Taxi drivers claim that almost three-quarters of people working in their town should not be — with some being licensed by councils as far away as Wolverhampton.

Bosses at Dartford-based Bridge Cars, father and son Roger Clarke and Roger Clarke, believe that it is one of the reasons they have seen business plummet since the pandemic.

The firm, which operates across the borough, used to make more than 400 journeys a month, but is now hardly completing 300 jobs in the same time.

There are other contributing factors, like a lack of drivers and the cost-of-living crisis, but Roger Snr explained how he believes a large part of the drop is due to drivers working where he believes they should not be.

The 78-year-old added: “My business is near enough gone as we cannot compete with what is going on, but it is unfair.

“We are doing our jobs right, so when you see all these things happening and you are trying to work within the law, it makes me angry.

“Licensing is different between Dartford and other people. We have strict rules that we go by; others do not seem to have the same rules.”

To hold a taxi licence in Dartford, drivers must have undertaken the borough’s knowledge test, a driving ability test, a medical and an enhanced DBS check, as well as other requirements

In particular, hackney carriages must have a driver's licence and a vehicle licence, both issued by Dartford council, to be hailed and sit in taxi ranks.

Whereas, private hires must also have an operator’s licence issued by the local authority and all work must be pre-arranged, meaning they cannot ply for hire in the streets.

Although they can take bookings to and from other areas, they must use Dartford drivers and cannot give jobs to those licensed by other areas.

For example, if a customer in Gravesend arranges a booking with a Dartford operator, a Dartford licensed vehicle will be sent to undertake the job, or it will be sub-contracted to a Gravesend operator.

However, Bridge Cars claim they know of drivers and operators flouting the rules, such as private hire vehicles parking up in designated hackney carriage spots.

The Clarkes said they know of private hires sitting in taxi ranks and getting customers to call up their offices to book immediately before entering the cab.

The pair explained that it is similar to app operators like Uber and Bolt, as, despite not being licensed in Dartford, they can take jobs as they work on a pre-booking system, despite it being almost an immediate pickup.

It is not unlawful; however, they believe that the firms are getting away on a technicality, and it is hurting small, local taxi businesses like theirs.

When approached for comment on this a spokesperson for Uber said it operates according to the high standards “set across the industry” and abides by the same regulations as all other private hire operators.

“We engage closely with councils across the country and are happy to discuss any issues,” they added.

Bolt says it holds licences across the UK, including with Transport for London (TfL), which has some of the most stringent requirements in the industry.

“Drivers licensed by neighbouring authorities, such as TfL, are legally permitted to support trips to Dartford, and our onboarding and compliance processes represent best practice across the sector,” a spokesperson for the ride-hailing app said.

“Our operating area supports journeys to and from London and surrounding towns, such as Dartford, helping to fill gaps where public transport is limited, particularly at night, so people can travel safely and reliably.”

Roger Jnr also claimed he has had people calling up asking to be put on their books who are not licensed by Dartford council, but by other local authorities - including some as far as Wolverhampton, nearly 160 miles away.

The 49-year-old believes it could be because it is easier to get a licence there rather than in the Kent borough, and they do so in the hopes operators will use them despite it being against the rules.

Or, he said, it may be that the councils have handed out too many licences, so they travel to other areas to find work or pick up shifts when visiting family and friends.

Roger Jnr, who also runs Street Cars, explained it is easily done as there are not enough checks being done on people working in the borough.

His dad, who has been a hackney carriage driver for almost 40 years, added: “It is a totally unfair system. It is clear as day that they are coming in and dropping off every day.

“There are so many vehicles coming in that are licensed from other towns, and anyone can sit there looking like a cab. It is totally unsafe and wrong.

“It just seems that everything is opened up so much, and it is so unsafe that anyone can go anywhere and do what they like, and you do not even know who is in the cabs.”

The father and son believe that the way forward is to increase patrols in the area to crack down on drivers who should not be in the area.

Roger Snr said: “No one is checking what is going on. The issue is a lack of enforcement. If they enforced it, it would not be as bad.

“It is about time that this taxi and private hire business was sorted out properly. In other words, properly rigged, properly licensed, and properly checked.”

A spokesperson for Dartford council told KentOnline that the local authority does undertake enforcement action by checking that drivers have bookings.

They added: “If people are found to be operating in Dartford without a licence, they could be prosecuted.

“However, licensed vehicles from out of the borough do have the right to carry out pre-booked journeys in Dartford.”