For the second time in 10 months, Tahir Chaudhary has applied to join the fleet with his Peugeot cab.

In November, a council licensing committee rejected the application in order to keep a clear distinction between taxis and private hire cars.

In the 2006 application, Mr Chaudhary said: “While the current taxi specification is rigidly applied, the city’s taxi trade is subjected to an effective monopoly for new vehicle supply. I feel this is unacceptable in this day and age.”

There are growing calls for the council to loosen its policy to allow vehicles other than London-style cabs to join the fleet.

Today, chairman of the Hackney Federation in Peterborough Mahmood Khan, said: “Taxi drivers are split 50/50. Some want to stick with Hackney cabs and others want to see the market opened up. At the moment, Hackney cabs have the monopoly.”

Owner of BettaCars Mohammed Shabir added: “Authorities in places such as Cambridge, Leicester and Nottingham allow other vehicles to join their fleets, from saloon cars to people carriers.

“I don’t know why Peterborough should be any different.”

Mr Chaudhary’s second application will be decided at a licensing committee meeting at the town hall tomorrow, at 9.30am.

Meanwhile, cab drivers who want to stick with tradition have been boosted by a 275-name petition, which was collected in Peterborough at the end of last month, calling for the status quo to remain.

Taxiwise, a national taxi safety campaign, which co-ordinated the petition, believes Peterborough’s strict licensing regulations should be kept as they are.

A Taxiwise spokesman said: “Currently, only London-style cabs meet the strict licensing guidelines, so are instantly recognised as legitimate cabs.

“Any relaxation of the rules will allow other vehicles to operate, blurring the view of what is a cab and what is not.

“This will make it easier for unscrupulous drivers to operate.

“Nationally, Taxiwise is pushing for a common standard that all vehicles licensed as Hackney carriages should meet.

“This means that wherever someone is in the UK, they know which vehicles can be licensed as cabs and which cannot.

“Peterborough going in the opposite direction to this is a backward step for the city, and is potentially putting passengers at risk.”