Black Country taxi firms in turf war for custom

Taxi booking agents have been used by firms to secure business from customers in Dudley town centre including after nights out at pubs and bars.

But Dudley Council officials said some firms claimed they were being put at a disadvantage by the agents.

Council officers have tabled two options to the authority's taxi committee tonight - both of which could ban the practice in Dudley or even borough-wide.

Taxi booking agents have be standing by premises and when people approach them they arrange a taxi from a nearby firm to pick them up.

But they are not allowed to 'tout' for business by approaching potential customers.

Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association today called on the council to rethink the options saying it hit enterprising businesses trying new ways to find customers.

Officials said they have investigated taxi booking agents working for Castle Cars, based in Wolverhampton Street, Dudley, using the workers outside two venues.

They say the firm had been using the agents outside Rock Zombie nightclub and The Ye Olde Foundry pub, both in King Street - near where another taxi firm, Triple 20, has its base.

A report by the council's director of corporate resources, Martin Hanson, said: "There is a perception within the Dudley taxi trade that the use of a 'taxi agent' by Castle Cars outside the two licensed premises gains an unfair advantage over other operators, by being the first point of contact for customers leaving the premises and wishing to use the services of a taxi, thereby removing the need for that potential customer to make the booking with other operators.

"It is at this point that there is a likelihood that the smallest disagreement between rival drivers has the potential to escalate into a more serious incident."

Mr Hanson, in the report, said the use of taxi agents without proper control 'could potentially lead to the criminal offence of taxi touting' and failure to keep full records.

Mr Hanson said that while Dudley town centre had highlighted the issue, he claimed there was other occurrences in the borough that had been leading to 'general resentment' and 'mistrust' between rival private hire and hackney carriage firms and drivers.

Taxi Association chairman Shaz Shaleem said: "We will be proposing another option that the council take more control over this and monitor the agents. It is wrong to be proposing to ban the agents. They are just trying to find ways of finding customers."

No one was available from Castle Cars for comment.