Liverpool Taxis May No Longer Have Gambling or Vaping Ads
Moves are being made to prevent Liverpool taxis from having ads for gambling or vaping.
Key Facts:
- Liverpool council is set to make changes to taxi ads
- This could result in gambling ads no longer appearing on taxis
- The council is also cracking down on private hire drivers
Currently, taxis operating in Liverpool are allowed to display gambling ads. However, they may not be able to do this for long. This is because the council is looking to ban gambling ads on taxis.
If the ban goes ahead, ads for gambling as well as vaping will no longer be permitted on taxis. The vehicle will, however, be allowed to display commercial ads and things not linked to addiction.
The Problem with Private Hire Drivers
Another change that may affect some taxi drivers in Liverpool involves private hire licences. Due to a loophole, these drivers can do business in Liverpool despite being registered in Wolverhampton.
This is because there’s nothing in the legislation that prevents private hire drivers from working in places outside the area where they’re registered in. To combat this, Liverpool council is planning to increase licence fees.
The fee is currently £60 per year or £150 for three years. This charge is the same for both taxis (also known as hackney carriages or black cabs) and private hire drivers (i.e. Uber).
The licensing charge would go up for both vehicle types and would be the first such increase since 2011. If the increase goes ahead, the new fees would be £75 for a year and £180 for three.
It’s believed that the increased fees would have very little impact on both drivers and their passengers. The justification for the rise is that the new fees will be similar to other cities.
Private Hire Drivers in Liverpool
Liverpool has seen a decrease in the number of taxi drivers of 131 since 2021. Around 1,063 private hire drivers have been registered, and 77 new hire operators have started working (a 92% increase).
In 2024, Wolverhampton issued licences to a total of 479 private hire drivers who had Liverpool postcodes. Whether this figure will go down or up in 2025 remains to be seen.
It’s also uncertain when exactly a ban on taxi gambling ads could come into place. There’s no telling whether this will have a noticeable effect on gambling rates and problems in and around Liverpool.
