The headline here maybe overeggs the thing a bit, but of course there's been a long-term trend from HCs and street hires towards pre-booking, with Uber obviously accelerating the whole process
Could hailing a taxi in Wiltshire soon become a thing of the past?
https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news ... hing-past/
Hailing a taxi in Wiltshire might soon become a thing of the past, after a boom in private hire cars following the licensing of Uber in the county.
Uber was given the go-ahead to operate in Wiltshire at the start of 2026, after the number of cabbies in the county fell in the wake of the pandemic, with drivers taking supermarket delivery jobs and sticking with them when Covid restrictions were lifted.
Between the start of the pandemic and last year the number of cabbies in Wiltshire fell by a fifth.
And there was a net loss of 79 taxi drivers in 2025.
In a report to be heard by Wiltshire Council's Licensing Committee next Monday, September 14, the Taxi Licensing Team says the authority is "now seeing a growing number of drivers registering and operating through the platform."
The committee will hear that drivers are moving from Hackney Carriage licences to Private Hire licences.
"The primary reason for this trend relates to Uber's dynamic pricing model," says the report.
"Within its own licensing district, a Hackney Carriage vehicle must use the approved taxi meter and cannot lawfully charge more than the metered fare."
The report continues: "The team has also experienced a noticeable increase in Private Hire Operator licence applications.
"These changes are expected to bring Wiltshire more closely into line with many other licensing authorities where Private Hire vehicles significantly outnumber Hackney Carriages."
As of August, there were 407 Private Hire Vehicle licences in Wiltshire, and 402 Hackney Carriage licences.
Committee members will also hear about annual vehicle inspections, which ensure that private hire cars and hackney carriages are safe and complaint with council rules - including displaying required signs and notices.
Between May 1 and August 26, 614 vehicle inspection appointments were booked. Six per cent of booked appointments resulted in a failure to attend and five per cent of vehicles failed their inspection.
In one case, a vehicle was presented for a six-month inspection with three bald tyres.
A vehicle can only be used as a taxi after it has passed the inspection, which includes holding a valid MOT certificate.
Meanwhile, mandatory safeguarding training has been reduced from every five years to every three.
