§ 15. Mr. Carsonasked the Minister of Fuel and Power how many private hire motor cars are licensed in this country at the moment; how many operators there are; what is the average size of fleets; and how the total compares with the numbers in 1938.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerThe owner of any car may do private hire work, if he so desires; he requires no special licence. In the period of June to November, 1949, the number of cars for which petrol allowances were made was 60,131. No record of private hire cars was kept in 1938; when petrol rationing began in 1939, allowances were given for about 26,000 cars. I regret that I have no information about the number of operators or the size of their fleets.