'All these out of town ones are coming from Manchester, Liverpool - there's not one thing being done about it'

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 out of town are coming from Manchester, Liverpool, Knowsley. There was even a cab from Birmingham here the other week - they're coming from all over the place."

In recent years, there's been a noticeable surge in the number of taxis registered in cities like Wolverhampton, yet operating in Lancashire. Last year, LancsLive investigated this puzzling trend and discovered it was due to a change in legislation in 2015.

This allowed vehicles licensed in different counties to operate elsewhere, with many exploiting the cheaper and faster registration process in the Midlands city.

Another taxi driver, who wished to remain unnamed, said: "To be honest, we've had enough. So this was the first of many and it will happen again.

"We stopped the traffic for about 40 minutes, the town centre came to a complete standstill. Something's got to be done. Ideally we want them out of Blackpool [Uber], but if they've got to be here then they need regulating. Nobody's policing it."

Uber has confirmed that its drivers are operating legally with licenses obtained from various parts of the UK, although they admit none of these licenses have been issued by Blackpool. The company is currently in the process of applying for licenses in several different cities across the UK, including Hull.

Chris Webb, who will once again stand as Labour's candidate for MP for Blackpool South, raised this issue in his first question in the House of Commons last month. He also held a meeting with Uber, during which the company expressed its willingness to prevent its drivers from picking up passengers at Blackpool taxi ranks.

Webb accused "unlicensed taxis" of "illegally parking in local ranks" and effectively "taking fares from our hard-working, rule-abiding Blackpool taxi drivers".

In response to this, Uber stated that passengers are prevented from booking rides at these locations via the app, so no Uber driver should ever wait there. However, when LancsLive visited Blackpool North station for less than an hour on Wednesday afternoon, they spotted at least two Uber-branded cars parked and driving through the taxi ranks.

Another taxi driver told LancsLive that the problem lies with Uber picking up train passengers at stations, despite other taxi drivers paying an annual fee to operate and collect passengers in these areas. It was revealed that drivers pay almost £700 a year to work and sit in ranks like the one at Blackpool North train station.

A third driver said he understands the competitive nature of the industry, but doesn't believe it's a level playing field.

A local taxi driver expressed his frustration, saying: "I understand they've got to do a job at the end of the day and if they've got a booking, they've got a booking," but lamented the influx of Uber drivers. "We can't compete with those fares. For instance, here it's a £10 charge to the Pleasure Beach, say for a family of six. That's not bad value really, it might be for a lot of people but it's cheaper than a bus or the tram, it's £2 each or whatever and they're doing it for a fiver! " He continued, highlighting the challenges: "There's just so many of them and they're flooding the market."

He added: ""Some people would argue it's competitive business and it is, that's the world we live in. People want things fast and cheap and I understand that. But if they're coming in to work here, they should pay the same sort of regulations we do."

A council spokesperson responded to the issue: "Taxi operators have alerted us to instances of Uber drivers operating in Blackpool and their concerns around this. The safety of our residents and visitors is always our priority.

"Uber is not licensed by Blackpool Council currently. We are seeking legal opinion in relation to this matter, as we are conscious that the legal framework around taxi legislation is outdated and requires review."

The spokesperson concluded: "This is not a situation that is unique to Blackpool. We are speaking to the Local Government Association as well as our neighbouring authorities to ensure we deal with this robustly."

An Uber spokesperson stated: "Uber operates according to the high standards set across the industry and abides by the same regulations as all other private hire operators. We look to provide the best possible experience for passengers and engage closely with councils across the country. Uber also leads the industry in providing every driver a pension, holiday pay and sickness protection, which almost all local minicab firms do not."