Mayor's call for ban to fix 'broken taxi system'

DUE TO URGE MINISTERS TO BAR 'OUT-OF-TOWN' CABBIES FROM REGION

- By ETHAN DAVIES Local Democracy Reporting Service

ANDY Burnham will tell government ministers taxi drivers should be BANNED from working out-of-area to fix a 'broken system' today.

The mayor has long called for an end to the practice where cabbies licensed by one council regularly ply their trade in another part of the country, with nearly half (49pc) of private hire taxis in Greater Manchester registered to a different council, such as Wolverhampton.

A ban now seems a realistic prospect as the mayor was due to meet key government ministers yesterday, including the transport secretary Heidi Alexander, as a key law moves through Parliament which could stop the practice.