Taxi Driver Online

Anger over city's £1,000 taxi bill

by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo


MORE than £1,000 a week of taxpayers’ money is being spent on taxis by Liverpool council.

The £61,000-a-year bill, paid to a number of different taxi firms with council contracts, covers journeys made by officers and councillors.

Council chiefs today defended the bill, saying it amounted to just 6p per employee each week. But the expenditure has come under fire fromopposition politicians.

Labour leader Joe Anderson said: “I think £1,000 a week is shocking.

“Councillors are sent important documents by taxi once or twice a week sometimes. Maybe the council should look at employing some drivers to do that type of job.”

Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle said the individuals responsible for racking up the highest taxi bills should be held to account in the same way as MPs are for their expenses.


He said: “The council should crack down on this like Parliament did and release details of who uses the most expenses.”


But Cllr Richard Marbrow, Liverpool’s executive member for central services, said: “At the end of the day, a taxi is sometimes the best or only option for getting somewhere.


“An employee must be travelling on official council business.


“We are a good council at catering for people with disabilities. If an employee can only get around by taxi, I’d rather employ them than discriminate.”

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

I bet that Derek Hatton spent more than a grand a week when he was running Liverpool. Especially when redundancy notices were being issued. And one contributor to this site wishes to see the resurgence of the "loony left?"

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Former taxi driver