108 Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Stopped in Major Cross-Border Licensing Operation

More than 100 taxi and private hire vehicles from 26 different licensing authorities have been stopped during a major cross-border enforcement operation, with two vehicles immediately taken out of service over safety concerns.

South Gloucestershire Council has revealed the results of the joint operation, which brought together licensing officers and police from several different areas.

The checks took place on the morning of 12 August and specifically targeted taxis and private hire vehicles working across local authority boundaries.

A total of 108 licensed vehicles and drivers were stopped and inspected.

Those vehicles represented 26 different licensing authorities, demonstrating the extent to which licensed taxi and private hire vehicles can operate outside the area where their licences were originally issued.

Teams taking part included officers from South Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Newport and Tewkesbury alongside police.

Checks focused on vehicle condition, licensing documentation and whether drivers were complying with the requirements attached to their licences.

Two immediate stop notices were issued during the operation.

Those notices prevented the affected vehicles from continuing to operate until the identified safety concerns had been addressed.

Several other licensing matters were also identified and have been referred to the relevant licensing authorities for further investigation.

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South Gloucestershire Council said the overwhelming majority of drivers and vehicles checked during the operation were compliant.

That distinction is important because the operation was designed as a compliance and passenger-safety exercise rather than evidence that large numbers of out-of-area drivers were operating illegally.

Under the current licensing system in England, a private hire driver can carry out legitimate pre-booked work outside the geographical area of the authority that issued the driver’s and vehicle’s licences, provided the booking and licensing arrangements comply with the law.

The Department for Transport specifically warns that licensing statistics should not be interpreted as showing where vehicles actually work because drivers can obtain licences from authorities outside the areas in which they predominantly operate.

Cross-border working has nevertheless become one of the biggest issues facing the taxi and private hire industry.

The latest Department for Transport figures show there were approximately 290,000 licensed private hire vehicles in England as of 1 April 2026, an increase of around 13% compared with 2024.

Outside London alone, the number of licensed private hire vehicles increased by approximately 20% to 196,600.

By comparison, the number of licensed taxis in England fell by around 7% to approximately 52,300.

The scale of the South Gloucestershire operation also illustrates why councils increasingly cooperate rather than limiting enforcement activity to vehicles carrying their own licence plates.

Where an officer identifies a problem involving a vehicle licensed elsewhere, information can be passed back to the authority responsible for that licence so appropriate action can be considered.

South Gloucestershire Council said the operation demonstrated high levels of compliance overall while allowing officers to identify the small number of vehicles where immediate or further action was required.

For passengers, the most significant outcome is that two vehicles presenting safety concerns were prevented from continuing to work until those issues were resolved.

Further action relating to the other licensing matters identified during the checks will depend on investigations by the authorities responsible for the individual licences.

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