Taxi Driver Online

Local taxi driver says London Ubers are driving him onto universal credit

https://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/uber-for ... ss-8064660


Image: Google Maps/Welyn Hatfield Times

The past year and half has been extremely difficult for the taxi business, but things have been made worse by London Ubers working in the borough.

One driver says the practice is making it impossible for him to carry on working in the trade - forcing him to go on universal credit just to make ends meet.

Local cabbie Chris Fletcher said unlicensed Uber drivers working illegally in Welwyn Hatfield are putting the borough's licensed taxi drivers out of business and the council isn't doing enough to help.

Although Welwyn Hatfield do not licence any Uber drivers they aren't able to stop them picking up local fares.

"I'm earning probably 20 or 30 quid a day. It doesn't even cover half my running costs," Chris told this paper.

"We're going under. I'll be honest, I've had to claim universal credit, because I don't earn enough money - I don't get anywhere near my running costs.

"I would like to give up myself, but unfortunately I only lease my vehicle. I can't give it back, the vehicle isn't worth as much as what I owe otherwise I would give it back."

"The council are totally ignoring us, totally."


Image: Google Maps/Welyn Hatfield Times

Cross-border driving

The solution to Chris' problem would be to stop Uber drivers working here, and according to the company's website drivers are only able to use drive within the region where they are licensed as a private hire driver.

So which councils licence Uber drivers in Hertfordshire? Well, they wouldn't say.

This paper wasn't able to get a response from Uber to the question: 'Which councils in Hertfordshire licence Uber drivers?'

But Chris told us he knows where they are registered - in London.

He believes that Uber has said they are able to work in Welwyn Hatfield because they consider it to be a greater London borough.

"We need to tell Uber that we're not a London borough. We are in Hertfordshire," Chris added.

"If you want to work here, that's fine.

"Have a local licence, employ local registered drivers, not ones from TFL in London where there's no control over them."

Chris said the issue has been going on for a long time, and back in January of 2020 he asked the council why rules to prevent to out-of-town private hires and taxis operating in Welwyn Hatfield aren't being enforced.

He asked the council to use laws from the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 relating to hackney carriages within a local authority's jurisdiction, but they responded: "The council carries out all its enforcement in accordance with the appropriate legislation and our adopted enforcement policy."

When this paper asked the council for clarification on this issue, a spokesperson said: "We do not licence any Uber operators or vehicles in Welwyn Hatfield. Taxi law is set at national level and current legislation does not prevent vehicles licensed in one area from operating in another.”

Safety

Chris believes that TFL wouldn't come to Hertfordshire, or anywhere outside of London, to enforce its rules and regulations or to check the drivers.

He raised concerns about the safety of passengers and legality of the drivers - worried that if TFL isn't checking on the Uber drivers in Hertfordshire then no one else will.

But TFL told this paper that if the local authority spotted a private hire vehicle registered to London that committed an offence they would be able to report it to them who would then take action.

TFL also stated they carry out joint operations with other authorities if there are significant ongoing violations of licencing.

So according to TFL, the responsibility for violations is, at least initially, with Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.


Image: Uber/Welyn Hatfield Times

Licence requirements

Last year the council introduced new measures for licensed drivers in the borough insisting new taxis operating in Welwyn Hatfield will need to be wheelchair accessible.

Existing taxis will need to be replaced after eight years and will also need to be able to carry up to four passengers in addition to a person using a wheelchair.

All of the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, which will eventually be the whole fleet, have to be clearly identifiable by a 'distinctive silver livery' (ie they must be silver).

Chris feels these requirements are an example of the unfair playing field that Uber drivers don't have to abide by.

He said: "They put that in during a pandemic when nobody was working. Totally ridiculous."

Chris referenced a story from a fellow driver who couldn't work for weeks after he got into an accident because his insurance company couldn't obtain a silver car.

The future

One of the most popular areas for taxis might give an insight into what the future holds for licensed taxi drivers in our borough - though it's still not entirely clear.

Outside train stations is one of the most popular areas for people to pick up taxis, but Chris says it is now a sorry sight for drivers.

He said: "Seven days a week sitting there for three, four hours a day and all I see is Uber picking up. It makes me physically sick.

"We are losing work as much as 80 per cent every single day.

"There used to be 10, to 15 taxis outside the station. Now there's four or five, they're all trying to get out."


Image: Uber/Welyn Hatfield Times

There was also this a couple of weeks ago - in many ways a carbon copy of the above. Nothing particularly new in either article, but I suppose it's the kind of thing that's effectively been on hold since the first lockdown, but has never gone away, and it will be interesting to see how the Autocab tie-up might develop as regards the impact on non-Autocab operators in new areas.

And, more generally, the pandemic carnage likely to simply exacerbate the Uber effect in many areas, although disentangling it all isn't easy.


Stratford taxi drivers' fury at Uber taking town fares

https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/s ... s-9203040/

TAXI-drivers are furious that out-of-town Uber drivers are poaching their fares.

Deregulation brought in from 2015 means there is nothing to stop Uber drivers – many of whom who are licensed in Wolverhampton – from coming into the Stratford district and encroaching on the territory of traditional and long-standing operators.

Kevin Jones has been a taxi-driver in Stratford for more than 27 years. He told the Herald local drivers were licensed by Stratford District Council and had to abide by a strict set of criteria – unlike the Uber drivers.


Image: Mark Williamson/Stratford-upon-Avon Herald

He said: “We are licensed in Stratford so we can get pulled over by the council and checked for our badge, insurance, MOT and that the vehicle is safe. The council can’t approach the Uber drivers, they are free to do what they like. It is so unfair.”

After the pandemic saw their business fall by 90 per cent, taxi-drivers are struggling even more with the recent influx of Uber drivers, who can simply be summoned by a phone app. Local taxi-drivers estimate that Uber drivers are taking around 25 per cent of their trade.

Jagbir Singh, who has been a taxi-driver in the area for five years, said: “I didn’t work at all through lockdown. Now we are really struggling with money.”

Mr Jones is frustrated that the council can only enforce the rules rather than change them.

“The rules need to be changed,” he said. “We have to go through hoops and pay for our licence. Our vehicles have to be less than three years old whereas in Wolverhampton the Uber drivers can claim a 12-year-old car as ‘new’. So our cars are worth £25K whereas theirs are a couple of thousand – that means they can afford to charge cheaper fares and we can’t compete. We just want the same rules for everyone.”

Even though regulations mean Uber drivers aren’t meant to pick up new fares while in the area, Mr Jones said they had been filmed waiting at designated taxi ranks.

The drivers claim they are safer and offer a more reliable service than Uber.

“The council highly regulate us for public safety but they can’t regulate the Uber drivers. I’d ask people to support locally-licensed taxi businesses. If anything happened between a customer and a taxi driver in Stratford, then the council has their name and address and their photograph, but there’s not that accountability with Uber.”

The district council said it was sympathetic to local taxi-drivers but a spokesperson added: “Whilst we understand the trade’s frustration with Uber operators, we are unable to prevent them from trading within the district.

“Legislation allows for out-of-area licensed vehicles and drivers to be used within the district, just as long as they are pre-booked by the passenger. This applies nationally.

“Out-of-area vehicles and drivers will be subjected to licensing regimes that are similar but not identical to Stratford.”

The spokesperson added: “The district council has a robust taxi and private hire policy which ensures that licences are only issued to vehicles and drivers of a high standard. For this reason we would encourage the public to use locally-licensed drivers.”

Uber have to keep expanding or risk collapse and it has to be said when you look on social media for many people uber is the only taxi/ph service they use they must be getting something right if people have so much faith in them

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

But they can do that without the issue of cross border.

Uber would do themselves a bucket full of good if they restricted London drivers to London, and Wolverhampton drivers to Wolverhampton.

With the Autocab tie up I'm amazed they haven't done that.

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IDFIMH