Number of taxis and drivers licensed by Wolverhampton council with Welsh postcodes

The number of taxis and drivers licenced by City of Wolverhampton Council with Wales postcodes has been revealed.

Figures released under a Freedom of Information request has shown the number of number of licensed Private Hire Vehicles and Drivers that have licenses from Wolverhampton despite having postcodes in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport.

The data shows 63 Private Hire Vehicles licenced by the council across the three postcode areas - with more than half (39) in Cardiff.

It also shows that there are 118 Private Hire Drivers licensed across the three areas - with just over half (60) also being in Cardiff.

See the full figures below:

The number of licensed Private Hire Vehicles where the licence holder's address is within:

• Cardiff (CF) - 39
• Newport (NP) - 21
• Swansea (SA) - 3

The number of licensed Private Hire Drivers where the licence holder's address is within:

• Cardiff (CF) - 60
• Newport (NP) - 48
• Swansea (SA) - 10

It comes after Wolverhampton Council was named as an authority which issued thousands of licences to drivers who did not live in the city last year.

Councillors were told that other areas around the country, including Manchester and Blackpool, had raised concerns about the number of so-called “out-of-town” licences issued by the West Midlands council.

Reports say that in the last five years Wolverhampton has tripled the number of private hire vehicles it has licensed, a practice that is legal.

Figures released in 2024, revealed up to 96% of the licences issued by the council between April 2023 and the end of March 2024 were for people living and working outside the city.

The sharp rise in licences from City of Wolverhampton Council has led the government to propose an overhaul of the practice.

The government plans to reform taxi licensing across the country. Currently, 263 different bodies issue licences to drivers, including councils and Transport for London (TfL).

But under the proposals set out by the Department for Transport in January, this would be reduced to 70 local transport authorities (LTAs), which already manage local transport planning.