Fewer licensing authorities means a wider area to pass work within
The DfT has consulted on cutting taxi and private hire licensing from 263 authorities to around 70, transferring the function to local transport authorities. The stated aim is to curb out-of-area working, where a driver licenses in one area and works predominantly in another. Unite wanted a “start or finish” rule requiring every journey to begin or end in the licensed area; the government declined, choosing to widen the boundaries rather than restrict the journeys.
Worth noticing the second-order effect. An operator may already pass a booking to another operator licensed by the same authority. Fewer, larger authorities means more operators inside each boundary — and a considerably larger pool of firms able to lawfully cover each other's work.
Where we sit
Each of those firms is on both sides at once: passing work out when it is short of cars, taking it in when it is quiet. A larger lawful pool only helps if they can actually reach each other.
Omnia is built for both sides of that. A party with work connects once and reaches any fleet it has agreed terms with. A fleet connects once and is reachable by any source of work it has agreed to accept. Neither gives up control of who it deals with.