On 10 July 2023, Cheltenham Magistrates Court found both Five Star (Gloucester) Ltd and Five Star / First Associated Transport Ltd guilty of operating a private hire vehicle without it having a private hire licence and of employing a driver who did not have a private hire licence.
Robertsons Transport Gloucester Ltd also pleaded guilty to the charge of operating a vehicle without having a private hire licence.
Five Star / First Associated Transport Ltd was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay a £600 victim surcharge and £2,491 in costs. Five Star (Gloucester) Ltd did not receive a separate penalty as both companies are under the same directorship.
A fine of £1,384 was imposed on Robertsons Transport Gloucester Ltd, reduced to £1,000 due to an early guilty plea, and the company was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £369 and costs of £1,851.
The companies were reported to Tewkesbury Borough Council following compliance checks undertaken by Gloucestershire County Council officers.
It is vital that all private hire vehicles and drivers are licensed in the interests of public safety.
The borough council’s Licensing team works to ensure that important checks are carried out prior to issuing licences in order that taxi and private hire vehicle customers remain safe. Using unlicensed vehicles and drivers puts lives at risk and results in the vehicle being uninsured.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment, Councillor Sarah Hands, said: “Ensuring the safety of our residents and visitors is of paramount importance to us. These successful prosecutions send a clear message that we will not tolerate unlicensed vehicles and drivers.
“Our Licensing team will continue to work diligently to protect public safety and uphold the integrity of our local transport services."
The prosecution was brought by Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Licensing team with assistance from both the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit and One Legal, a legal service shared by Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucester City Council, Stroud District Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council.
Source: https://www.tewkesbury.gov.uk/news/successful-prosecutions-for-licensing-offences
A private hire driver has been fined and had his licence put under review, after caught picking up fares without a booking and invalid insurance, in an undercover operation by Telford and Wrekin Council.
Telford Council reports that Kobina Badu was caught plying for hire in a joint operation by Telford and Wrekin Council’s licensing team and City of Wolverhampton Council in November 2022.
Mr Badu was licensed by City of Wolverhampton Council but illegally picked up undercover officers in Telford and Wrekin.
Mr Badu, from Telford, appeared before Telford Magistrates' Court and admitted the charges.
The court issued a conditional discharge for six months and Mr Badu was ordered to pay £576 and had six penalty points added to his driving licence.
The taxi licence is now subject to review and may be revoked.
Councillor Richard Overton, deputy leader of Telford & Wrekin Council and cabinet member for homes and enforcement said: “These cases show Telford & Wrekin Council is determined to keep cracking down on licensed drivers who break the law and potentially put passengers at risk.
“Plying for hire is a serious offence. It means that if a driver has picked up a fare that has not been pre-booked and they are involved in an accident, they will not have valid insurance.
“We know most licensed drivers operate legitimately but there are those who think they can make extra money by ignoring the rules.
“The council will continue to tackle plying for hire by carrying out operations.
"We will not hesitate to bring court proceedings which could lead to a driver paying a fine and having their licence suspended. It’s not worth the risk.”
Councillor Craig Collingswood, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for environment and climate change, said: “Public Safety is of paramount importance to us.
“Partnership working with our licensing colleagues and other agencies shows our commitment to upholding our responsibilities; we expect drivers and vehicles licensed by us to always maintain the highest standards.
“This is irrespective of the administrative boundary within which they are operating at any particular time.
"City of Wolverhampton Council takes its enforcement responsibilities seriously and our officers are out across the country, every Friday and Saturday night, working to protect the public.”
A Dunfermline woman, who disappeared from a taxi after running up a fare of over £30, has been put on a ‘tag’.
According to the Dunfermline Press, Shannon Catterall, 27, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to be sentenced for a series of offences going back more than three years.
The most recent incident involved her ‘bumping’ a taxi after a journey from Cowdenbeath to Dunfermline leaving the cabbie out of pocket.
Catterall admitted that on April 28 at Marston’s Hotel, Fife Leisure Park, she obtained the hire of a taxi from Cowdenbeath High Street without paying and intending not to pay the fare of £32.20.
She also admitted that on June 5 at Nisa Extra, Queensferry Road, Rosyth, she stole a quantity of food and cleaning items.
The court was told the taxi driver picked up Catterall and a male from Cowdenbeath High Street at 8.50am and travelled to an address Dunfermline.
The taxi had to wait there for 20 minutes after Catterall got out.
She returned to the taxi and asked to be taken to Fife Leisure Park. When they got there the male said to Catterall: “You’re paying” – and went into a hotel.
Catterall also went into the hotel and did not return, leaving the driver with an unpaid fare of £32.20.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon imposed a restriction of liberty order for 80 days.
Catterall has still to be re-sentenced for offences from 2020, including a violent street assault on a woman and assaulting police officers.
Sheriff O’Hanlon further deferred sentencing on all these offences until October 11.
Source: https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/23666847.dunfermline-shoplifter-taxi-fare-dodger-put-tag/
A taxi passenger fled without paying his £50 fare after taking a ride in Leominster, a court has heard.
The Hereford Times reports that Bradley O'Keefe entered a guilty plea to one count of making off without making payment to magistrates in Hereford in July.
The court heard from prosecutor Mark Hambling that the 31-year-old had, knowing that payment was required on the spot, dishonestly made off without paying and with intent to avoid paying a taxi far of £50 in Leominster, Herefordshire, on January 15 last year.
O'Keefe was fined £40 for the offence, with magistrates saying that they had taken his guilty plea into account when coming to their decision on the penalty.
No order was made for prosecution costs to be paid due to his lack of means, but O'Keefe was ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge, which is used to help fund services supporting victims of crime.
Source: https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/23667619.taxi-passenger-court-fleeing-without-paying-fare/
A Kirklees Council policy condemned as “racist” and “draconian” has been updated and is now in force after approval was granted at a meeting on Wednesday 19 July.
According to YorkshireLive, the council’s Fitness and Suitability Policy sees taxi drivers at risk of losing their licence if they accrue six or more penalty points. This left drivers fearing for their livelihoods as was reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service last year.
The policy first came into effect in 2019 but has recently gone under review, with a draft report going through a period of consultation.
The updated document explains its purpose is to: “ensure that the travelling public within West Yorkshire and York can be confident that the drivers licensed are suitable for this role and vehicles licensed are fit for purpose.”
It continues to state that drivers must be “fit and proper” and undergo testing to determine this.
Drivers have the obligation to inform the council of all convictions, including minor motoring convictions and all Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN).
The consultation received 333 responses, with between 63 and 75 per cent of people responding in favour of each of the council’s 19 proposed changes.
However, some respondents were against the council’s plans. This stance was reiterated at the meeting last night, with the trade representatives in attendance preferring a draft policy put forward by trade union GMB.
Councillors were divided on the issue.
Cllr Adam Zaman (Labour, Batley East) described the council’s draft policy as “weak” and “quite vague.” Addressing Public Protection Group Leader, Fiona Goldsmith, he said: “The current decision-making processes where essentially you or someone else within the council decides the fate and how the policy is applied.
“Given the fact that it’s quite a vague policy and you will ultimately be making those decisions it opens the door to a lot of subjectivity which is not what we want in a policy because it needs to be clearly defined and drivers who are going to be answerable to this policy need to know exactly what they can and can't do.”
Cllr Aafaq Butt (Labour, Heckmondwike) sought clarification on the policy’s mention of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) and their need to be reported to the licensing authority. He said: “Are we saying that somebody who gets a parking ticket would have to report that to licensing?
“Why would that have weight on somebody’s ability, suitability to be a driver? I get that there are other factors that come into this and that there are certain behaviours somebody exhibits and you start to think - this is raising alarm bells - but a parking ticket?”
Ms Goldsmith explained that: “You’ve got the people who get a parking ticket and fail to pay the parking ticket and commit an offence and they could potentially be prosecuted for that. Although it seems like a small thing in the first instance.”
Another council officer explained the difference between a FPN and civil penalty notice and that FPNs were more commonly handed out for “traffic-style parking offences.” He asserted that the policy was not about people getting parking tickets but about dealing with serious offences or a build-up of minor offences.
Cllr Butt requested the wording of the draft document be amended to make the distinction around FPNs clearer.
Cllr Zaman proposed that GMB’s draft policy be adopted as it was “much better” written and states that the decision to grant, refuse or revoke a licence sits with a committee rather than a single officer.
He said: “If we’re going to have people’s livelihoods on the line when we’re making these decisions, then I think there should be more of a democratic process.”
When it came to the vote, the majority of the committee voted for the council’s policy with the amended wording around FPNs, with this effective immediately.
Four Labour councillors voted for a period of consultation on the GMB draft policy but this was outvoted.
Source: https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/kirklees-taxi-policy-slammed-racist-27355926
At least 14 cars have been damaged since June, with drivers suffering financial loss and emotional distress.
The attack happened at around 12.45pm on Etruria Vale Road, Stoke, when the victim, driving a Toyota Avensis, was punched in the face by one of the men.
Cumberland Council has taken decisive action to protect public safety by revoking the licence of a taxi driver charged last week with a serious racially aggravated offence.
A historic bridge has been closed indefinitely after an Uber car became wedged on Saturday morning.
A local councillor has sparked a debate on passenger safety after claiming that using locally licensed taxis is safer than hailing an Uber.
A taxi driver was attacked and subjected to racist abuse after two brothers refused to pay him up front.
Christopher Hilling, 64, admitted to engaging a child in sexual activity at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 8 August.
Abdigani Ebrahim, 38, of Grangetown, admitted charges of affray and criminal damage following the incident in Northcote Street, Roath, last July.
The crackdown targeted drivers operating across council boundaries to ensure public safety and compliance with regulations.
Lucio Valentino relies on his six-year-old Border Collie, Pixel, to help manage his mental health conditions, including depression and personality disorders.
Taxi drivers across the Fylde Coast are set to receive a briefing note aimed at clearing up confusion over out-of-area private hire vehicles.
Police are appealing to find a taxi driver who may have "vital clues" about the murder of Ryan Passey seven years ago since he was fatally stabbed in a Stourbridge nightclub.
A joint operation by Hull City Council, Wolverhampton Council, and Humberside Police has uncovered a number of safety issues with taxis operating in the city.
French taxi drivers are calling for government compensation after suffering significant revenue losses during the Paris Olympics.
Coventry city centre has introduced a new taxi marshal service aimed at improving safety and efficiency for late-night revellers.
A court heard harrowing details of the moment a drink-driving uninsured motorist killed three people in a 90mph crash.
The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans was amongst the thousands who enjoyed the Battle Proms at Highclere Castle on 3 August.
Swindon residents could be facing a hike in taxi fares from October after councillors gave the green light to a £1 increase in the standard fare minimum charge.
Ricky Harold, a 20-year veteran of the town’s taxi trade, was parked in a lay-by when his vehicle was struck from behind by a black Audi A2.
Chinese automotive giant Geely has deepened its commitment to the UK electric vehicle market with a £120m cash injection into London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC).