'All these out of town ones are coming from Manchester, Liverpool - there's not one thing being done about it'
16.06.2024 - 13:19
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It was meant to be a significant day for one of the North West's best-known seaside towns.
Blackpool was all set to unveil a £23m tram line connecting the Promenade tramway to a new stop by Blackpool North train station on Wednesday (June 12). However, it faced an unexpected hurdle.
Local taxi drivers staged a protest that brought traffic to a screeching halt on Talbot Road. By strategically parking their cabs across the carriageway intermittently between 10am and 12pm, they managed to cause disruption to other drivers and public transport routes.
This act was the peak of an ongoing dispute in the resort town, ignited by the influx of "unknown" drivers from firms like Uber - as the disgruntled local taxi drivers claimed.
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When questioned by LancsLive, Uber maintained the legality of their operations in Blackpool, but the protesting drivers remained sceptical. They claimed that Uber drivers were bending rules such as utilising designated taxi ranks for picking up passengers, which according to them, puts the travellers at risk.
And when contacted by LancsLive, Blackpool Council seemed less convinced by Uber's claims. A spokesperson confirmed it is seeking legal advice regarding the operation of Uber vehicles in the town, and states the US tech giant is not currently licensed by the authority.
"I'm not saying they're all operating illegally because I believe if they're booked on the app then Uber can operate, but I do believe there's a lot that are operating illegally in the town," one driver said on Wednesday. "There's not one thing being done about it.
"If we step one thing out of line, we're jumped upon by the council. All these cabs from