LICENSING bosses who uphold the standards of Barnsley’s taxi drivers have voiced their concerns over cars registered elsewhere encroaching onto local roads - and admitted that they are effectively unable to rule against them.
Barnsley-based drivers have previously bemoaned rivals - some registered more than 100 miles away - for moving in on their long-held patches despite having little or no knowledge of the area.
Coun Steve Green, who chairs Barnsley Council’s licensing board, said it was a ‘concerning issue’ due to the amount of drivers - who obtained their licences elsewhere - plying for trade.
“We’ve found that a lot of drivers in Barnsley are registered in Wolverhampton, where it’s easier to get a licence,” he added.
“As a local authority we have about 500 drivers registered with us, but in Wolverhampton there are in excess of 45,000 - that’s a staggering amount and it paints the picture of what we’re up against.
“We’re not satisfied how they are inspected and from what we’ve seen, the standards aren’t high.
“Customers have complained to us that the local knowledge just isn’t there, either, but we can’t enforce in the same way as we could if it was a Barnsley-registered taxi.”
Pressure from local drivers has led the council’s licensing team to carry out a series of checks on town centre taxis this year, which found 70 per cent were registered elsewhere.
Barnsley Council charge £137 to register as a new private hire driver but it’s just £49 with the City of Wolverhampton Council, whose licensing bosses issued 8,563 new taxi licences in the first five months of 2024.
According to GMB, a union which represents taxi drivers, it is more than 30 times higher than other similarly-sized authorities.
The authority said it could not refuse applicants because they lived in a different area, although 96 per cent of successful licence holders were from elsewhere.
A spokesperson for the council said: “While the City of Wolverhampton Council has never actively encouraged applications from drivers outside the city, existing legislation requires that if an application is submitted and requirements are met, then the application must be granted.
“Applicants have always been able to apply to any licensing authority for taxi licences and the council cannot refuse an applicant simply because they live in a different area.
“It is illegal for licensing authorities to impose a limit on the number of private hire licences it issues.”
However, GMB urged reforms were needed due to local drivers complaining over an overcrowded - and unfair - market.
Kate Gorton, from GMB, added: “Wolverhampton’s private hire licence dominance is a well-documented phenomenon.
“More and more drivers report a flooded marketplace is pushing down income.
“The imbalance between supply and demand is meaning drivers are waiting for longer between jobs and are forced to compete with inflated competition.
“Wolverhampton bosses rightly point out barriers to capping application - but we’ve got one council essentially issuing licences for the rest of the whole region.
“The saturation of the market threatens the entire industry.
“We need urgent action to ensure standardisation across licensing authorities, in terms of price, testing and timescales and Wolverhampton has a key role to play in making sure that happens.”
MP Stephanie Peacock, who represents Barnsley South, called for action to be taken.
“I have been contacted by drivers who are concerned about cross-border hires pricing them out of work, despite not having to pass the same training and safety requirements that they do as Barnsley drivers.
“Drivers from different areas are often not required to have met the same safety and training requirements as those licensed in Barnsley, posing a risk for the industry and for the safety of passengers.
“Borough councils, including Barnsley, are currently unable to ensure that the training levels of out of borough hires meet their standards requirements for safety and training.
“The Labour Party have committed to introducing national minimal standards for taxi drivers so that the industry is fair and passengers can be assured of their safety.”
