Market Harborough: Fears Uber drivers using town's taxi ranks illegally

Neil O'Brien, the MP for Harborough, fears if Uber drivers are "doing illicit cash-in-hand work", there will be a safety issue for passengers in the town

An MP claims Uber drivers are using taxi ranks illegally in a Leicestershire town - and fears it could cause problems for passengers.

Neil O'Brien, MP for Harborough, is concerned of safety issues if drivers are "doing illicit cash-in-hand work".

Harborough District Council said it would undertake weekend surveillance and discuss the issues with local taxi drivers at their next forum meeting.

Uber says it is "committed to safety and raising standards".

Taxi drivers in Market Harborough are licensed and regulated by the district council and have paid to operate in the area.

It is illegal for Uber drivers, who are licenced in other council areas, to use taxi ranks and pick up fares in the town.

Mr O'Brien claims Uber drivers from outside the district are picking up passengers from taxi ranks illegally, which was taking trade and earnings away from local drivers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He said taxi drivers had told him they had to pay up to £1,000, which includes to be regulated by the district council and to use official taxi ranks.

"Taxi drivers here go through much more rigorous testing to get their taxi licences than in other areas," he said.

"The fear is that if people from all around the country are coming and doing illegal cash-in-hand taxi work, they may also have poor standards more generally and treat passengers badly.

"The whole point of licencing is that it should be simple to contact the council and get redress if there is a problem."

'Discuss the issues'

Mr O'Brien added Harborough taxi drivers told him they wanted the district council to take "proper enforcement action".

Darren Woodiwiss, the council's cabinet lead for environmental and climate change, said: "We understand the frustrations of our local taxi drivers and the safety concerns they have raised and will look to undertake some weekend evening surveillance.

"We will also discuss the issues with them at the next scheduled taxi forum meeting."

An Uber spokesperson said: "Uber is committed to safety and raising standards across the industry. All private hire trips in the UK must be pre-booked and private hire drivers are not permitted to use taxi ranks. We are reaching out to Harborough District Council to discuss steps we can take to address any concerns."