Accident damage, door signs mounted on magnets, a broken light and a dirty vehicle were among the issues found during a recent taxi spot checking operation between North East Lincolnshire Council and Humberside Police.
GrimsbyLive reports that on Sunday, December 17, six random taxis in the area were pulled over by the team, which was made up of licencing officers from NELC checking the drivers and general condition of the vehicles, and police officers checking insurance, tyres and lights.
One vehicle was immediately suspended for having a tyre below the legal tread depth limit and door signs mounted with magnets, while officers also found accident damage on one vehicle and one which was unclean with a taxi roof light that was not working.
Another vehicle had a broken light.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities at NELC, said: “I’d like to thank the officers from both the council’s licensing team and Humberside Police for carrying out these spot checks.
“It’s important that the standards of our taxis are the highest that they can be and that they are safe for local residents. This work is about making sure these standards are being adhered to.
“I’m pleased to say that the majority of drivers do uphold these standards and I thank them for that.
"On this occasion, drivers have been spoken to and the issues will be monitored until they are resolved.”
Cheshire Police detectives have charged two Stoke-on-Trent men with Class A drug offences and possession of criminal property, following a stop check near Crewe.
Crewe Nub News reports that on Wednesday 13 December, officers stopped a taxi near to the Junction 16 of the M6 (Crewe Barthomley).
At around 6.30pm, two passengers were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences.
Both men have since been charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine) and possession of criminal property.
Saeed Malik, 35, of Middleport, and Tahir Darr, 29, of Burslem, were both remanded in custody.
The pair appeared at Chester Magistrates' Court on Friday 15 December.
Walsall Council has given notice under section 65 LGMPA 1976 to vary the table of fares for hackney carriages licensed by the council.
The council said the effect of the proposed variation would be to set the fares and other charges in accordance with a new table of fare and charges.
The first new tariff for day and night hire would see the first 335 yards or 93.1 seconds charged at £3 and then every succeeding 129.5 yards or 36 seconds costing 15p.
Alongside that would be a cost up to £4.80 on the meter, then up to 117.3 yards or 36 seconds, which would again cost 15p.
A price guide for the new Tariff 1 would mean it would cost £3 to hire the taxi and £4.80 for the first mile, then £2.25 for each mile thereafter.
That would mean £4.80 for one mile, £7.05 for two miles, £9.30 for three miles, £11.55 for four miles, £13.80 for five miles and £25.05 for 10 miles.
There would also be an additional Christmas and New Year tariff called Tariff 2, which would run from December 24 at 6pm to December 27 at 6am and from 6pm on New Year's Eve to 6am on January 2.
A price guide for the new Tariff 2 says it would cost £6 to hire the taxi and £9.60 for the first mile, then £4.50 for each mile thereafter.
That would mean £9.60 for one mile, £14.10 for two miles, £18.60 for three miles, £23.10 for four miles, £27.60 for five miles and £50.10 for 10 miles.
An additional cost of £1 per person for when six people or more are carried in a taxi and a soiling charge of £25 have also been included.
The council has said the new tariffs will take effect from Monday and has asked that any complaints or compliments be sent to community.protection@walsall.gov.uk.
Dumfries and Galloway Councillors heard calls on Wednesday 14 December, to help increase the number of wheelchair-friendly taxis in the region.
Planet Radio reports that this comes after it was revealed that there are just three suitable vehicles that can cater to wheelchair users out of a fleet of 265.
There are 215 standard taxis and 50 private hire vehicles serving the region, according to a new council report, however none of them are specifically licensed as wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
This issue has been highlighted by Abbey Councillor Davie Stitt, who tabled a motion at the full council meeting calling for action.
The motion, seconded by his Labour Councillor colleague Carolyne Wilson, reads: “The increased difficulty in securing taxi and private hire services in Dumfries and Galloway is being acutely felt by people with disabilities.
“According to the Dumfries and Galloway Council website, there are only three accessible taxis in the entire region. In 2013 the number stood at only two percent of the entire taxi fleet.
“It is evident we have not moved on in terms of inclusivity in ten years.
“Earlier this year research conducted by Leonard Cheshire found that two-thirds of disabled people have been unable to secure a taxi or private hire service when required, having a negative impact on their wellbeing and preventing them from accessing work, medical appointments and other essential travel.
“We propose that the officers bring forward a report to the communities committee outlining options that could be taken by the council to help increase the number of accessible taxis in the region.”
A council report prepared for the meeting states: “Given increased concern raised in respect of the low number of wheelchair accessible vehicles available throughout the region (there is no wheelchair accessible vehicle licensed for use in Dumfries) – and the difficulty that many are increasingly expressing in respect of being able to book/hail a taxi and/or book a private hire car – the licensing service is currently in the process of establishing a working group.”
This working group will discuss and identify challenges to the provision of wheelchair accessible vehicles, with a view to putting findings and recommendations forward to councillors for consideration at a later date.
Source: https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/dumfries/news/wheelchair-taxi-shortage/
A multi-agency operation has taken place to test the level of training and awareness in the hotel and taxi sector.
The Yorkshire Post reports that the collaboration with officers from Leeds District Safeguarding’s Child Vulnerability and Exploitation Team working with neighbourhood policing team colleagues in west and south Leeds along with staff from Leeds City Council Taxi and Private Hire.
During the operation, a female officer, with the visible appearance of a girl aged under 18, and an older male colleague played the roles of a victim, with a child sexual exploitation offender.
The pair visited seven hotels and used seven private hire companies, during which they worked with a carefully devised script and engaged in “red flag behaviour”.
They would have overt conversations about having condoms, lying about being over 18, agreeing not to tell parents where they were, reminding them about gifts bought and referring to buying alcohol.
Other suspicious behaviour included asking to pay for rooms in cash or without identification and discussing being turned away from other hotels.
Detective Superintendent Heather Whoriskey, Head of Crime and Safeguarding for Leeds District explained behaviour displayed by the two officers was “based on real-life scenarios and was done in such an overt way that it should have raised significant concerns with those who witnessed it”.
Out of the seven hotels and private hire companies used, only two of seven companies raised concerns about their behaviour and alerted police, as did only two of the hotels.
The private hire drivers involved in the operation were also subject to “routine” checks by uniformed police officers and licensing staff shortly after the test journey to give them a further opportunity to raise any concerns about the suspicious behaviour of their passengers.
Now follow-up work is being conducted, including night-time economy active bystander training, to strengthen the existing CSE awareness activity in the hotel and private hire companies.
DS Whoriskey said these kinds of operations are part of the police’s work to reduce violence against women and girls
“Those working in the hotel and private hire economies have a vital role to play in identifying suspicious behaviour and helping us to protect children from sexual exploitation,” she said.
“The more we can do to improve people’s awareness and vigilance around the signs to look out for, the more we can reduce the opportunities for children to be victimised in this way.
“We are not looking to catch people out when we carry out this type of operation, our aim is to identify where the risks are so we can improve how we work together to prevent, deter and disrupt this type of offending.
“We are keen to work constructively to support local businesses around this issue and have given suitable advice and will be continuing to offer awareness training for staff in these areas.
“We will be carrying out further operations of this kind alongside other work to improve awareness and protect young people from exploitation and abuse.”
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