13/02/2025
A plea has been made for the council to protect taxi drivers in Windsor and Maidenhead from the competition of Uber drivers from outside the borough.
Hackney carriage and private hire drivers are facing an increase in the annual drivers’ licence fee they pay to operate in the Royal Borough.
The drivers currently pay £100 for a one-year licence but councillors agreed on Monday to switch to a three-year licence which will cost £336 – an extra £12 per year.
The council said it has not raised licensing fees since 2011 and it expects the cost of its licensing service to be £23,000 more than its expected income in 2025/26.
But during a meeting of the council’s licensing panel at Maidenhead Town Hall on Monday, taxi drivers criticised the borough for not subjecting out-of-town Uber drivers to the same charges.
Sultan Jaffri, a representative for taxi drivers in Windsor and Maidenhead, said: “I understand that we’re in a position where the council budget is tight and so is ours.
“Please can you have some consideration to the rise of 12 per cent.
“The main loss of revenue to the council is having TfL (Transport for London) operated vehicles in the borough working for Uber – not having the vehicle licensed by RBWM.”
He added: “Just think how many new drivers would apply for private hire plates and badges to work in the borough.
“You need to think hard about making such decisions which affect taxi drivers working in the borough.”
Uber drivers are currently able to operate in Windsor and Maidenhead even if they are licensed with Transport for London.
Some taxi firms have argued the Royal Borough should follow the likes of Reading Borough Council who refused to issue a licence for Uber to operate in the town.
Greg Nelson, trading standards and licensing manager at RBWM, said the council could not stop Uber drivers from operating in the Royal Borough.
Councillor Jack Douglas (Lib Dems, St Marys) added: “I do want to express some sympathy towards Mr Jaffri and what he’s saying that times are hard for drivers, costs are going up and you’re getting bitter competition from operators that are under-cutting you from outside the borough.
“There’s some things which we can’t do anything about.”
Members of the licensing panel also agreed on Monday to extend the period that taxi drivers can rack up penalty points imposed by the council.
The council has a penalty points system in place where drivers are handed points for offences such as parking in disabled bays, treating customers disrespectfully and parking on double yellow lines.
If drivers accumulate 12 points in a year, they are then hauled in front of the council to decide if any further action should be taken.
But this is now set to be extended to 12 points over the course of the new three-year licence – a move which was described as ‘unfair’ by taxi driver representatives at Monday’s meeting.
Councillor Gurch Singh (Lib Dems, St Marys) said: “As a borough, we have quite a high standard of drivers. I would say we’ve got some of the best drivers in the country. I’m not too worried about this points system.
“What this policy will do effectively is keep the drivers on their toes and will allow residents to know we take drivers’ standard and driver behaviour very seriously.”