'Cause London taxi drivers care so much about reducing pollution, innit?

From the BBC:

The mayor of London has urged the government to follow New York’s example and allow a cap on the number of minicabs in the capital. Sadiq Khan said an increase in private hire cabs needed to be halted to combat congestion and improve air quality…

In 2010-11, TfL counted 61,200 private hire drivers and 50,663 private hire licensed vehicles in London. This went up to 113,645 drivers and 87,921 vehicles in 2017-18 – an increase Mr Khan described as “massive” and “unsustainable”.

Blatant protectionism of course. For some reason, London mayors – of whichever political party or none – always kow tow to the London cabbie lobby.

Steve Wright, chairman of the LPHCA, said a cap would only push up prices, make it harder for companies to recruit drivers and leave minicab users stranded: “This is a ridiculous proposal. It’s just a draconian thing from years gone by. It’s protecting the black cab industry and will be detrimental to consumers.”

Nailed it.

The final insult is hurled from the parapets of the cosy protected cartel, from the FT:

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “We support the mayor in calling for a cap in private hire vehicles in London. With the number of PHVs on London roads nearly doubling in recent years, Londoners have seen a rise in congestion and a negative impact on air quality.” There are 23,800 licensed London taxi drivers.

Funnily enough, official London taxi drivers all drive diesel vehicles and leave their engines running while in the taxi ranks.