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Anger over some taxi drivers ‘cherry picking’ and quoting huge prices
People have complained about some taxi drivers quoting huge prices and cherry picking fares in Liverpool over the bank holiday weekend.
It was a busy weekend in the city with concerts, football matches and the Battle of the Atlantic commemorations taking place, meaning huge numbers of people were in and around the city centre across the three days.
A number of people have spoken out about the behaviour of some taxi drivers as they tried to make their way in and out of the city, with claims of some Hackney drivers quoting huge fares for journeys off the meter, which is not allowed under licensing laws.
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On Twitter, Harry McNally said he was quoted £45 for a journey from the city centre to Birkenhead. He said he walked away after being quoted that high price.
Another person got in touch with the ECHO to say they had been quoted a £55 fee to travel from Liverpool’s Pier Head to South Road in Waterloo.
The man, who asked not to be named, said: “I think it should have been about £25 maximum on a bank holiday.”
The same man claimed a number of drivers “set up their own rank” close to the Blackstone Warehouse, which had hosted a concert on Saturday night. He added: “They were offering people £5 a go to run them into the city centre.”
He added: “Cherry picking (of certain fares) is happening more often. It’s a minority of them who are ruining it for the good cabbies.”
Under licensing laws, all Hackney carriage journeys within Liverpool must have the meter engaged and the driver can only charge someone for what is on the meter. The city council regularly carries out work to tackle issues including overcharging.
A Liverpool Council spokesperson said: “Taxi licensing staff were out on Saturday for the Battle of the Atlantic event at the Pier Head as part of our ongoing enforcement work.
“We have recently been doing some work to highlight to visitors the issue of overcharging, with flyers placed in hotels and promotion on social media. If people believe they are a victim of overcharging or cherry picking, we advise them to make a note of the plate number or vehicle registration and report it through our website, liverpool.gov.uk, so we can investigate.”
Last year a major Liverpool Council survey said that the “well-known but hard to prove ‘cherry picking’ by a small number of drivers is now more odious and necessary to stamp out than ever.” This refers to hackney carriages sitting off ranks to wait for more lucrative fares.
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