Nothing spectacularly new here, except that it's maybe a bit odd for a licensing chair to sing Uber's praises.
Usual technical deficiencies in the article, though
Taxi laws 'unfair to local operators' says councillor
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/25 ... ouncillor/
TAXI laws need reform in order to improve passenger safety in Worcester, a senior councillor has said.
Richard Udall, chair of Worcester City Council’s licensing committee, is calling for “local regulation and control”.
He said the legislation around taxis and private hire care is “contradictory and often out of date - some of the laws date back to 1869”.
Worcester, as a licensing authority, is responsible for regulating taxis and private hire vehicles in the city.
But legislation is set by the Government and licensed taxi drivers can operate anywhere in England and Wales - not only the district where they got their licence.
“The most recent change in the law, which was passed in the Deregulation Act 2015, allowed private hire companies to sub-contract bookings to vehicles licensed in other local authorities,” said Cllr Udall.
“This has enabled City of Wolverhampton Council to license 50,000 private hire drivers, who now operate nationwide.”
The law change also allowed app-based services like Uber to operate in the UK.
Cllr Udall said: “I welcome Uber, they do a good job, they are popular and local residents are happy to use them, but they can only be booked in advance, they cannot use local taxi ranks and cannot ply for hire - this has caused problems, confusion and tensions.
“I believe we should be able to regulate and determine who can operate private hire vehicles in Worcester and not rely on enforcement and regulation from Wolverhampton.
“More than half of our private hire cars are now licensed elsewhere, posing a safety risk to passengers and making it unfair to locally licensed operators.
“We have our own standards, based on local knowledge and local requirements. We need local regulation and control.
“I support Uber, the consumer likes the flexibility, but we need to be sure their operators in Worcester meet our local standards and their cars are fit for purpose.
“We need to re-take control and we need a change in the law to do so, this is required to ensure passenger safety and to protect the public from unscrupulous drivers and operators.”
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has called for the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently going through Parliament, to be amended to cover the issue.
Cllr Udall added: “I have asked Worcester MP Tom Collins to support such an amendment, so we can make the necessary changes to help local authorities make the changes needed.”
We have asked Tom Collins for comment.
