‘Two-hour wait’ for a taxi in Manchester as fuel crisis worsens shortage of drivers
People in Manchester have been left facing hours-long waits to get a taxi at peak times due to a shortage of drivers, made worse by the soaring price of fuel.
Resident Jack Hancock complained of a two-hour wait to get a taxi “anywhere in Manchester city centre” at the weekend as Ed Sheeran, The Killers and Alicia Keys all performed in the city, while thousands attended the nearby Parklife festival.
He tweeted: “Been to four of the biggest hotels, as they can normally get a cab at a minute’s notice. Every one said they’ve not been able to get taxis on Fridays and Saturdays for weeks.”
Friends Milan Poupinet, 19, and Jamie Raddan, 18, told i they chose to get the tram after seeing the queue for a taxi barely move for an hour.
“Our mates tried to get an Uber but it was saying £80 to Trafford,” said Milan.
Speaking from outside Piccadilly station on Sunday, taxi driver Sajid Aballa told i “a lot of drivers have left the trade” due to the pandemic and rising costs.
He said: “It hit everyone hard and they found alternative jobs, some moved into delivering food or parcels.
“It’s very hard to make a living, normally I would work on average around seven or eight hours a day, now I’m having to do eleven because I have to pay for the cost of living and fuel prices.
“It used to cost around £82 to fill my car, now it’s £125 a week.
“I was thinking of changing my trade, but I came back because I miss my job, I’m a people person!”
Mr Aballa said he normally works in Bolton but drove into Manchester because of the anticipated demand.
“It was busy, if it was just one event we could have coped… but we had all these events at the same time,” he said.
“Manchester is going in the right direction, this should be a normal thing.
“They need to bring in more incentives [to increase the number of taxi drivers]. And they need to listen to the feedback from the trade representatives – it needs some good PR.”
In November, the Licensed Private Car Hire Association (LPHCA) estimated the industry was short of 160,000 drivers.
But as in other industries such as HGV driving, airports and hospitality, finding staff is proving difficult.
A black cab driver in Manchester, who would only give his name as Mohammed, told how soaring fuel costs aren’t the only problem.
He said his MOT costs £482, the tyres cost £65 and he is required to take a test three times a year.
Drivers also fear being required to replace their cars for cleaner models or eventually being asked to buy an electric vehicle which currently costs around £70,000.
“It’s like having to get another mortgage!” he said.
“Who’s going to do that? The young people won’t want to. It’s scary, everybody is frightened to be honest.”
The GMB union is calling for the government to take more action to help struggling workers.
“GMB members, like everyone else, are being crushed by skyrocketing energy bills, big jumps in food prices and fuel at nearly £2 a litre,” GMB general secretary Gary Smith told The Observer.
“Record petrol prices now mean community NHS staff, domiciliary carers, taxi drivers and others who are on the road for their job are literally paying to go to work. That can’t be right.
“It’s no wonder we’re seeing a massive shortfall of staff in many of those industries – and it’s only going to get worse as prices continue to shoot up.”
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