HUNDREDS of taxis flooded Liverpool to protest against a private hire firm which they claim is driving them out of business.
More than 800 hackney carriages and city minicab drivers circled the council’s Dale Street offices yesterday to protest at firms such as Delta Taxis, who operate within the city but are based outside.
They criticised the firm – Merseyside’s biggest operator – because it carried out millions of taxi rides in Liverpool every year, despite being based in Sefton.
Hundreds of drivers drove into town from hackney hotspots including Lime Street, West Derby village, Dovecot and The Bridge Inn on Childwall Valley Road.
Hackney carriage driver Roy Honeyman said: “Things have got to change otherwise we will be dead in the water. Our overheads are a lot higher then firms like Delta, who stay on the fringe in Sefton rather than being in the city.”
One protester, who did not want to be named, added: “You often see Delta drivers parked around Liverpool even though they are officially based in Sefton.
“They are waiting for Liverpool jobs to come in so they can get there quickly.
“It makes a mockery of the Liverpool knowledge test which took me four times to pass. If they want to be based in Liverpool then they should move here.
“There’s no work in Sefton at the weekends so they come to Liverpool. It’s taking food out of our mouths.There will be further protests if things don’t change.”
Delta, despite being based in Sefton, is fully entitled to complete jobs in Liverpool.
Delta spokesman Paul McLaughlin insisted there was enough work in the city for both Delta – which has 1,400 drivers – and the equally 1,400- strong hackney fleet.
He said: “Both hackney carriages and private hire vehicles are entitled to be telephoned booked to and from anywhere in Merseyside, even the country.
“But when it comes to people hiring cabs on the street – only locally licensed hackney carriages can do that and only within the set area determined by their licence.
Liverpool has the largest hackney carriage fleet outside London and Delta – at seven to eight million bookings per year – is one of the biggest firms in the world, he said.
“Any tension is a cause for concern. But we’ve got two football clubs, two cathedrals – there should be enough space for two types of taxi.”Both private hire firms and hackney carriages are essential to the travel network.”
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