Taxi Driver Online

More taxi licences issued in Wolverhampton than anywhere else in the country

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black- ... n-16501561

A total of 11,811 licences were handed out by Wolverhampton City Council

More than 11,000 private hire licences were issued by Wolverhampton last year - more than anywhere else in the country - but only 852 of those were for drivers operating in the city.

A total of 11,811 licences were handed out by Wolverhampton City Council, with the majority issued to other areas of the country. It is a trend that has steadily been growing nationally, it has been claimed.

Until recently, drivers and their vehicles had to be licensed within the local authority (LA) they would be working in. However, a change in the law in 2015 opened up the market nationally - allowing councils to engage in cross-border licensing.

Councillor Alan Bolshaw (Lab. Merry Hill) who is chairman of the council's licensing committee, said Wolverhampton's high standards "provided an exemplar for other local authorities to follow" and claimed many other councils had already come to them for advice.

He said the change in law opened the market nationally and allowed private hire drivers a choice.

"There has been negativity in the press, from other councils and some existing drivers. They claim to be concerned about the public being put at risk because of the way in which drivers and vehicles are licensed.

"These concerns are unfounded and commercially motivated, as our approach - coupled with technological and legislative changes - has disrupted the market on a national level.

"In some areas, private hire vehicles, which had been artificially excluded from working, are growing at a tremendous rate. This has caused existing drivers to complain about their reduced income. We have invested heavily in our digital licensing service, thereby reducing the time and cost it takes to process applications.

"Consequently, we are receiving a higher number of applicants than many other LAs which use more old-fashioned methods and where applications can take as long as two years to process," he added.

"This restricts the ability of private hire operators to expand their businesses and unfairly delays applicants the opportunity to work. Operators across the country have praised us for significantly increasing the efficiency and quality of the licensing process for applicants."

There are three licences involved for a private hire driver - someone who must pick up pre-booked fares only and not those who hail them from the street like Hackney Carriage drivers. There is one for the firm, one for the vehicle and one for the driver.

In Wolverhampton, the cost of obtaining a licence is £284 compared to £460 in Stockton, £470 in Cleveland and Redcar and £474 in Middlesborough.

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Council said that as a result of licensing drivers from outside the city, it carried out enforcement operations all over the country.

I don't get it.
The cost for an operators license is £1077 for the first year and then a 5 year license is £3140 so unless you are going to plat a lot of cars and drivers in Wolverhampton it seems like a lot of money.

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Grandad,

who is their RICHEST and biggest customer ? begins with a U

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I had a chap ring me the other day asking if I was looking for drivers. He had a Wolverhampton license and car but neither he nor I have a Wolverhampton operators license.

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Grandad,

But how many of the unscrupulous operators,only interested in their own needs(greed for more rent monies) take them on without having an operators license based in an office in Wolverhampton.

Would be interesting to see how operators' fees have progressed over the years there - could be that now the council feels that operators are locked in to the system then they're using the fees for an op's licence as more of a cash cow.

On the other hand, the council might think the wheels will come off the whole thing if they were to significantly hike the fees for plates and badges.

But, you're right, obviously it's not going to be a cost effective for half a dozen cars, say, and as well as the fees there's the ghost office in Wolverhampton that's required to keep the triple-lock in place. I think



Wouldn't be surprised if many newbie drivers get plated and badged in Wolverhampton thinking that they can then work anywhere for anyone, but obviously it's not quite as straightforward as that.

Indeed, just like the drivers I wouldn't be surprised if some operators think they can just take on any PH plated anywhere, in view of the publicity surrounding it all. The press reports etc don't normally drill down to the triple lock thing etc.

Of course, if there's proper enforcement then it wouldn't happen, but how many people in the trade or involved in licensing enforcement see a Wolverhampton plate in their manor and just assume everything necessary is in place.

If licensing are not supposed to make a profit then why do Wolverhampton do it?,unless of course they do make a profit.

Interesting question, but without evidence to the contrary probably best to assume that they don't make a profit.

But suspect they didn't actually intend it all to happen, but for whatever reason a bandwagon effect took place, as with the HCs in Berwick a few years ago, and the Rossendale HCs more recently.

And once the whole thing is built up, it's difficult to imagine them doing anything themselves to dismantle it - it would take external powers to do that, most obviously the government at Westminster.

People don't tend to empire-build then bring the whole thing crashing down themselves - that would be down to others.

wasn't there a wolverhampton councillor bragging of making over a million a year from licensing last year ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector