Sadiq Khan tells government: Give me the power to limit number of cars
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has demanded new powers to bring in a controversial cap on the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs) operating in the capital, following a similar clampdown in New York.
Last week New York became the first major American city to introduce the one-year cap on cars used by platforms such as Uber, in a move Khan’s counterpart Bill de Blasio said would control congestion and traffic and improve driver wages.
In a letter to transport secretary Chris Grayling today, Khan asked for the powers to help control what he said was an “unsustainable, huge increase” in PHV numbers.
He said there were now more than 110,000 actively licensed drivers in London, an 83 per cent increase on seven years ago – numbers that some operators have disputed.
Khan wrote: “Last week New York – which is facing similar problems with the significant increase in private hire vehicles on their roads – took the necessary step of instituting a year-long cap on app-based private hire companies. Unlike New York, I don’t have the power to cap the number of private hire vehicles in London.”
Critics have hit out at the idea, with Richard Dilks, transport policy director at London First, saying the calls for a cap were “crude”, while Steve Wright, chairman of the Licensed Private Hire Car Association, branded the plan “absolutely potty”.
“This is good old-fashioned protectionism; there is absolutely no business case for this whatsoever,” Wright told City A.M.
He warned the proposal could attract the attention of the competition watchdog as it would be likely to push up prices owing to the reduced availability of cars.
Private hire has become a boom market for London.
Companies such as Uber, Addison Lee and Green Tomato represent a large share of the market, while newcomers such as ViaVan and Lyft are steadily muscling in as rivals.
Khan’s call comes just months after Transport for London granted Uber a 15-month probationary licence, having stripped it of its right to operate in the capital last year on the grounds it was not a “fit and proper” person to hold a licence.
An Uber spokesperson said: “By competing with private cars, getting more people into fewer vehicles and investing in our clean air plan, we can be a part of the solution in London.”
Mark Littlewood, director general at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said companies such as Uber had brought down prices and that any restrictions would make it more difficult for consumers who rely on them.
“Capping the number of PHVs in the capital puts us back on the road towards these services only being available to the wealthy. Surely we want to move in the opposite direction,” he said.
However, general secretary of black cab lobby group the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, Steve McNamara, supported the proposed cap.
“With the number of PHVs on London roads nearly doubling in recent years, Londoners have seen a rise in congestion and a negative impact on air quality,” he said.