OUT-OF-AREA COMPLIANCE: Wolverhampton licensed private hire checks carried out at THREE major UK airports
- Perry Richardson
- 40 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Compliance officers from Wolverhampton Council have carried out coordinated taxi and private hire vehicle enforcement operations at THREE major UK airports as part of ongoing cross-border licensing activity.
The checks took place at Birmingham Airport, Manchester Airport and East Midlands Airport, with Wolverhampton’s Public Protection team working alongside partner authorities.
Posting on social media, the council said: “Yesterday, Compliance Officers got wet, wet, wet in torrential weather conditions at three regional Airports Birmingham, Manchester & East Midlands in coordinated licensing operations.”
The council said the aim of the activity was to ensure licensed vehicles were operating lawfully and that passengers were travelling safely. The post added that officers were “making sure everyone was getting home/away safe” during the airport operations.
Council officers joined cross-border licensing operations at Birmingham, Manchester and East Midlands airports amid ongoing scrutiny of out-of-area taxi activity
Airports remain a particular focus for licensing teams due to the high concentration of private hire vehicles operating across local authority boundaries. Enforcement activity at transport hubs has long been used by councils to monitor compliance where vehicles licensed elsewhere are working outside their home areas.
Wolverhampton is one of the largest taxi and private hire licensing authorities in England, issuing licences to drivers and vehicles operating nationwide. The council has consistently works in partnership with other authorities to maintain standards under the current licensing framework.
The enforcement work comes against the backdrop of a national Government consultation examining whether taxi and private hire licensing should move away from individual councils to larger transport authorities. One of the stated aims of the review is to address enforcement and oversight challenges linked to cross-border working.
Wolverhampton Council did not confirm how many vehicles were checked or whether any enforcement action was taken during the airport operations.
