"Staggering number of Wolverhampton taxi drivers exploiting loophole to work in Coventry"
Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:56 pm
Council bosses have revealed the staggering number of Wolverhampton taxi drivers operating out of Coventry
A meeting between senior Coventry politicians and Wolverhampton councillors took place to tackle the influx of Uber cabs operating out of Coventry using Wolverhampton licenses.
Following the two hour meeting, greater co-operation between the two councils was agreed upon, with Cllr Innes saying: “The meeting was pretty frank at points.
“Wolverhampton City Council admitted that they license 241 taxi drivers with addresses in Coventry. And they acknowledge these drivers work in the Coventry area, and not Wolverhampton.
“As Wolverhampton is granting licenses to taxi drivers that it will be up to Coventry City Council to manage on a day-to-day basis, the fees paid by Coventry taxi drivers are essentially subsidising Wolverhampton’s taxi office.
“I explained this subsidy is not acceptable, and Wolverhampton City Council has agreed to provide enforcement of Wolverhampton-licensed taxis in Coventry.
“Wolverhampton City Council has also agreed to contact their Coventry-based taxi drivers with any messages Coventry City Council needs to communicate. We need to issue messages to local drivers on a variety of occasions through the year, eg when there is a big event in the city, or when there are major road works.
“Wolverhampton council has also agreed to ask Coventry-based applicants to consider choosing to license in Coventry instead.”
Coventry South MP, Jim Cunningham said; “The issue of Uber operating in our city has been raised with me time and time again. It’s vital that our taxi drivers are not undercut and that the process they go through in terms of getting a license is not undermined by drivers being able to by-pass this process.
“It was useful to hear about how Wolverhampton operate and I’m grateful to them for meeting with us. I’m delighted that working with the council here in Coventry that some progress seems to be being made although it is actions not words that will make the difference.”