Dear Ms Chapman,

I write in response to Transport for London’s announcement of yet another licence fee increase for Taxi and Private Hire drivers.

Once again, the burden falls squarely on the backs of London’s Black Cab drivers—men and women who meet the highest standards of training, accessibility, and safety—while Private Hire operators, many backed by Silicon Valley venture capital, remain untouched and unaccountable.

• No operator fee increase.
• No structural reform.
• No justice.

 

You claim to support London’s taxi trade. But this is death by a thousand licence cuts.

Gold Standard vs. Bog Standard

Let’s be clear: London’s Black Cab drivers represent the Gold Standard.

• We do The Knowledge—up to four years of unpaid study with no guarantee of success.
• We buy wheelchair-accessible vehicles costing over £65,000.
• We comply with every emissions rule, accessibility law, route restriction, and charge TfL demands.

What do we pay?

• Taxi Driver Licence: £343
• Taxi Vehicle Licence Fee: £120
• Knowledge Fees: £650 (£225 written, £425 appearances)
• SERU Test (from Oct 2025): £40
• Medical/DBS: £100–200

 

Total: Up to £1,650+ before a single fare is taken.

Meanwhile, PHV drivers—bog standard by comparison—pay less than a third of that.

• PHV Driver Licence: £140
• PHV Vehicle LicenceFee : £120
• Application Fee: £100
• Topographical, English, SERU: £100 total
• Medical/DBS: same as taxi

 

Total: ~£460–500 all-in. And that’s assuming they’re even working legally

No Knowledge. No accessibility. No meter. No regulatory parity.

And now? No increase in operator fees—despite over 100,000 PHVs clogging our roads and outnumbering taxis by more than 6 to 1.

This is not regulatory equity. It’s exploitation.

The Bronze, Silver, Gold Solution

In 2015, I proposed a tiered licensing system:

• Gold: Full Black Cab – Knowledge, (ZEC) purpose built vehicle, taxi driving test, all-access rights.
• Silver: PHV – streamlined Knowledge, safety and topography training, advanced driving test. No Plying for Hire or E-hailing.
• Bronze: Entry-level – all new drivers start here with strict security, DBS, medical, and driving checks.

 

The Knowledge would be funded by ALL licence fees, building fairness into the system and professionalising the PHV sector.

Supported by Lord Hendy on BBC Radio London’s Eddie Nestor Show. Supported by Garrett Emmerson at City Hall.

Acknowledged by Matt Daus during the TPH investigation

Ignored by TfL.

Instead? We got Uber, saturation, collapse, and chaos.

Equality Impact Assessments: Where Are They?

You claim these fee increases are necessary for cost recovery.

But have you even assessed the impact on drivers already working fewer hours due to health, caring, or age-related limitations?

Have you completed an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA)?

If so:

• What were the findings?
• What mitigation has been proposed for part-time or vulnerable drivers?
• What data informed your assumptions?

 

If not:

• Why has TfL failed to conduct a statutory assessment on a proposal that directly affects thousands of older, disabled and marginalised drivers?

The 2025 Taxi & PHV Action Plan talks about inclusivity and equality. This fee hike does the opposite.

 

Where’s the Tout Squad at Heathrow?

You want more money from drivers? Fine. Then drivers want action.

Will TfL commit to funding a full-time, visible anti-touting unit at Heathrow—paid for from licence fees?

The situation at Terminals 2–5 is unlawful and dangerous. PHV touts, uninsured runners, predatory apps—unchecked, unchallenged, unregulated.

TfL claims “safety is our priority.”

So prove it.

• Ring fence the funding.
• Build the team.
• Enforce the law.

 

If Heathrow Airport Limited won’t do it, then TfL must.

So, I’ll Ask You Directly

Are these decisions made with any common sense—or are they politically motivated and quietly funded by Uber’s influence in City Hall?

Because from where we sit—in traffic, in debt, in despair—your licensing strategy looks less like transport policy and more like a commercial protection racket for platform capitalism.

You have presided over a decade of deregulation, disintegration, and digital manipulation.

So I ask you, Ms Chapman:

How did you get the last ten years so wrong?

Yours in frustration and resolve,

 

Mark

Mark White

(LCDC)