Key facts

We are responsible for the licensing of taxi and private hire services in London. Some key facts about these services are listed below.

Licence types

There are five types of licence we issue:

Private hire operator licence - this is valid for five years and there are two catergories; the small operator licence (for operators with one or two vehicles) and the standard operator licence (for operators with three or more vehicles)
Private hire driver's licence - valid for three years
Private hire vehicle licence - valid for one year
Taxi driver's licence - valid for three years
Taxi vehicle licence - vaild for one year

The fees for each type of licence can be found at PCO Licence Fees

Taxi drivers

There are two types of taxi driver's licence: the All London licence (Green Badge) and the Suburban licence (Yellow Badge).

The All London licence allows drivers to ply for hire anywhere in the Greater London area and around 21,000 licensed drivers are All London drivers, with the rest holding the Suburban licence.

There are nine suburban sectors in total and the full list of these and the number of drivers licensed for each sector can be found in the Driver Licence Types section.

Taxis

On an average day, London's taxis will:

Make just under 200,000 journeys
Carry just under 300,000 passengers (an average of 1.48 passengers per taxi)
Travel 3.2 miles per trip per taxi

Private hire vehicles (PHVs)

On an average day, London's PHVs will:

Make just under 210,000 journeys (including 150,000 minicab journeys)
Carry just under 301,000 passengers (an average of 1.45 passengers per trip)
Travel 8.4 miles (5.5 miles for minicabs) per trip per vehicle

Licencee statistics

In London there are approximately:

2,300 licensed private hire operators
45,000 licensed private hire vehicles
46,000 fully licensed private hire drivers
21,000 licensed taxis
24,000 licensed taxi drivers

Anyone can apply to become a licensed taxi or private hire driver in London and the PCO applies the Mayor's policy on promoting equal opportunity and fairness when assessing applications.

Taxi ranks

We also appoint taxi ranks and there are more than 450 PCO appointed ranks, with space for approximately 2,000 taxis, in London.

Taxi ranks can be found at most stations and interchanges, Heathrow and City airports, outside large hotels and shops plus in areas with busy late night economies.

Found in the back seat

As well as the usual items found in the back of taxis such as umbrellas, gloves and hats, there have been some more peculiar and bizarre items left behind by passengers.

These include:

A cat in a basket (given to the RSPCA)
£20,000 worth of cash in £50 notes
A large and ornate African-style wooden chair with very short legs and a high back
A hubble bubble/hookah style pipe