HUNDREDS of taxi drivers could bring Bolton to a standstill — after plans for a strike were voted through.

A meeting of Bolton’s Private Hire Operators Association saw 21 different operators, which control about 1100 cars, unanimously agree to take action after Bolton Council granted controversial smartphone-based cab firm Uber a licence to operate in the borough.

It is yet to be decided when a strike could take place — but the group wants to do it before the May elections and is considering carrying it out on a bank holiday.

A meeting has been set for next week — but the council has agreed to meet with operators for discussions.

The news of potential strikes comes after The Bolton News revealed that Uber was granted a 12-month licence to operate in Bolton, which took effect on March 26.

Local firms are angry because they feel Uber — which allows customers to hail cars using a mobile phone application — does not have to adhere to the same licensing regulations as other private hire firms.

Asif Vali, the chair of the Bolton Private Hire Operators Association, said: “The drivers have a long-list of grievances with the council and I think Uber was the final nail in the coffin.

“Uber operates using time-related charges and the council doesn’t accept that for private hire cars, so how are they allowing this?

“There was 100 per cent backing for strike action from the 21 different operators— the message coming through was basically, if we have got a council that doesn’t listen to us, we may as well try to get one that does.

“We have more than 1,100 cars in the association and we could bring the town to a standstill.”

Mr Vali said that firms and drivers are reporting numerous difficulties with the licensing department.

He added: “Phone calls are taking a long time to come back to us and it is also taking up to four days for plates to be released — which means people are losing money while the car is off the road.

“The appointment waiting time for new drivers can be as long as nine months now, who is going to spend that much time unemployed to come into the trade?”

“We are saying that enough is enough now — I didn’t want this to be a political issue but it looks like it is now — there is an election coming up and we want a council that listens to us.”

Ozzy Patel, who runs Royal Express private hire firm, added: “We don’t think the council is making life easy for the drivers and they are not happy.

“Bolton Council is very strict with regulating its drivers but if these cars are all app based, how will they know who is driving where and when? They can’t track them.”

Bolton Council said Uber was being licensed under the same rules as all private hire operators.

A spokesman said: “Uber is bound by the requirements of private hire-related legislation and the conditions of its licence, which states that they must only operate vehicles and drivers licensed by Bolton Council.”

Responding to the issues raised by the operators, he said: “We appreciate that plates are no longer given on the same day as an application but if drivers renew in time they will get their plates in time.

“Unlike many other authorities, we still send reminder letters several weeks before vehicle plates expire.

“Vehicle plates are turned around in three working days and can be posted or collected.

“A driver with a new vehicle license will have to wait three working days for his plate but we have agreed to look at response times for new vehicles.”

A spokesman for Uber said: "Uber has to go through the same licensing process as all private hire operators in the local area and all drivers on the Uber platform are fully licensed and insured to carry passengers.

“Uber has to, and does, abide by the same rules that apply to all private hire operators.

"At Uber we believe competition is a good thing as it forces everyone to raise their game.

“This means companies have to offer a better product and user experience for a lower cost. Ultimately this is great for consumers as they get a fantastic service for a lower price."