Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for the effect in regulation of taxi and minicab companies of increasing use of smartphone technology to calculate fares; and whether he plans to introduce legislation on that matter.

Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, including taxi fare regulation, is carried out by local licensing authorities. They have no power to determine private hire vehicle fares or prescribe how they are calculated. Private hire fares are set by licensed operators and when booking a private hire vehicle, customers can obtain a quote or estimate for a journey in advance.

The Law Commission has recently completed a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation and recommended retention of the current system for setting taxi and private hire vehicle fares. The Government is currently considering the Law Commission report and will provide a full response in due course.