The condition of roads across Gloucester, Cheltenham, and the Forest of Dean has been labeled dangerous, as private hire drivers frequently suffer vehicle damage caused by potholes.
Hussain Vorajee, a seasoned private hire driver and company owner in Gloucester for around 15 years, has urgently called on Gloucestershire County highways officials to address the worsening state of the roads.
Speaking at a Gloucestershire County Council meeting, Vorajee expressed deep frustration with the neglect, revealing that his car has sustained damage twice in recent months. “I regularly drive university and school runs throughout the Forest of Dean, and some roads are nearly undriveable," he said.
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“Many of my drivers have had their vehicles damaged, myself included. I’ve had to replace my wheels twice over the past four months, and my suspension has also been affected. The roads across Gloucester, Cheltenham, and the Forest of Dean are extremely hazardous.”
Vorajee shared a passenger’s blunt comparison of the roads’ poor state, who remarked they were “worse than Beirut.” He criticized Gloucestershire Highways for only undertaking temporary repairs rather than fully addressing the problems, urging swift and thorough action.
Joe Harris, Gloucestershire’s cabinet member for highways, acknowledged the severity of the issue. “I agree with pretty much everything Hussain said. It’s currently pothole season, compounded by heavy rainfall and freezing conditions, which cause potholes to appear.”
He explained that these challenges are widespread across the country and exacerbated by 15 years of public sector funding cuts. “Many councils, including ours, have adopted managed decline policies, resulting in reduced budgets for road maintenance that have not kept pace with inflation.”
Harris expressed his personal frustration, noting that he drives Gloucestershire’s roads daily and shares the public’s concerns. Despite this, he highlighted the council’s commitment to improving conditions, outlining plans for increased full resurfacing projects and patch repairs.
An additional £15 million is being invested in the highways budget to help tackle the issues; however, Harris stressed that this funding alone won’t resolve every pothole problem and called for a better funding settlement from central government.
After the meeting, Vorajee told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the number of morning pickups has surged, as more customers turn to Uber due to the damage their own vehicles sustain from the potholes. “More people are using Uber now because their cars get damaged all the time from these terrible potholes. That’s why my jobs on Uber have increased.”
The worsening road conditions have made him reluctant to accept evening jobs in certain areas. “I avoid trips to Newent, Cinderford, and the hilly Forest of Dean roads at night because the potholes are so large—you have to stop frequently to let trucks pass due to huge craters,” he said.