The rise of Wolverhampton-registered taxis and in Lancashire – and the firms who say its the ‘bane of their life’

If you’ve ever got a taxi in Lancashire, you might have noticed a slightly peculiar – and recurring – theme.

Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of taxis in the area registered in Wolverhampton – rather than Lancashire. Seeing the Midlands city written on Lancashire vehicles has perplexed many residents, but the explanation is quite simple.

In 2015, drivers and their vehicles had to be licensed within the local authority they were working in, but a change in law meant they are now allowed to offer their services in different counties. As a result, many are taking advantage of the fact that registering in the Midlands city is often cheaper and quicker than registering in Lancashire.

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For a three-year licence in West Lancashire for example, a licence will set you back £207.85, or in Blackburn, it’ll cost you £192. However, it’s much cheaper to register for your licence in Wolverhampton.

In March, a report came out showing the cost of licence fees for black cabs and private hire taxis have dramatically decreased, following a huge increase in the number of driver applications in the last two years. Due to an increase in drivers applying for a licence during 2021-22, there has been a surplus of £300k, allowing for the licence fees to reduce.

Changes to the renewal fees include, dropping from £120 to £98 for a three-year driver renewal fee for Hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. For a one year renewal fee, this has reduced from £64 to as little as £49.

The low costs are a big reason why more people are applying for private hire licences in Wolverhampton. Another is the city’s faster processing times, as the council invested into its digital licensing service, meaning the time and cost it takes to process applications has reduced.

Licensing manager, Greg Bickerdike said in a report to the council’s regulatory committee earlier this year, that they’ve had a “backlog of applications” from drivers in other areas, as Wolverhampton has access to the largest pool of drivers. In January, the council recruited 20 employees into the service to meet demand.

There is also a queue of 5,000 for the driver training programme, which is approximately five months work for the council, which includes a two-month backlog, as from December 15, 2022, there were 2,634 applications in the queue – largely down to a steady decline in the number of private hire drivers nationally, triggered by Covid-19, increasing pressures on local authorities.

Dee Grant, a director of C Cabs, based in Caunce Street in Blackpool said Wolverhampton-registered taxis are the “bane of her life.” She said C Cabs do not and will never used these sort of taxis, as she “doesn’t agree” with it.

Dee told LancsLive: “If there’s a defect on a car, then officers in Blackpool have no control. It has to be a Licensing Officer from Wolverhampton that puts them off the road, unless they send an officer over.

“They do spot checks now and again.” Dee also said that the taxis park in ranks in Blackpool, despite this only being allowed for Hackney cabs.

This means that the private hire taxis licensed from Wolverhampton are not insured, as they have to be pre-booked and only Hackneys can pick up on the ranks.

Not only are taxis licensed to Wolverhampton cropping up in Lancashire, but looking online, they seem to be cropping up all over the country. People from Nottingham, Bolton, Oldham and Birmingham have noted the influx in taxis from the city.

A Blackpool Council spokesperson said: “The issue of Private Hire vehicles and the location to which they are registered is an issue nationally and not unique to Blackpool. Blackpool Council’s Licensing Service is ultimately responsible for all regulatory matters associated with its licensed fleet.

“That position is reflected in all Local Licensing Authority areas. In practical terms this means that at the point we are observing vehicles/drivers and generally conducting enforcement activity, we can take action against Blackpool Licensees however we have no power to deal with any issues detected regarding licensed vehicles/drivers from other areas.

“If we did detect issues, we would pass those concerns over to the respective authority for them to deal with. Sadly that is a situation that is outside of our control.

“We are in the process of looking at what appropriate enforcement we are able to carry out within these restraints.”

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