Taxi Driver Online

Taxi wars breaks out between Sefton and Liverpool cabbies

TAXI wars have broken out in Crosby as furious cabbies called for a crackdown on out-of-town drivers illegally plying for hire. Liverpool hackney cab drivers are accused of stealing work by sneaking over the Sefton border to get fares.

Seventeen cabbies registered with Liverpool City Council were prosecuted last year for breaching regulations. The taxi drivers were fined a total of £1,780 and ordered to pay £3,412 in court costs.

But Richard Jarman, chairman of South Sefton Hackney Carriage Association, said the true figure of illegal plying for hire was significantly higher. He said: “In Crosby or Waterloo on a Friday and Saturday night, you only have to look around to see how many Liverpool cabs there are.

“The economic situation of our drivers would improve immeasurably if the city cabs would respect the boundaries. “They just do not respect the rules and are taking our work. Frankly, it needs to stop.”

There is nothing to stop private hire taxis venturing over borders when booked through an operator – as Bootle-based Delta Taxis do in Liverpool – or Liverpool hackney cabs taking customers into Sefton. But only hackney drivers registered in Sefton are allowed to be flagged down by the public.

A Sefton council document, seen by the Crosby Herald, suggests that the number of Liverpool drivers caught plying for hire in the borough now accounts for 85% of the cases put before the courts. In 2009/10, the figure was just 25%.

The report says: “The proactive approach adopted by the taxi licensing unit is the key factor in ensuring the quality of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and hence the safety of the travelling public.

“The reduced number of prosecutions against Sefton licensed drivers demonstrates the success of the high profile test purchasing initiatives carried out by the unit. “The service will continue its enforcement activities in 2010/11, shifting its emphasis to address the increasing problem of Liverpool licensed hackney carriages operating in Sefton.”

The report also reveals that three Sefton private hire drivers were prosecuted for illegally plying for hire. William Beggs, David Morley and David Gaul were fined and had their licences endorsed with six points. The concern for passengers is that if they are involved in a crash in a cab which has picked them up illegally, they are uninsured.

The report adds: “The number of Sefton private hire drivers caught illegally playing for hire has fallen from 75% to 15% of the cases prosecuted.”

But taxi driver George Halsall said it remained an issue. He said: “The big problem in the south of the borough is the Liverpool drivers and in the north it is the private hire drivers. Because their work has dried up they have started to pick up fares illegally and are taking work from us.

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IDFIMH

I think they should all calm down.

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IDFIMH

They need to wear shell-suits to calm down, calm down!!

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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They must be going to court

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!