Mike Hughes wrote:

They have always required 3rd party insurance.

But 3rd party insurance will not cover then for 'hire and reward' which
is required to be licensed as a mini cab. This is well over 1000GBP per
year and can be more than 2000 depending on the driving record of the
driver.

I obviously meant 3rd party hire+reward. Not sure if that's still all
required or if they now need fully comprehensive. 3rd party hire+reward
with a no-claims-bonus can come to around £2000 a year. Of course this
is a taxable expense.

The major expense is often the circuit fee paid to the operator. The
operator will typically receive a "fixed" amount per driver, so it is
in the interest of the operator to fill up with as many drivers as they
can. Of course, this is not in the interest of the driver unless it
means that the operator ends up getting a lot more business.