Luton taxis return under new deal

Passengers arriving at London Luton Airport are set to have another ground-transport option as locally licensed taxi drivers prepare to return to an official airport rank, bringing Luton hackney carriages back to the terminal following a new agreement between the airport and the local taxi trade.

London Luton Airport may be known for aircraft carrying passengers across Europe, but what happens after a traveller walks through the arrivals doors is just as important.

For many passengers, particularly those arriving late at night or carrying substantial luggage, that means finding a taxi or pre-booked private hire vehicle.

A new agreement is now set to change the taxi arrangements at the airport.

Locally licensed Luton hackney carriages are returning to an official rank at London Luton Airport, giving passengers the ability to leave the terminal and take a locally licensed taxi without having to arrange the journey in advance.

The move follows discussions between the airport, Luton Council and representatives of the local taxi trade.

The agreement will provide Luton hackney carriage drivers with access to an official airport taxi rank.

This is particularly significant for local drivers who have argued that an airport sitting within their own licensing area should provide opportunities for the town's taxi trade.

Unlike private hire vehicles, hackney carriages can accept passengers from a taxi rank without the journey being booked beforehand.

That means an arriving passenger can simply leave the terminal, go to the designated taxi rank and take the next available vehicle.

For passengers unfamiliar with Luton, this provides another straightforward way of continuing their journey.

The new arrangement is expected to begin with around 40 locally licensed drivers obtaining airport permits.

That number could eventually increase substantially.

Plans anticipate that approximately 100 drivers could participate during the following 12 months as passenger numbers recover.

The airport will therefore gain a larger pool of locally based taxis capable of serving arriving passengers.

For Luton drivers, it represents access to one of the largest sources of passenger journeys in the area.

Initially, the local taxis are expected to operate from the airport's passenger drop-off area.

That is not intended to be the permanent arrangement.

During 2022, the airport plans to establish a purpose-built taxi area immediately outside the terminal, providing a dedicated facility for the local hackney carriage service.

Location matters enormously at an airport.

Passengers emerging from a flight generally want the next stage of their journey to be obvious.

They don't necessarily want to search through a car park or understand complicated pickup instructions.

A clearly marked taxi rank immediately outside the terminal provides the traditional airport experience: leave arrivals, find the taxi rank and get into the next available cab.

Environmental standards are an important part of the new arrangement.

The initial fleet is expected to include nine fully electric taxis.

The remaining participating vehicles meet the modern Euro 6 emissions standard.

That represents a significant investment by local taxi drivers.

The airport subsequently put the initial investment by the trade at more than £800,000, with expectations that it could exceed £1.5 million during 2022 as more drivers and vehicles joined the scheme.

For passengers, the change may not be immediately obvious.

A taxi is still a taxi.

But replacing older diesel vehicles with electric and lower-emission models could become increasingly important as airports attempt to reduce emissions associated with journeys to and from their terminals.

When people think about an airport's environmental impact, aircraft are naturally the first thing that comes to mind.

But airports generate enormous amounts of road traffic.

Passengers arrive by car.

Staff drive to work.

Taxis and private hire vehicles collect passengers.

Coaches travel between cities and terminals.

Delivery vehicles serve airport businesses.

Car-hire customers enter and leave throughout the day.

This is known within the aviation industry as surface access.

Reducing emissions from those journeys is therefore an important part of making airports more sustainable.

Electric taxis potentially contribute to that objective.

An airport can have excellent public transport connections and still require a substantial taxi and private hire industry.

Passengers don't all travel under the same circumstances.

Someone travelling alone with one cabin bag may be perfectly happy taking a train.

A family returning from holiday with four large suitcases may have very different priorities.

So might an elderly passenger.

Or someone landing after public transport services have reduced for the night.

Or a traveller whose final destination isn't conveniently served by rail.

Taxis and private hire vehicles fill those gaps.

They provide something public transport generally cannot: a direct journey from the airport to the passenger's destination.

Despite its name, London Luton Airport serves passengers travelling across a very large area.

Some passengers are heading into Luton itself.

Others travel to towns throughout Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire.

Many continue into London.

This makes the airport's ground-transport network unusually important.

A passenger landing at Luton may ultimately be travelling dozens of miles before reaching their final destination.

For passengers travelling towards Northamptonshire, road transport can be particularly attractive.

London Luton Airport sits close to the M1, providing a relatively direct road connection north towards locations including Milton Keynes and Northampton.

That is one reason Luton can be a practical airport for passengers living well beyond Bedfordshire.

The airport isn't simply a gateway for London.

Its position beside the M1 allows it to serve a large part of southern and central England.

The return of local taxis also highlights an important distinction that passengers sometimes overlook.

A hackney carriage taxi and a private hire vehicle are not legally the same type of service.

A licensed taxi can generally pick up passengers from an authorised taxi rank within its licensing arrangements and can also accept certain street hires.

A private hire vehicle works differently.

Private hire journeys must be booked in advance through a licensed private hire operator.

A private hire driver cannot simply wait outside the terminal and independently offer journeys to arriving passengers.

That distinction is particularly important at airports, where passengers encounter many different forms of road transport.

For passengers, the biggest advantage of an airport taxi rank is flexibility.

No booking is required.

A flight may arrive early.

It may arrive late.

The passenger may not know exactly when immigration or baggage reclaim will be completed.

None of that matters particularly if they intend to use the rank.

Once they leave the terminal, they can take an available taxi.

That makes the rank particularly useful for passengers whose plans change unexpectedly.

Private hire offers a different type of convenience.

Instead of deciding what to do after landing, the passenger arranges the journey before travelling.

The operator already has the pickup information and destination.

For airport Meet & Greet services, the driver can monitor the flight and arrange to meet the passenger after arrival.

The fare or pricing arrangement can also be established in advance.

For someone travelling a considerable distance — particularly into London — knowing the transport arrangements before boarding the flight can be reassuring.

Neither system is automatically better.

They simply meet different passenger requirements.

Collecting someone from an airport sounds simple.

In reality, timing it correctly is surprisingly difficult.

The aircraft landing time is not the same as the passenger meeting time.

After landing, passengers may have to wait for the aircraft to reach its stand.

They then disembark.

International passengers may pass through passport control.

Checked luggage has to reach the baggage carousel.

Only after all of that can the passenger enter the arrivals hall.

A flight might therefore be on the ground while the passenger is still some distance from their waiting vehicle.

Air travel is inherently unpredictable.

Weather can delay flights.

Air traffic control restrictions can change arrival times.

Aircraft can depart late from their previous destination.

For taxis working from a rank, this is handled relatively naturally.

When passengers arrive, taxis leave.

Pre-booked airport drivers need a different approach.

Flight monitoring becomes important so that drivers and operators can adjust to changes rather than simply relying on the original scheduled landing time.

The timing of the new taxi agreement is significant.

The aviation industry has experienced one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Covid-19 restrictions caused international passenger numbers to collapse.

Airports that had previously been filled with travellers suddenly became extraordinarily quiet.

London Luton Airport had handled almost 18 million passengers in 2019, making it one of Britain's busiest airports.

Passenger numbers fell dramatically during the pandemic.

As travel begins recovering, the businesses and drivers that depend on airport passengers are also trying to rebuild.

For local taxi drivers, regaining access to airport passengers could therefore provide an important economic opportunity.

Luton Airport's importance extends well beyond airlines.

Before the pandemic, the airport supported thousands of jobs in the regional economy.

Those jobs included airline employees, security staff and baggage handlers, but also businesses indirectly dependent on aviation.

Hotels.

Restaurants.

Car parks.

Vehicle rental companies.

Taxi drivers.

Private hire operators.

Maintenance businesses.

And countless suppliers.

When passenger numbers collapse, the effects spread far beyond the terminal.

The recovery of airport travel therefore matters to the entire surrounding economy.

London Airport Transfer provides pre-booked private hire journeys to and from London Luton Airport and the other London airports, as well as to destinations across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and beyond.

Whether a passenger chooses a locally licensed taxi from the rank or a pre-booked private hire transfer arranged in advance, both depend on the same recovering network of drivers and vehicles that airports like Luton rely on.

Written by London Airport Transfer for passengers travelling to and from London airports.