Andy Burnham will tell government ministers taxi drivers should be BANNED from working out-of-area to fix a ‘broken system’ today.
The mayor has long called for an end to the practice where cabbies licensed by one council regularly ply their trade in another part of the country, with nearly half (49pc) of private hire taxis in Greater Manchester registered to a different council, such as Wolverhampton.
A ban now seems a realistic prospect as the mayor is meeting with key government ministers on Thursday (September 4), including the transport secretary Heidi Alexander, as a key law moves through Parliament which could stop the practice.
The mayor said: “For too long, communities in Greater Manchester and across the country have been at the mercy of a broken taxi system that allows private hire vehicles and drivers to be licensed hundreds of miles away from where they live and operate.
“This is not just a matter of fairness for locally licensed drivers to protect their livelihoods – it’s a matter of public safety.
“Greater Manchester has led the call for reform, and it’s great to see that being backed by our local MPs. With the government having already accepted Baroness Casey’s recommendation regarding out of area licensing – further reinforcing the urgent need for change – this Bill provides an opportunity for decisive action to be taken by the Government. “
“Avoiding unnecessary delay and acting quickly to address out-of-area licensing will allow us to restore trust and raise standards through a system that is safe, fair, and locally controlled.”
An amendment to the English Devolution Bill is enjoying support from local MPs, including Labour’s Josh Simons (Makerfield) and James Frith (Bury North), and Liberal Democrat Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove).
Mr Burnham has long hoped for the ban, saying he had a ‘firm commitment’ from previous transport secretary Louise Haigh to implement the stop back in February 2024.
In April this year, he launched the ‘backing our taxis’ campaign to shake-up how Greater Manchester licences its own cabbies, which again called on the government to end out-of-area working.
It also asked ministers to extend VAT exemptions on taxis adapted for disabled people, continue the plug-in taxi grant until March 2027, and reduce the rate of VAT on public electric vehicle charging to just 5pc.
A 12-week-long ‘engagement exercise’ was launched on the same day, which has come to a close. It received more than 5,000 responses from the taxi industry.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands Transport for Greater Manchester is now preparing its recommendations for how to change the areas of taxi licensing not covered by the English Devolution Bill.
Previously, the mayor said Greater Manchester needed to ‘raise its game’ by creating a more unified licensing system, in an effort to make it more attractive for locals to go to their own town hall.
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