Greater Manchester’s £2 million Private Hire Vehicle Support Fund is open, with grants of up to £2,500 to replace non-compliant PHVs with cleaner vehicles — but only for licensees whose vehicles are licensed by one of the ten GM councils.
The Bolton News, Manchester Evening News and Bolton Council all stress the local-licence lock. Eligible applicants must have been the vehicle licensee of a non-compliant PHV licensed in GM on 1 October 2024 and 1 March 2026. Replacement vehicles must meet Euro 4 petrol, Euro 6 diesel or zero-emission standards and local licensing rules. Grant payments go to successful applicants; invited drivers get email links to the portal. Retrospective applications for upgrades from 1 March 2026 were due to open in early October 2026.
The fund sits alongside the Hackney Support Fund (from December 2025), which GMCA says has already committed funding to more than 400 locally licensed black cabs. Bosses link the PHV scheme to the “Backing Our Taxis. Local. Licensed. Trusted” campaign and continued pressure on government over out-of-area licensing — MEN cites estimates that more than half of private hires working in GM are licensed elsewhere.