If we lived in America and you where asking ‘how long does it take a pco licence to start driving for uber’ I would first ask you what the heck a pco licence was and then tell you not to fret because you’d be up and running in a few days.
You see, over the pond it’s a very simple sign up process which will have you picking up passengers in no time in pretty much any car you are currently driving.
In the UK, it’s another story where were talking months not days. In fact, if your on the road within 6 months, you’ve had a good run. It took me just over 8.
Having gone through the process, I can tell you it is frustratingly long winded and seeped in red tape which at the time, blew my mind at how drawn out the process of getting a pco licence was.
The whole system of applying for a pco licence seemed flawed and didn’t seem to make any logical sense but as I’ve gone through the process and come out the side, I can now see why it is a necessary evil.
Is The Fact That Getting a PCO Licence is a Long and Difficult Process Actually a Good Thing?
Looking back at my very first visit to the uber greenlight hub, the writing was on the wall that it might take a lot longer than I thought it would to become an uber driver. I was shocked to see the constant slew of people from all walks of life queuing up for their piece of the pie.
I was there for about 2 hours and the queue did not ease up for a second. And this was just Monday morning. As I sat there next to the coffee machine observing the influx of people I started to do the math in my head, attempting to estimate how many people were desperately trying to get in on the action. My game of mental maths was cut short when 4 people in a row interrupted me to help them work the coffee machine, because pressing a couple of buttons was clearly too complicated for my future uber partners.
8 frustrating months later and my pco licence had arrived so I booked my onboarding session at the uber hub to get me activated. When you book the uber onboarding session you are given 2 locations to choose from along with morning and afternoon sessions, which are carried out in groups. Keen to get going, I booked a morning session and counted over 50 people in the room. Again, I started to play my mental math game. 50 people x 2 sessions a day x 2 locations x 5 days a week x 4 weeks a month x 12 months a year …
I didn’t get to the final figure but I did come to the conclusion that its way to many potential drivers.
You now start realise why obtaining a pco licence takes so long. They have to deal with piles of thousands of applications which are constantly being topped up. Each application has multiple stages that have to be checked and verified and judging by my experience at the coffee machine, I’m sure that applicants aren’t getting things correct the first time round. Attempting to get through to TFL on the phone will show how busy they really are as your usually on hold for at least 30 minutes every time you call.
Now, in an overcrowded market of drivers clogging up the streets of london waiting for Uber and any other rideshare platform to send them their next ride, can you imagine the chaos on the roads if it took any Tom, Dick and Harry a few days to start picking up passengers.
You then have to consider the impact it would have on the earning potential of drivers. The supply of drivers would outweigh the demand for rides killing the prospect of earning a living form this game dead in its tracks.
Us London private hire drivers should count our blessings that we have a strict regulatory body like the TFL in charge of the licensing process and should be thankful that the process of becoming a private hire driver, isn’t as quick and simple as it is in America.
While you are waiting for your license, consider getting some professional training from me through the Appdriver Success Secrets Online Course where I’ll teach you everything youll need to know to be a successful appdriver.
If you want to read more on the process of applying for a pco licence and the length of time it takes, you can read an article I wrote on therideshareguy.com called ‘ Here’s What it Takes to Become a London Uber Driver’ which I wrote to show the American market how different our sign up processes are.
If you are ready to apply for a PCO licence follow the comprehensive step by step guide here ‘How to Become an Uber Driver in london (Step By Step Guide)
