Wolverhampton Council hits back at ‘easy option’ claim

CITY of Wolverhampton Council have hit back at Coventry claims that Uber drivers are using the city as an easy licensing option.

Councillors from Coventry have claimed that drivers are getting their licenses from Wolverhampton, as the city have lower licensing standards, before operating illegally in Coventry.

Now Wolverhampton have hit back, claiming that drivers are turning to their city as a result of their “efficient and streamlined” application process.

This comes after the Telegraph revealed that a large number of Uber cabs were operating in the city, despite not having a license here.

Councillors Jayne Innes and Damian Gannon spoke out against this, and they claimed that drivers were getting licenses in neighbouring cities, as the application standards are lower, and therefore easier to obtain. However, Councillor Alan Bolshaw, chairman of City of Wolverhampton Council’s licensing committee, said: “Under the law, private hire operators and drivers are free to choose where they apply for their licence.

“We are widely regarded as having one of the most efficient and streamlined private hire licensing application operations in the country which has been commended by Government for utilising innovative technology to cut needless red tape.

“Our approach makes us an attractive option to operators and their drivers because we can turn around licence applications much faster than most other areas.”

Coventry’s Cllr Gannon urged Wolverhampton to “work with neighbouring authorities”, a notion which was agreed upon by Cllr Bolshaw, who said: “We have met with representatives of Coventry City Council previously and have another meeting planned with a local MP there in a few weeks’ time.

“We are always happy to work with our colleagues to address any legitimate concerns they might have, but clearly we cannot be held responsible when people are unhappy about the law of the land.

“That is a matter that needs to be taken up with central government.”