Salvatore Barrile has been a Hackney Carriage driver for 16 years in Surrey – and said the situation was bigger than many might think.
A self-styled “vigilante Uber hunter” has been filming himself as he takes-on what he claims are illegally-parked minicab drivers parking in disabled bays.
Salvatore Barrile, alongside a group of taxi drivers “fighting for their livelihoods”, has been challenging private hire drivers parking illegally in taxi rank bays at Egham Railway Station, in Surrey.
The 46-year-old, who has been a Hackney Carriage driver for 16 years in Runnymede borough, said the situation was bigger than many might think.
“It isn’t just parking on non-authorised taxi bays.”
Mr Barrile has documented his woes with drivers over the months, taking pictures and video of various cars parking in both disabled and taxi bays,
A spokesman for the national taxi hailing mobile app said he “believed” both minicabs featured in Mr Barrile’s videos were “Uber Partners”.
Meanwhile, the Transport For London Taxi and Private Hire vehicle checker was able to verify both minicabs in the video are licenced in London, meaning the two drivers caught on camera were carrying out trips in the Runnymede area.
A spokesman for Uber added the company “will remind drivers that have carried out pre-booked trips from Egham Station where they are able to park”.
Uber drivers fall into the Private Hire Vehicles category of the licencing rules which means that, once a licence is obtained, the holder can “take pre-booked jobs in an area covering a radius from that borough” according to advisory literature on the Runnymede Borough Council website.
This means in boroughs which do allow Uber drivers to operate such as Windsor, Maidenhead, London Boroughs and Woking, the holder can then use their licence in “a radius” from that area.
But Mr Barrile believes these rules make a “mockery” of the licencing system.
“As a taxi licenced by Runnymede, I have to follow all the regulations including a topographic knowledge test of the area, proof that I can drive safely by doing a driving test too,” he said.
A self-styled “vigilante Uber hunter” has been filming himself as he takes-on what he claims are illegally-parked minicab drivers parking in disabled bays.
Salvatore Barrile, alongside a group of taxi drivers “fighting for their livelihoods”, has been challenging private hire drivers parking illegally in taxi rank bays at Egham Railway Station, in Surrey.
The 46-year-old, who has been a Hackney Carriage driver for 16 years in Runnymede borough, said the situation was bigger than many might think.
“We are getting flooded by Uber drivers coming from all over,” he said. “It is going on every day. I just hope people understand the effect Uber is having on our livelihood
And in the meantime, all those drivers coming from outside the area don’t have to follow any of these regulations.”
He also claims Uber is “overworking” its drivers by making them work “over 16-hour days”, an allegation refuted by an Uber spokesman.
“Licensed private hire drivers who use the Uber App are independent contractors who are free to log into the app when and where they choose,” he said.
Source : Mirror.com
