Section 3: Carrying out private hire journeys

A private hire journey is different from a taxi journey in one basic way: it must be booked in advance through a licensed operator. This note covers Section 3 of the PHV Driver's Handbook: the ban on picking up passengers without a booking, the details your operator must record, fares and receipts, lost property, and when you may refuse a booking.

The ban on plying for hire and touting

A PHV is not a taxi (black cab). As a London PHV driver:

• You are not allowed to pick people up on the street or at stations or airports unless they have booked you through a licensed operator. This includes the street outside your operator's centre.
• You must not allow any passenger to enter your vehicle before you have received the booking from your operator.
• You must not give any sign or say anything that suggests you are available for hire without a booking.
• You must not encourage any member of the public to approach you or your PHV if they do not have a valid booking.

If someone does come up to you, you are allowed to hand out a business card with your operator's number on it, or give other contact details such as a website. You should tell the person to contact a licensed private hire operator to make a booking. You must never approach people on the pavement or outside a late-night venue to offer them private hire services. If you do, you may be committing an offence and could be prosecuted.

The law behind this rule comes from the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. A driver who picks up passengers without a booking may be illegally plying for hire or touting. Touting is a criminal offence. Since December 2003 it has been a recordable offence, which means the offender can be fingerprinted and a DNA sample taken. TfL will normally consider revoking the PHV driver's licence of anyone convicted of, or cautioned for, touting.

Key fact: To help passengers understand, PHVs display a 'pre-book only' sign as part of the TfL signage displayed inside the vehicle.