A council has responded after taxi drivers queried why MOT tests were being conducted for the City of Wolverhampton at garages in Blackburn. The Lancashire Telegraph can now reveal a total of 390 private hire drivers living and operating in Blackburn and Darwen have been licenced by the West Midlands authority, which is 80 miles away. Concerns were raised by local cabbies, who said they had seen garages in Blackburn advertising MOTs for drivers licensed in the City of Wolverhampton.
There is no law restricting where private hire drivers can operate, and seeing taxis outside of the boroughs in which they are licensed is not a new phenomenon - though the sheer number of cars licensed in Wolverhampton being seen in Blackburn has raised concerns. Blackburn with Darwen Council said Wolverhampton Council has 36,000 licensed private hire drivers operating all over the country. Some Hackney carriage drivers in Blackburn with Darwen have complained about out-of-town private hire drivers, in particular Uber drivers registered in Wolverhampton, undercutting them and taking their business .
Presently, Blackburn with Darwen Council has its own MOT testing station which it runs separately, with tests conducted at the council's Motor Vehicle Service Station (MVSS) at its Davyfield Depot. Blackburn with Darwen Council said some cabbies may be using the city council’s testing stations as they were cheaper. The council also questioned if City of Wolverhampton enforcement teams could actively.