WHEN is Darlington Borough Council going to realise that taxi drivers are working class people, not millionaires. It has recently cost me the neck end of £3,000 to upgrade my taxi, spend time off the road, etc, to pacify these faceless bureaucrats.

As my cab reached the dreaded six-year barrier and – not unlike many other drivers in the current economic climate – I am unable to afford a replacement, is it right that one is forced to fork out what equates to a year’s mortgage payments just for the right to work?

The council wants our taxis to be immaculate, so why are the roads in the borough not upgraded to be likewise? Why does the council not follow Middlesbrough’s example and extend the prestige test to eight years to help the town’s cash-strapped cabbies.

It is high time Darlington council realised that many fares taxis pick up are drunks from the town’s pubs/clubs, not senior members of the coalition Government.

More hardship is inflicted by egg/stone-throwing yobs who target us for some reason. The police never seem to rein them in.

Finally, the council apparently wants all the town’s taxis to be wheelchair-friendly. Strange that, when they have recently abolished travel tokens for the elderly and infirm. Hypocrisy is alive at Darlington Town Hall.

Gavin Ellis, Darlington.