ROUND THE COUNCILS CUMBERLAND: CONFUSING TAXI RULES RISKS SAFETY
People are facing problems getting taxis because of “confusing” differences in rules left over after the merger of old councils, drivers have said. Cumbria has six different licensing systems inherited from the county’s old district councils that were abolished last year. One driver said there was a risk to people’s safety because of difficulties getting taxis at night. Cumberland Council said it was working to “create one system”. Last year, Cumbria’s county council and six district councils were replaced by two unitary authorities which took over the function of taxi licensing. George Harkin, a driver from Barrow-in-Furness, said differences in fares and rules in Barrow and nearby Ulverston made it hard for people to get taxis between the two towns. They used to be in different districts, but are now both in the Westmorland and Furness Council area. “Barrow taxi drivers are not allowed to park on the Ulverston rank and Ulverston taxi drivers are not allowed to on the Barrow rank,” he said. Mr Harkin is also a founder of an app-based taxi- booking service called Appy Cabs, but he said it was impractical for Ulverston drivers to use the platform because they charged higher fares than drivers in Barrow. He said: “There’s always been a problem of safety with people getting home. “I’ve found people walking up a bypass in the dark, trying to get maybe seven miles from Ulverston to Barrow, because they haven’t been able to get a taxi.” Although the issue predates the move to a unitary council, he said Westmorland and Furness Council (W&FC) should have created a single taxi policy across the whole area by now. W&FC is yet to provide a comment. Workington taxi driver Ian Tyson said firms in his area have to have their cars tested at a garage four times a year, while those in other parts of Cumberland needed fewer tests. He said: “It’s thousands of pounds into our costs, what the others don’t have. You can’t compete.” A spokesperson for Cumberland Council said: “We acknowledge that there are some differences in the approach to licensing within the Cumberland area. “As a new authority we are working to create one system, this will go for consultation over the next few months.”
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WOLVERHAMPTON: ENGLAND/WALES LICENCE CAPITAL
Wolverhampton is the taxi licence capital of England and Wales, a new study has found. The city has the highest rate of licensed taxis and PHVs. Analysis of data from the DfT was carried out to determine the total number of licensed taxis and PHVs per 1,000 people in each city across England and Wales. These results were then ranked from highest to lowest. Wolverhampton ranked first in the study, with 85.3 licensed taxis and PHVs per 1,000 people. With a population of 263,700 residents, that’s 580 per cent more than the proportion of licensed taxis and PHVs for the city in second place. Whilst there are 0.6 licensed taxis per 1,000 people in Wolverhampton, the total figure is largely from licensed PHVs in the city, with a huge 84.7 licensed PHVs per 1,000 people. It comes after a FoI request last year revealed almost 9,000 PHV drivers registered with Wolverhampton Council live in Greater Manchester. Transport for GM called for a change in the law saying councils “can not guarantee a high standard” from out of town drivers. Last October, Wolverhampton Council said it had never actively encouraged applications from drivers outside the city and the council could not refuse an applicant simply because they live in a different area. Newcastle came second in the study with 12.4 licensed taxis and PHVs per 1,000 people. It recorded 10.5 licensed PHVs per 1,000 people, compared to two licensed taxis per 1,000 people. London ranked third with 11.9 licensed taxis and PHVs per 1,000 people with 10.2 PHVs per 1,000 people, compared to 1.7 taxis per 1,000 people. Newport came fourth with 8.1 licensed taxis and PHVs per 1,000 people. With a population of 159,600, it has 7.6 licensed PHVs per 1,000 people and 0.5 licensed taxis per 1,000 people. Bradford ranked fifth with 7.9 licensed taxis and PHVs per 1,000 people. It recorded 7.5 PHVs per 1,000 people, compared to 0.4 taxis per 1,000 people. Other cities in the top 10 include Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Leeds and Southampton. A spokesperson for private hire insurance specialist Zego, which carried out the study, said: “The results reveal that there is a much greater availability of PHVs in the vast majority of cities in England and Wales, than equivalent taxis when accounting for each city’s population.
MAY 2024 PHTM
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