TAXI drivers say loopholes that allow out-of-town cabs to pick up fares in Worcester have slashed trade by half.

The huge gap in the cost of a licence between different councils and changes to the law which allow taxi drivers to ply their trade anywhere in the country – means more taxis from outside the city are picking up fares.

Drivers said the influx of taxis was disrupting business and the rise of private hire cabs trading in Worcester but licensed by councils away from the city has led one councillor to issue a warning that anyone caught “conning the public” would be prosecuted.

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City driver Ghalib Hussain said the influx of taxis from outside of Worcester – including Wolverhampton and Wychavon – had halved his trade to fewer than ten trips a day.

“They get more trade than we do because they can go all over the place,” he said. “It’s affecting my trade by at least 50 per cent. It’s affecting the people who work at night even more.”

Worcester News: AFFECTED: Taxi driver Sabir Hussain, 74, from WorcesterAFFECTED: Taxi driver Sabir Hussain, 74, from Worcester (Image: Newsquest)

74-year-old Sabir Hussain, who claimed to be the city’s oldest taxi driver, said: “It is really affecting me. They are taking the people away.

“I work here so I think that should be my trade and they are taking it away. It is wrong.”

Private hire cars must be booked in advance and cannot be flagged down – unlike hackney cabs which are free to wait in ranks to pick up fares and can be hailed.

There are concerns that taxis licensed by outside authorities were not to the same standard as those in Worcester.

Worcester City Council charges £390 to register as a new private hire driver and £330 to renew – whereas the fee in Wolverhampton is just £95 for a one-year licence.

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Another taxi driver, Shaqat Hussain, 51, from the Arboretum, said: “Uber paved the way for this sort of thing, they take private hires from anywhere and place them anywhere.

“The more cars that are coming in, the more restricted we are. Worcester’s tests are pretty rigorous so people are going elsewhere, places like Wychavon and Wolverhampton, to get their licence and then coming back to Worcester.

“Little by little it is affecting our livelihood. I can’t blame the drivers, it’s the system.”

Cllr Richard Udall, chair of the council’s licensing and environmental health committee, said out-of-town taxi drivers did not hold the same standards as those licensed in Worcester.

"These drivers have not passed our stringent tests and don't have local knowledge, if residents use them as a taxi they may not be insured, they are operating illegally and should not be used,” he said.

"They are taking advantage of the public confusion about the difference between a private hire car and a taxi, many people don't understand the difference, especially late at night.

"They are conning the public and don't comply to our rules, if we catch them, we will prosecute.”

There are believed to be just over 36,000 private hire drivers with a Wolverhampton plate – equivalent to about 13 per cent of the city's entire population – leading it to be dubbed the taxi licence capital of England.

Wolverhampton City Council denied it had acted improperly by licensing large numbers of cab drivers who operate in other areas.

A spokesperson for the council said: “While we have never actively encouraged applications from drivers outside the city, existing legislation requires that if an application is submitted and requirements are met, then the application must be granted.

“The council may not refuse an applicant simply because they live in a different area.

“Applicants are usually local to the area they drive in, but many have chosen to be licensed in Wolverhampton due to our efficient, yet rigorous, licensing process.”