Minicab drivers have accused Transport for London, which licenses their trade, of tacitly encouraging the “brutal exploitation” of drivers by digital private hire firms such as Uber.
A report published by United Private Hire Drivers (UPHD), a minicab drivers’ union, and Networked Rights, a non-profit organisation that researches exploitation in the sharing economy, says TfL has failed to get to grips with the emergence of private-hire apps and their implications for drivers’ wellbeing.
It claims that four out of five UPHD members can no longer earn enough to support their families despite working full-time, and nearly three out of five have been racially abused while on the job. Nine out of 10 drivers believe TfL does nothing to protect them from exploitation.
Yaseen Aslam, UPHD’s founder, said a combination of low pay and exploitative conditions had left his members facing a winter crisis.
Drivers “are telling us their employment and income has never been more insecure and are met by a cruel and indifferent regulator”, he said. “We urgently need change at TfL if we are to protect public safety as well as the rights and welfare of some of London’s poorest workers.”
James Farrar of Networked Rights said that virtualisation in the minicab trade was shifting all the risk of the business on to drivers and away from operators, a situation made worse by TfL’s refusal to put a cap on the number of minicab licences issued.
There are nearly 112,000 licensed minicab drivers in London, and competition is forcing prices down while operators continue to profit from the commissions levied on the increased number of transactions, Farrar said.
“We are seeing a price war going on at the moment, but the cost of that price war is not being borne by the operators, it’s borne by the drivers. And of course, TfL is also collecting a windfall in licence fee income from drivers as well,” he said.
“The number of licences has doubled in London in the past three years or so, and TfL are putting on about 1,000 new licences every month.”
The joint report calls on the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to agree to a 10-point plan to solve the problems facing minicab drivers, including the enforcement of “fit and proper” requirements for multinational operators, a cap on the number of private hire licences and an end to proposals to criminalise ply trade, where cab drivers pick up fares from the street.
It also calls for an end to plans to introduce “discriminatory” written English tests for drivers. “What’s particularly cruel is that TfL is licensing out of control, and they’re refusing to grandfather rights in for guys,” Farrar said.
“That means there are a lot of guys now sweating it out, worried that they will lose their licence at the point of renewal if they can’t pass this damn test. That would leave them not only out of a job, but with stranded assets. What about guys who have invested 60 grand into a Mercedes E Class and now can’t work? That’s a stranded asset.”
A TfL spokeswoman said: “Transport for London and the mayor are determined to encourage a vibrant taxi and private hire market in the capital, with space for all providers to flourish.
“We recently published a taxi and private hire action plan, which includes a raft of measures to drive up standards and improve safety for every passenger in London.”
