Non local taxis?
Discussion
bigandclever said:
Ah, makes things clearer. I'd kind of assumed that there was a standard, rather than loads of different empires. Thanks for the link.ChocolateFrog said:
I'd never heard about this issue.
My OH works in a school in Doncaster and they refuse work to drivers with Wolverhampton licences.
Why has this loop hole not been closed?
You can’t just leave in there, the reason; The cars are not EV’s? They tend to be older than X years? Wolverhampton is too far away? The student’s don’t understand Brummies?My OH works in a school in Doncaster and they refuse work to drivers with Wolverhampton licences.
Why has this loop hole not been closed?
Countdown said:
It can definitely be closed. Trafford and Rossendale had the same issues. My guess is Wolverhampton don t want to give up the licence fee income
I'd make the Council jointly responsible for their licensees. If a Wolverhampton driver gets a £100 fine for a defect, then the Council also get a £100 for licencing them. 
Mental in York. Always use local taxis but the explosion in the number of Uber drivers is unreal and they're all registered either in Bradford or the Midlands. Speaking with a local driver the other week, apparently the West Mids is so saturated with taxi drivers that they view York as a less saturated market so make the trip for a few days at a time, kipping in their cars. Needs clamping down on because you can tell them from a mile off - obviously don't know the roads etc.
DaveyBoyWonder said:
Mental in York. Always use local taxis but the explosion in the number of Uber drivers is unreal and they're all registered either in Bradford or the Midlands. Speaking with a local driver the other week, apparently the West Mids is so saturated with taxi drivers that they view York as a less saturated market so make the trip for a few days at a time, kipping in their cars. Needs clamping down on because you can tell them from a mile off - obviously don't know the roads etc.
This happened in Leeds a few years ago when the private hire borders for Uber et al were removed, and local drivers weren't best pleased. Every other private hire car you'll see in Leeds will be registered to Bradford, Kirklees or Calderdale. A lot of them don't seem to know the roads as well as local drivers do, judging by how hesitant they are.
Then again, with so much reliance on Google Maps etc, I have a strong feeling many of these new generation local drivers won't be as adept as proper old school cabbies and private hire drivers who actually learned and knew the roads inside out.
I did research how to get a private hire licence years ago as I thought it could be good extra income and I had always been something of a map/atlas geek, who having grown up in the city knew it like the back of my hand.
I remember the requirement for road knowledge was essentially knowing all the roads in Leeds at best, and at worst something along the lines of having strong knowledge of them. I think there was mention of being able to use road atlases.
Times have clearly moved on it would appear, and the Wolverhampton plate issue is evidence of that as far as borderless driving operations and the ease with which even the most clueless local driver being able to drive whilst relying on maps are concerned.
I am yet to see any vehicles with Wolverhampton plates in Leeds, mind.
As an aside, I have also observed many a private hire vehicle donning Veezu stickers, either alongside or without Uber. I believe it's a Welsh-based equivalent to the likes of Uber and Bolt, and as drivers seem to be lamenting Uber, perhaps Veezu is doing something right for them.
South tdf said:
One of the larger Taxi companies in Havant started registering all of their taxis with Wolverhampton plates, now they have changed their name to Weezu or some other nonsense. The standard of driving is horrendous, none of the drivers seem to have any idea how the roads work, they are all drifting around 10-15mph under the speed limit, randomly changing lanes or going the wrong way for the markings at junctions.I think a Wolverhampton plate costs £95 / year and they accept cars up to 13 years old with no requirement for them to be any form of hybrid or electric vehicle. Having a Wolverhampton plate doesn't necessarily mean that the driver isn't local. It tells you nothing more about the driver than his appearance does (i.e. very little).
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