Government Cracks Down on Sky-High Taxi Bills for Asylum Seekers
The government is putting the brakes on costly taxi rides for asylum seekers attending medical appointments. From February, taxis will be banned except in rare, pre-approved cases. This clampdown follows a BBC exposé exposing eye-watering taxi bills footed by the Home Office.
£15.8 Million Wasted on Lavish Taxi Rides
Asylum seekers have been racking up massive taxi costs – one passenger took a 250-mile cab trip to a GP, racking up a jaw-dropping £600 fare paid by taxpayers. Taxi firms even confessed to padding journeys just to jack up fares. Drivers told BBC Radio 4 they sometimes clocked hundreds of miles a day, often with no passengers on board.
“I drove an average of 275 miles a day—half without any passenger,” revealed one driver known only as Steve. “Some journeys were completely wasted. The system was open to abuse.”
Bus Passes Given, But Taxi Costs Still Soaring
Though asylum seekers have bus passes limited to one return trip a week, taxis remain heavily relied upon for doctor visits. Drivers admitted to hundreds of daily trips shuttling people from hotels to nearby surgeries, with bills soaring into thousands each day.
Home Secretary Vows to Slash Waste and Tackle Abuse
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the reckless spending. She announced:
“I am ending the unrestricted use of taxis by asylum seekers for hospital appointments, authorising them only in the most exceptional circumstances.”
Exemptions will be made only for disabled, chronically ill, and pregnant individuals — and only with Home Office approval. The government blames expensive contracts left over from the previous Tory administration and wants asylum seekers to use public transport wherever possible.
