TAXI firms have called for Uber’s licence to operate in Brighton and Hove to be revoked.

Taxi drivers claim Uber drivers are illegally using taxi ranks to pick up customers while less than a quarter of the company’s drivers are licensed in the city.

It is also claimed that Uber drivers are obtaining licences from councils with lower standards hundreds of miles away to operate in Brighton and Hove.

Rising tension between Uber and taxi drivers boiled over this month with police investigating a scuffle at a taxi rank.

Uber said the taxi drivers’ complaints were based on city firms' fear of competition and claimed its drivers had faced intimidation and abuse.

The firm was granted a licence in October 2015 and began operating in the city 12 months later.

Within a month, licensing chairwoman Jackie O'Quinn called for a meeting with Uber in response to the number of Transport for London (TfL) licensed taxi drivers operating in the city.

She said the firm only received the licence to operate in the city on the grounds that they would use Brighton and Hove licensed drivers.

A taxi drivers’ forum will be held today [Wednesday] with bosses calling for their licence to be revoked and TfL inspectors to enforce regulations against Uber drivers because the city council’s enforcement team is powerless to intervene.

John Streeter, of Streamline Taxis, said: "We want the council to revoke their licence until they stand by their commitment to use Brighton and Hove licensed taxi drivers.

"They are not a fit and proper company to hold a licence.

"We don’t mind competition but it has to be a fair playing field.

"What Uber drivers are doing is going to the cheapest councils with the lowest standards in the country to get a licence even though they have no intention of operating there.

"We have got the highest standards of anywhere in the country and we don’t want them to drop."

An Uber spokesman said: “Since launching in Brighton we have been blown away with the demand we’ve seen for Uber, and more Brighton and Hove licensed private hire drivers are signing up to the app every week to help meet this demand.

"We have a good relationship with the council and have met the licensing committee who are happy with the way we’re operating under the conditions of our license.

"Uber is attending the meeting to discuss the intimidation and violence some drivers using our app have received in the city.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: "Taxi licensing officers are currently investigating complaints of vehicles other than Hackney Carriages parking on ranks and enforcement action will be taken in accordance with the council’s enforcement policy.

"The situation is being monitored. Uber was given a licence for a period of one year to enable the authority to monitor their operation."

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 UBERK 

 Uber has reportedly racked up losses of more than £1.8billion in the first nine months of 2016 despite seeing a jump in bookings and revenues.

The San-Francisco-based taxi-hailing app is said to have sunk into the red by more than £649million in the third quarter as it has been hit by a price war with rival Lyft in America and spending on ambitious growth plans.

The figures, first reported by technology news site The Information, suggest Uber is on track for full-year losses of £2.4billion this year.

But the leaked financials are understood to show net revenue climbing to around £3.1billion in the first nine months and is set to reach more than £4.5billion over the full year.

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 A Watford man has been convicted as part of a gang which committed a series of conspiracy and fraud offences to illegally obtain taxi licences.

Traian Badea, 44, of Devon Road, Watford, received a four-month suspended prison sentence, an 80 hour unpaid work order, and was required to pay £200 in costs.

He and eight others appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday December 15 following a complex year-long police investigation into how a number private hire taxi licences were obtained by fraudulent means.

The court heard how former Stevenage Borough Council employee Alison Derrouiche had dishonestly allowed people to sit and pass English language tests on behalf of others applying for taxi licences.

The fraud was identified through internal verifications undertaken by staff within the council’s licensing team, and referred to its anti-fraud service for further investigation.

All nine – seven from Stevenage and one from Manchester – pleaded guilty to all the charges against them at an earlier hearing in November.

Councillor Chris Hayward, responsible for resources at Stevenage Borough Council, said: “Regulations relating to the licencing of private hire taxis are put in place to protect the public.

“These people set out to cheat the system with the assistance of a dishonest former member of staff and I’m pleased that they have now paid the price in court.”

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The mother of an Aberdeen boy with a mechanical heart who is currently in hospital has said a taxi firm’s offer of free journeys to see her son had “saved” her Christmas.

Six-year-old Ashton Hutcheson will spend the festive season at Royal Aberdeen Children’s hospital, due to his condition – dilated cardiomyopathy – an illness which restricts the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently and can have knock-on effects to the lungs, liver and other vital organs.

His mum, Shanna Hutcheson, 24, cannot drive, and had to take taxis to visit her boy in hospital.

But now, Rainbow City Taxis have offered Miss Hutcheson free return trips to the hospital to help cover the costs of being there for her son this Christmas after one of the company’s drivers heard her story.

Miss Hutcheson said: “He went into hospital last Wednesday with a blood clot and an infection attacking his heart.

“We’ve been told he could be out by January 19 – but we’ll have to wait and see.

“On Friday, I decided to get a couple of hours away from the hospital at the bingo, so me and my partner took a taxi.

“The driver asked us about our day, and I told him it wasn’t going so well because we’re all so worried about Ashton.

“When we got there, I handed over my bank card to pay, and he told us to keep our money and buy something for our little one and have a merry Christmas.

“I insisted, but he just told me to give Ashton his best wishes.”

After hearing about their driver’s act of kindness, bosses at the taxi company offered Miss Hutcheson free trips to Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.

She added: “I was totally overwhelmed. We’ve had so much support from the community.

“Rosehill chipper, the closest fish and chip shop to the hospital, has offered us free food whenever we want it – and they’ve even bought Ashton an iPad.

“I would just be lost without everyone’s help. I don’t drive, and getting good food is so hard in the hospital, so everything I’ve been worrying about is fine now.

“Our Christmas has been saved, even though we’re going to have to spend it in hospital.”

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