Taxi drivers say new North Northamptonshire zone is unworkable

Taxi driver Neil Reilly said it would not be possible to know the whole of North Northamptonshire

Hackney carriage drivers claim a new enlarged taxi zone would be unworkable because they would struggle to learn all the streets.

In North Northamptonshire there are four taxi zones that cover the former council areas - Corby, Wellingborough, Kettering and East Northamptonshire.

Talks have begun on whether to keep the four zones or replace them with just one zone covering the whole area.

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) said it "made sense" to look at it.

Neil Reilly, a taxi driver in Corby since 2013, said he already had "a detailed knowledge of Corby" but warned that "to do the knowledge test of North Northamptonshire" meant having to memorise a "vastly massive" area covering 382 sq miles (989 sq km).

He said: "There's no way that we're going to possibly know all the independent parks, streets, nooks and crannies of East Northants, Wellingborough, Kettering."

He said the geographical knowledge test needed for a licence was "just not going to be passable".

There are 228 hackney carriages licensed in North Northamptonshire, with half working in Corby.

Ian Robb has been a taxi driver in Corby for over 30 years

Taxi driver Ian Robb said: "There's absolutely no logic to it, whatsoever.

"You don't have a streets test in a certain zone, expand the size of the zone and then expect everybody to be able to work in those areas.

"It's just farcical."

David Brackenbury, the council's executive member for growth and regeneration said: "The proposal is to remove the former authority area hackney carriage zones and to replace them with one hackney carriage zone for North Northamptonshire.

"It makes sense to look and consider whether this a viable option, but there are also a variety of elements to consider and to do this - we need the views of residents and stakeholders, including those who use taxis and drivers."

The council said current government guidance advises against the continuation of hackney carriage zones to remove any confusion for customers and to increase efficiency.

The consultation will run until 24 January.