Taxi drivers threaten to bring Wolverhampton to a standstill in new protest

They say drivers from as far away as Sheffield and Manchester are applying for private hire licences in the city as it can take just 28 days – instead of 10 months elsewhere.

But city licensing boss Alan Bolshaw says the threat is 'staggering' and warned: "I will not have a gun held to my head."

Licensing committee members are furious over a letter from the Wolverhampton Private Hire Drivers Association (WPHDA) setting out a list of 'red line' demands and threatening to block the road network with drivers from across the UK in an escalation of their go-slow protests.

The authority is accused of low standards of entry for the private hire trade.

But councillors have rejected the claim, saying that taxi drivers from outside the city are applying to Wolverhampton because the fee is cheaper and the turnaround is faster.

The council has taken advantage of new government deregulation which allows drivers to shop around for their licences. The council is now planning to reduce the cost of a taxi licence by between 12–15 per cent.

Councillor Bolshaw, licensing chairman, said the authority had simply acted quicker than its neighbours to ditch red tape that was holding up the service. He added: "If anything, we're a victim of our own success."

It is claimed 200 drivers took part in a previous go-slow in October although the council says the actual number was 77.

WPHDA vice-chairman Ebrahim Suleman's letter requested that the council set up a focus group to look at drivers' issues, in particular introducing a 'comprehensive' knowledge test, requiring drivers to pass a Driving Standards Agency test and refusing licences to drivers intending to work mainly outside Wolverhampton.

It states: "The council has the option of co-operation or facing further action. Any future go-slow protest will be organised to bring drivers in their thousands from across the UK. Hopefully you will see sense."

Councillor Bolshaw called the letter 'staggering beyond belief', saying he was 'outraged' and that the committee would 'not be dictated to' by Birmingham taxi drivers.

The licensing committee agreed to set up a focus group but only on the basis that its concerns were reported to and agreed by an existing working group. The drivers did not want to feed directly into the working group, claiming they could not speak freely in front of the big private hire operators.