Black taxi license applications are down by 20% this year due to the rise of Uber.
The figures, which include new licenses and renewals, are compared to a year earlier.
The black cab industry is laying the blame squarely at Uber’s door – where you can order a cab from your mobile phone.
That has led to a surge in the number of minicab drivers on the roads of London.
Boris Johnson told LBC he’s looking to introduce legislation to limit the number of minicabs on London’s roads.
He says the number of private hire vehicles in the city has risen by more than 13,000 in 18 months which is causing increased congestion.
He said: “I’d like to talk about the congestion threat caused by the massive increase in minicabs. Your listeners may be aware of this as you’ll have seen it around you.
“In the last 18 months, they have gone up by 18%. They’ve leapt from 65,000 minicabs to 76,000 minicabs – and it’s growing at the rate of about 1,000 a month.
“We need to consider that there are 25,000 black cabs and you’re starting to see a real threat to the movement of traffic on the roads.
“What we’re proposing is that you need to have some legislation and I’ll be looking to take that forward to restrict the number of minicabs that can come on the streets.”
Source: LBC
