Call for Uber drivers to be licensed in Coventry

Coventry council must do more to get a grip on unlicensed Uber, a councillor has said, amid fears local cabbies are paying the price.

A committee agreed on Tuesday to hit taxi drivers with a rise in licence fees, despite cabbies warning it could put them out of business.

But Uber will not have to pay new fees as the firm is unlicensed in Coventry.

It means the city council is missing out on thousands of pounds from around 300 Coventry residents thought to be Uber drivers in the city.

Licencing officer Sarah Elliott even admitted hackney carriage drivers would likely be paying less money, if only Uber was licenced.

Increased taxi fees are needed as the service is running in deficit, she said, adding it is the first increase since 2009.

But with taxi drivers struggling for work since the rise of Uber, shadow cabinet member for city services Cllr Tim Mayer has called for more to be done to help “level the playing field”.

Cllr Mayer, the only councillor on the licensing committee to vote down new charges on Tuesday, said: “We have increased the hackney charges by 23.3 per cent across the board.

“We have done this while at the same time having over 300 Coventry residents registered as drivers with Uber and approximately 1,000 Uber drivers in the city. 

“Connected to this are 10 local authorities in the Midlands that do license Uber, including Solihull, Leicester, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, each taking a nice sum from each driver. In Solihull that’s up to £509 before any servicing.

“If Coventry did similar we would have an instant opportunity to drive in extra funds to the council purse allowing the hackney fees to not only not increase but possibly decrease, levelling out the field.

“I would urge the council to start dialogue with Uber and see what income we can drive into the city by licensing them. 

“This competition is not going away so let’s grab it and use it to increase service and allowing our hackney drivers a better standard of living rather than driving them into irrelevance.”

Uber is licensed in 10 Midland local authorities. The lowest vehicle and licence fee listed by Uber as the £404 charged in Birmingham, with Stoke-on-Trent the highest at £1,198.

It is yet to apply for a licence in Coventry, Ms Elliott said, but the authority has recently granted licences to similar app-based firms Ola and eCars.

Cllr Mayer said licensing Uber as well would provide “a real chance of decreasing the cost of operating our much-loved hackney carriages”.

Ms Elliott added on Tuesday: “Uber’s technology has enabled them to work in very ancient legislation.

“There is a lot of discussion that is going on all over the country about how to deal with that and nationally they are looking at revision of the standards we have to address concerns raised by authorities.

“Unfortunately it is not something that is in Coventry’s control.”

Chair of the licensing committee Cllr Christine Thomas told the meeting she would rally the government for more support, adding: “It is something that is being kicked down the road.”

  

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