Winchester City Council call for ban on cross-border hiring

Winchester City Council are the latest in an ever increasing line of local authorities and regulatory bodies calling for the Government to close the legal loophole which has seen the cross-border hiring fiasco reach epidemic proportions.

Taxi drivers are furious at the fact that private hire drivers, licensed in areas as far afield as Wolverhampton, which has seen a 6847% increase in the issuing of PHV licenses from drivers outside of its licensing area since 2013, as well as other parts of the country are flocking to Winchester to work.

As a result of the problems which surround cross-border hiring, which include authorities with weaker regulations issuing licenses to drivers who may not reach the criteria of other, more stringent licensing authorities,  thus putting the public at risk,  Winchester City Council are now lobbying the Government to close the loophole once and for all and change the law.

Taxi driver, Colin Smith, has claimed in a letter to Winchester City Council, that there are at least 15 PHV drivers licensed by Wolverhampton Council operating in Winchester, thus subverting the licensing criteria set by Winchester City Council. It is also alleged by Mr Smith that drivers exploiting the cross-border hiring loophole cannot be made subject to compliance checks by Winchester City Council authorities.

Winchester City Council have joined TfL, along with other local authorities in contacting the Government pressing for a change in legoslation. They have also contacted Wolverhampton City Council to express concern over the practice.