Windsor and Maidenhead officer fears a lack of control over Uber drivers

According to local sources Uber drivers are scrapping their minicab licences in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to sign up for Transport for London instead.

At a recent Licensing Panel meeting this week their are concerns that the switch being made by drivers could mean having less control over drivers operating in the Royal Borough.  

Ride-hailing firm Uber currently has an operating licence in Maidenhead and Windsor, however cross-border hiring regulations means drivers can sign up elsewhere, like with TfL, and work unchecked in the their licensing area. 

Greg Nelson, the trading standards lead, said: “I’m not particularly happy with this because the whole purpose of licensing is we have some degree of control on the vehicles operating in our area.

“If Uber drivers are waiting somewhere in the Royal Borough, parked illegally, there is nothing we can do about their physical presence.”

Panel members on the council also recommended that minicab drivers licensed in the area should have to pay for safeguarding training that all drivers must complete.

Cllr Maureen Hunt (Con, Hurley and Walthams) said: “Our taxi drivers are going to have to pay for this safeguarding training but Uber won’t.

“We have to look at the fairness of this.”