Manchester cabbies' fight for survival on the silent city centre streets

Brian Doran is sat in his cab on Portland Street waiting for his next fare. If recent experience is anything to go by he's likely to be a while yet.

"I've been out for four hours and I've had one job," says the 62-year-old. "Before covid I would have had done five or six fares by now."

With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to bite, many people are tightening their belts and opting for the bus, tram or walking instead of catching a cab. Add in record diesel prices, increased competition from the likes of Uber and the fact that many many city centre office staff are still working from home and it means being a taxi driver is a tough way to make a living right now.

Read more: How the cost-of-living crisis and working from home is hitting Manchester's butty shops and cafes

Brian says he's been taxi driving in Manchester for 25 years 'on and off', but 'wouldn't recommend the job to anyone nowadays. "Most cab drivers come out with a full tank of diesel," he says.

"You do your day's work, then you fill up again. It normally costs me £15-20 to fill up, but I'm only taking about £70 in fares, so that's £50-55 a day I'm making, minus all the other running costs. I work 8am to 4pm. It's less than the minimum wage.

"Prices keep going up and up, so we have less and less take home pay. If money's tight we are looked at like a luxury item, so people cut us out. They get the bus or they walk.

"You do get the odd good day, if the football's on, or there's a concert at the Arena, but most days there's nothing. It's tough, but what can you do?"

Whereas private hire firms can increase their fares to cover rising costs, fares for hackney carriages - or black cabs as they're more commonly known - are set by the council. And in