Council is driving us out of business, say cabbies
http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/Coun ... 5706873.jp
Unfair competition in city to be raised in Parliament
Cab drivers claim they are being driven to the wall because Milton Keynes Council is allowing too many taxis onto the road.
Milton Keynes Hackney Carriage Association says the number of licensed vehicles has more than doubled in seven years to 190.
Drivers facing fierce competition to make a living in the recession are pleading with the council to halt the issue of further licences to save them being put out of business.
Association chairman Mohammed Nawaz said: "Milton Keynes is very different from other cities.
"The rank at the railway station is virtually the one area where they can get trade.
"When they arrive there now there are often not places for them. They can't get trade and they are suffering very badly.
"Revenue is down by 50 per cent."
North East Milton Keynes MP Mark Lancaster said he was raising the issue of unfair competition between taxi firms in the Commons following pleas by city drivers.
He added: "The current system is deeply unfair to local taxi firms who are being unfairly competed with by outsiders touting for trade.
"City residents are also being let down as many of the drivers working for out of town firms are coming from as far away as Coventry and simply do not know their way around Milton Keynes."
Milton Keynes Council says it is considering the association's protest.
A spokesman said: "However, our basic policy – adopted in 2002 – is not to have a cap on the number of licences and that approach is now fully supported by national policy and the Office of Fair Trading.
"Because the system is self-regulating, it makes sense to assume that people are only going to apply for a hackney carriage licence if there is the level of business out there to support it."
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