Concerns over Wolverhampton's taxi 'licence factory'

GMB Union claims the system in Wolverhampton is "creaking at the seams"

A council which gives out the largest number of taxi licences in England has been accused of "building a private hire licence factory" which is "creaking at the seams".

GMB Union alleges Wolverhampton-licensed taxi drivers are facing "unprecedented delays" of up to five months for renewals due to the weight of applications.

City of Wolverhampton Council was dubbed the UK's "taxi capital" in 2024 due to the amount of licences it issues, with several local authorities voicing concerns over safety risks for passengers and unfairness to locally-licensed drivers.

A spokesman for the council said it had hired 38 full-time officers since May to help deal with the volume of work.

The council also said it wanted to "reassure drivers that renewals are being processed thoroughly and as quickly as possible".

For more than a decade, Wolverhampton council has been steadily growing the number of licences it issues after law changed, meaning a private-hire driver does not have to live or operate in the local authority area that grants his or her licence.

Figures show in the first five months of last year, the authority issued 8,563 licences - more than 30 times higher than other councils in the Midlands.

Up to 96% of taxi driver licences issued in Wolverhampton between April 2023 and the end of March 2024 were for people living outside the city.

GMB said its members were increasingly concerned about the council's ability to oversee growing applications.

The union's Kate Gorton said: "If council bosses can't handle the workload they've created for themselves, then questions need to be answered.

"It's becoming unsustainable and hard-working drivers are being forced to pay the price."

Why are so many taxis licenced by Wolverhampton?

The soaring numbers of applications show drivers certainly perceive there to be benefits to choosing Wolverhampton to licence them.

Council papers have said the appeal is due to longer processing times and higher fees at other local authorities.

However, the council itself has denied it is "quicker and easier" to get a private hire licence with the authority.

Mayor for Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has spoken out about the issue after it was revealed that more than a third of taxi drivers in his region were registered in Wolverhampton.

City of Wolverhampton Council said it did not actively encourage applications from outside of the area but could not turn them down on grounds of location

He has claimed the main difference in standards between councils related to the age of vehicles allowed - with Greater Manchester councils requiring newer vehicles to be used on the roads as well as more advanced background checks.

One taxi driver told the BBC: "Why is it that my local authority wants three-year-old cars in the area but Wolves drivers can have cars which are 12 years old picking up the same customers?"

Another driver said: "Drivers are signing up to Wolverhampton council as prices are cheaper for a badge and your car can be older."

Councils in Manchester, Blackpool, Somerset, Hull and Portsmouth have all voiced concerns about Wolverhampton-licensed drivers across their towns and cities.

In September, Burnham said mayors across England supported a proposed law to ban out-of-area taxi licensing.

Andy Burnham says the current licensing laws put public safety at risk

GMB Union claims taxi drivers licensed by City of Wolverhampton council are facing unprecedented delays and are unable to get updates on their licence applications due to unanswered emails and hour-long waits on the phone.

The union alleges six-month emergency extensions are being issued by the council in some cases, providing the driver meets a set criteria, but claims it is "unsustainable" and adding to the stress and uncertainty drivers are already facing.

In August, the BBC spoke to a campaign group who claimed a taxi driver was unable to work for two months because of the slow process of renewing his licence in Wolverhampton.

'Left in the dark'

Once a driver's badge or plate has expired, drivers are unable to work until it is renewed.

However, the council's spokesman said: "Existing drivers who submit a correct and complete application can continue to work while their renewal application is processed and the expiry date of their licence will be updated on our online register.

"If a driver has not provided a correct and complete application to the council, officers cannot process the renewal of the licence until the outstanding information is provided."

They added the local authority was prioritising renewal applications by order of expiry, not by the date of application.

GMB Union called on the local authority "to act urgently to fix the council's private hire licensing system" and for the West Midlands Combined Authority to have new powers to intervene when councils fail to meet "fair licensing timelines".

Ms Gorton said members were being "left in the dark, without clear advice or timelines".

"That means sky high costs for them, or even being forced out of the business altogether."