SOUTHAMPTON taxi drivers are calling on licensing chiefs to relax the regulations so they can work for more than one company.

They are asking Southampton City Council to allow them to use magnetic door signs on their cars in a bid to enable drivers to work for more than one firm and reduce the risks of taxis being vandalised.

The city council said magnetic door signs are not allowed in a bid to protect the public.

The door signs show the name of the taxi company and licensing authority.

But Ali Haydor, the Southampton private hire trade representative, said the use of permanent door signs is preventing taxi drivers from working for more than one  company at a time.

He said the industry has been hit by the pandemic and he claimed that the number of taxis being broken into has also increased over the past year.

“If you have a magnetic sticker you can take it off. Why are we being penalised?”, Mr Haydor said.

He also added: “Because of the hard time we have now there’s been not enough work  and we have the opportunity to work for multiple companies.”

Mr Haydor also claimed that more taxis with a permanent sign are being vandalised.

He added: “Sometimes vandals can think there may be something valuable [in the taxi] and they may break in. In some cases things have been stolen but in most cases it is just damages and once a vehicle is out of action you can’t go to work.”

In a statement the city council said: “The primary role of licensing is public safety, it is for this reason we do not allow magnetic door signs to be used.

"Magnetic signs are easily stolen and placed on unlicensed vehicles to give the appearance of a licensed vehicle to be used for unlawful purposes. We require the vehicle to display the current operator to assist the fare in identifying the vehicle they have booked.

"The removal of either of these safety requirements will not increase the volume of work available to the trade as a whole. The number of customers is going to remain the same.

"We are not aware of any increase in vehicles being damaged and to our knowledge incidents of vandalism to licensed vehicles remain low.

"We are proud of our record with safety.

"We were the first authority to mandate the fitting of taxi cameras and continue to be a leading authority in this area and as such will always recommend the public ensure they chose a Southampton licensed vehicle.”