Taxi to nowhere: COVID-19 measures hit London black cab business

Drivers are unable to keep paying for their vehicles because of the coronavirus lockdown

Last updated: November 20, 2020 | 13:25

AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Senior Web Editor

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According to official figures from Transport for London (TfL) sent to AFP, the number of licensed black cabs has gone down from more than 19,000 on March 1 this year to just under 15,000 on November 8.

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The black cabs were once in a list of British symbols recognisable around the world, including red telephone boxes and police in conical helmets.

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With London's streets emptied by the coronavirus lockdown, many drivers are unable to keep paying for their vehicles and are handing them back in droves.

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With air travel constrained, hitting tourism, he said the wait could be 20 to 24 hours instead of the normal three.

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Fields full of taxis are now a mass phenomenon, said Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA).

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Covid is "without doubt the prime factor" for falling numbers of taxis, he said.

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McNamara also says taxi drivers should be singled out for help, in the same way that government helped restaurants try to bounce back after their enforced closure.

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"We've been hit equally hard, if not harder than the hospitality sector," he said.

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