Fareham Taxi Licences: 764 Drivers, 84% Live Elsewhere

Fareham Borough Council now licenses almost three times as many private hire drivers as it did in 2023, and most of them do not live in the borough. The council wants to make its licensing test harder in response.

The figures are in a report to the council’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee, which meets on Wednesday 30 September at 6pm. The Taxi Licensing Update report says the council has received “an unprecedented number of applications” over the past two years.

The numbers

The report gives these counts of licensed private hire drivers and vehicles:

A further 256 driver applications were pending in August 2026. If every one were granted, Fareham would license more than 1,000 private hire drivers. That is our arithmetic, not a council forecast.

The report also says that, as of September 2026:

• 84% of licence holders live outside Fareham borough
• 95% of applicants live outside the borough

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Why drivers from elsewhere choose Fareham

This is lawful. The report points out that no taxi legislation requires a private hire driver to live in the area of the council that licenses them. Since the Deregulation Act 2015, an operator can also pass bookings to drivers licensed by the same council wherever the journey starts or ends.

Officers give three reasons drivers have offered for picking Fareham:

• some drivers suggested the knowledge test “is not as challenging as in other areas”
• applications were typically processed quickly
• applicants valued the help given by the licensing support team

The report says the rise has made it “increasingly difficult to maintain the service”. More applicants are being referred to the council’s Licensing Panel. Enforcement work has grown too. Officers say they are often investigating misconduct that drivers committed in other boroughs, reported to them by those councils.

What the council wants to change

The knowledge test has been run by an outside provider, Safe4Transport, since April 2025. It is currently 20 multiple-choice questions, and applicants need 16 right, which is 80%.

Officers intend to make it tougher:

• the pass mark rises to 86%, in line with the DVLA theory test
• the test grows to seven sections: legislation and licensing, safeguarding, the Equality Act, driver licensing, driver conduct, vehicle licensing, and hackney carriage byelaws or private hire rules
• more questions, mixing multiple choice with written answers

Those test changes will happen “as soon as practically possible”. Three further changes need a formal policy amendment, so they will go out to consultation first:

• Test attempts fall from three to two. At present an applicant who fails three times must wait 12 months before reapplying.
• Driving experience rises from two years with a full licence to four. Officers say most councils they looked at set two or three years.
• Overseas criminal record checks will only be needed for time spent abroad aged 18 or over, not from age 10 as now. This matches Institute of Licensing guidance, and officers expect it to cut the number of applicants who have to go before the panel.

The proposed policy, with the changes tracked, is Appendix A to the report.

What happens next

If the committee agrees on Wednesday, the policy changes go out to public consultation for six weeks. Existing hackney carriage and private hire licence holders will be told directly. A further report will then come back to the committee for adoption.

The report also says the council will propose higher licence fees in November, ahead of its 2027 fees and charges.

What it means for you

• If you use taxis in Fareham, nothing changes this week. The changes are aimed at who gets a licence, not at fares or ranks.
• If you are a licensed driver or applying, the tougher test is coming first and does not need consultation. The two-attempt limit and the four-year rule do.
• If you want a say, the consultation will be on the council’s consultation pages once it opens. The committee meeting on 30 September is held in public, and the agenda and papers are online.

Getting around the borough this week: Fareham roadworks and travel and parking in Fareham.

Sources

• Taxi Licensing Update, report of the Head of Environmental Health to the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee, 30 September 2026, and its Appendix A.
• Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee, 30 September 2026: agenda, Fareham Borough Council.