Taxi Driver Online

Wellingborough taxi drivers in fear for future

Taxi drivers in a town say they fear for their livelihood because of cabbies from other towns taking their business.
Hackney cabbies in Wellingborough say drivers from other towns which have had a cap put on the number of drivers given licences are coming to the town and taking their fares.

Taxi driver Karl Morrissey and two other cabbies went to a surgery held by Wellingborough and Rushden MP Peter Bone to highlight the problem.

Mr Bone then asked Wellingborough Council chief executive, Lyn Martin-Bennison, to look in to the matter and consider restricting the number of taxis allowed in the area.

Mr Morrissey said: "It used to be a reasonable livelihood in Wellingborough but this is just about killing it off now.

"I'm just a concerned person who's worried about their livelihood.

"All the drivers are worried.

"It's been going on for a long, long time but it's getting to be a serious problem."

He said he had known drivers come to Wellingborough from areas including Bedford and Luton.

Taxi drivers are legally obliged to register with the council in the area they are working. It is believed that those who are coming in from other areas are not doing so illegally.

Barry Liffen, chairman of Wellingborough Hackney Carriage Association, said he was aware of the issue.

He said: "I constantly have drivers mentioning it to me."

Wellingborough Council's deputy chief executive, Joe Hubbard, said: "The council is aware of the issue of vehicle numbers, does keep this under review and is in regular contact with the local Hackney Carriage Association.

"We have regard to the Office of Fair Trading guidance in respect of local demand for taxi services, vehicle numbers and the point at which limiting the number of hackney carriages might be considered.

"It is believed that we currently remain below the threshold of vehicle numbers that might suggest the possibility of limiting numbers of hackney carriages, and we remain keen to see a taxi service that can meet demand from local people.

"We currently have no reason to suspect that unlicensed drivers are plying for hire within Wellingborough.

"Those persons registered as hackney carriage drivers do not need to reside in the borough as a condition of registration.

"We have a number of licensed taxi drivers who reside in Bedford, Luton, Milton Keynes, Rushden etc but ply for hire within Wellingborough."

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
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