It's now a familiar sight on Greater Manchester's streets - taxis with 'out of town' plates. A recent investigation found that more than a third of private hire drivers - who work for companies like Uber - are actually licensed by Wolves Council, who operate 80 miles away.
A Freedom of Information request found that 8,952 private hire drivers licensed in Wolverhampton reside in Greater Manchester, making up up 35 per cent of the private hire cabs operating across the city-region.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has weighed in on the issue, criticising these ‘out of town’ drivers for using a legal loophole to get away with having ‘lower standards’ of practice.
Current legislation means that private hire drivers can operate anywhere in the UK outside of London, even if they are not licensed in that particular area. READ MORE: Manchester Christmas Markets 2023 - ALL the locations, opening times and everything we know so far READ MORE: The two Greater Manchester chippies that could be the best in the country It's a practice that infuriates some black cab drivers, who feel they are having to compete with drivers who have shopped around to get a licence under a less stringent regime.
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