It cannot reinterpret long-established taxi legislation and case law to suit the commercial practices of private app companies operating in the regulated taxi market.
Last year, our member received a warning from TfL for starting the meter at acceptance. He challenged the basis of that warning, and TfL has not taken further action — which, to our member, speaks volumes.
Who’s Really in Control?
If app companies remove drivers for starting the meter at acceptance — despite those drivers being told they are the principal in the contract — then who really controls the terms?
That question was central to the MyTaxi Employment Tribunal case, which found that such contractual relationships were often a legal fiction. In reality, the app companies are the ones in control — and that raises serious regulatory and public safety concerns, which TfL has failed to address.
Despite this, TfL continues to engage with and legitimise these app platforms as stakeholders, even as they erode passenger protection and driver independence.
Conclusion
Our member’s position is as follows:
Once a taxi driver accepts an app booking, they are legally hired — and legally entitled to start the meter.
If the passenger agrees (which can be done through an in-app message), the contract terms may be lawfully varied, and the meter may start immediately.
This is not just about making extra money in difficult trading circumstances — it’s about legal clarity, professional standards, and above all,public safety.
Cancelling app jobs after acceptance leaves passengers vulnerable and unprotected — and our member believes that practice has no place in the regulated licensed taxi trade, which is performing a vital public transport service.
Start the meter when the job is accepted, make sure the passenger consents, and fulfil the hiring – that’s what keeps passengers safe.
