A driver fined after he was caught “exceeding 100mph” — his second speeding conviction — has been handed a private hire licence.
The Glasgow Times reports that Glasgow’s licensing committee warned Mohsan Safdar over his future behaviour but granted a licence – despite an objection from Police Scotland.
It will run for a restricted period of one year rather than the three years requested.
A police representative said Mr Safdar had been accused of driving “a motor vehicle dangerously” and travelling “at speed exceeding 100mph” in June last year.
He was also alleged to have “failed to maintain control of the car” and “failed to maintain a safe braking distance from another vehicle”.
Updating the committee, the officer said Mr Sabdar was found guilty on June 6 this year. He was fined £720 and his licence was endorsed with six points.
The driver now has nine points on his licence after a previous incident in 2021, where he said he had driven at 60pmh in a 50mph zone.
Mr Safdar told councillors there was “no excuse for my actions”.
He said he had been running late for his work with a rental car firm, which “caused me to make a regrettable decision to speed”.
The applicant said he wanted to become a private hire driver as a “secondary form of income” to finance his efforts to become a commercial pilot.
Cllr Zen Ghani, who chaired the committee, said speeding was “very dangerous” for both the driver and other road users. “Did you not learn anything [from his initial speeding conviction]?,” he asked.
Mr Safdar said he has “now firmly learnt my lesson given that my job was on the line, my livelihood”.
Cllr Ghani said it was “disappointing” the applicant had allowed it to happen a second time. “I would have expected you to learn your lesson from that first incident.”
Asked by Cllr Eunis Jassemi if he had taken steps to control his speeding, the applicant said both instances “occurred as a result of me being late for something”. He said he has received training on “how to manage my diary”.
Bailie Thomas Kerr said: “I am concerned about this, mainly because it’s two incidents, one in 2021 and one in 2022.
Being a taxi driver would be a very intense job and there are customers who might be running late.
“Can you give us assurances that at that point, if there was someone in the back of the car screaming at you to get to this place, that you won’t then decide to speed?
Mr Safdar said: “There’s no situation that would ever lead me to speed in the future, it’s just not worth it.”
Taxi drivers have claimed that efforts to rebrand the city’s hackney carriages in black and white will be a “huge burden” for them.
ChronicleLive reports that dozens of drivers gathered outside Newcastle Civic Centre on the evening of Monday 19 June, to protest plans that would require them to fit a white wrap around their bonnets.
Council bosses have argued that the “distinctive” look, designed to match the famous colours of Newcastle United, will make licensed taxis easily recognisable and help crack down on crime – with concerns that offenders are posing as cab drivers to target vulnerable women.
But, ahead of a Newcastle City Council cabinet meeting, more than 40 drivers staged a demonstration outside the local authority HQ calling for the idea to be dropped.
While the council is planning to give a £100 grant to each of the 597 licensed hackney carriage drivers in Newcastle to help with the cost of fitting the white vinyl wrapping, it is feared that drivers will be forced to fork out regularly to have them replaced.
Mohammed Subhan, secretary of the Newcastle British-Bangladeshi Taxi Drivers’ Association, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “They think this will safeguard the public, but we don’t understand how it will do that. It is a huge burden on the drivers and it does not make any sense.
“In the night time you won’t be able to tell if a car has a black or white bonnet or not. We drive these cars miles and miles – a white bonnet is going to get dirty very quickly, the wrap will get ripped and it will lose its elasticity.
“After three or four months they are going to need to be replaced and every time it will cost us £150. In a time of a cost of living crisis, how can we afford to keep doing that?”
Mr Subhan said that installing improved CCTV in cars and at taxi ranks would be a better use of money.
Other concerns from drivers who spoke to the LDRS outside the civic centre included criminals still being able to easily copy the new taxi design, passengers mistakenly thinking that drivers had been forced to replace their bonnet after being involved in a crash, and the black and white livery deterring non-Newcastle fans.
A report to the cabinet stated that 96% of drivers surveyed about the changes were against the proposal, but it was approved by leaders nonetheless.
Labour councillor Paula Maines, the council’s cabinet member responsible for taxi licensing, said that the new look would help people recognise official taxis and find drivers who have passed the council’s vetting procedures.
She added: “Recent police and licensing operations have shown that we must take some action to safeguard vulnerable people in our city who are a part of our night time economy.
"A distinctive fleet of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles are seen as being essential to this.”
Cllr Maines said that the new design had won support from the city’s street pastors, nightclub door supervisors and organisations trying to prevent violence against women.
While the council’s new taxi policy was approved by the cabinet on Monday, it must also successfully pass through a full council meeting in July before it comes into force.
The black and white branding will only be required on hackney carriages and not for private hire vehicles.
Hackney carriages will also need to display red council crests on the front doors and have a taxi sign on the roof that is white at the front and red at the rear.
Private hire vehicles will have to be adorned with a green council plate and display the operator’s details on the back passenger doors.
Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/taxi-drivers-claim-plans-black-27156463
Tributes have been paid to a Bradford cabbie who died when his private hire vehicle and a another car collided on a road near Harrogate on Sunday 18 June.
The Telegraph and Argus reports that news of the death of Masum Miah, 45, of Shipley, a student consultant and driver for Leeds firm Amber Cars, was announced on Muslim funeral page Janaza Announcements.
Tributes have been pouring in on Janaza's Facebook page following the crash which happened at around 1.20am on the A61 Harrogate Road at Dunkeswick near Harewood Bridge.
It involved a grey BMW and a black Peugeot PHV.
"He was a great guy, pleasant to talk to," said one person who paid tribute on Janaza. "May Allah grant him Jannah and give the family patience in this difficult time."
"RIP so sad to know this," said another person. "Masum was a very good man. My sincere condolences to his family
Another described him as a "genuinely nice person" and also said "very sad to hear this."
North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses to the fatal collision that occurred near Harrogate.
A spokesperson said: "Sadly, the driver of the taxi, a man in his 40s died at the scene. His family have been informed and are receiving support from specially trained officers.
"The driver of the BMW, a man in his 20s remains in hospital.
"The stretch of road was closed until 3.20pm on Sunday afternoon to allow officers to investigate the scene.
"Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen the collision or who may have any dashcam footage of the collision or the vehicles prior to the incident, to come forward."
Anyone with information or footage is urged to preserve the footage and contact 101, select option 2 and ask for Steve Hawkins.
Alternatively, email DC 55 Steve Hawkins on Steve.Hawkins@northyorkshire.police.uk
Quote reference number 12230111568 when passing information to police officers.
PHTM offers our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Miah at this sad time.
A Sheffield private hire operator says drivers are having to put up their prices due to the city's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) after an exemption period for charges recently ended.
According to YorkshireLive, Sheffield and Rotherham businesses using light goods vehicles (LGVs) and taxis had the opportunity to apply for a charge exemption when the scheme was first launched on February 27, 2023.
However, this period has now ended, meaning taxis and LGVs that don't meet the environmental requirements will now have to pay £10 when they enter the CAZ.
Mr Ali, who is a private hire operator at A2B Taxis in Sheffield said the end of the exemption period will inflate prices as he admitted that "customers are getting worried."
He accused the council of using the CAZ as a "money-making scheme".
Sheffield City Council has previously said it is "not aiming to make money from the zone" and that "funds from the charge will go towards the upkeep of the zone and reducing air pollution in the city".
Mr Ali said: "Customers are getting worried. The charges are going to go high. The clean air zone is all a money making scheme. Personally that's what I think.
"You can go into the town centre by paying £10. How is that £10 going to help the environment? That is the part I do not understand. None of us do.”
The zone covers the Sheffield ring road and everything inside it as well as key entry points to the city centre such as Sheffield Parkway.
The aim of the scheme is to reduce congestion in the city centre in a bid to improve the quality of air in the area.
Fines from city centre journeys in March 2023 brought in £35,060 to be spent on projects to reduce emissions, the council said, with over £175,000 accrued in total, according to recent figures published in May.
Mr Ali is worried about the impact the CAZ will have on the future of the taxi business.
He said: "At the moment it has not impacted that much yet because all our cars are Euro six. The thing is at the moment, and it's not just us, it is going to affect us later on obviously because they are expecting all the cars to go electric.”
Bigger vehicles, such as coaches and lorries have already been subjected to £50 charges on entry to the zone.
The Clean Air Zone has met tough opposition in its opening months. The Facebook page ‘Campaign Against Chargeable Clean Air Zone Sheffield’ has 6,400 members and has organised protests against the scheme.
Source: https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/sheffield-taxi-operator-says-clean-27103515
Police are wanting to speak with a taxi driver as part of their investigation into a hit-and-run in Glasgow, where a woman was rushed to hospital on Saturday 10 June.
GlasgowLive reports that emergency services raced to Bell Street, near to the junction with Little Dovehill, at around 11.35pm on June 10.
A 32-year-old woman was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, whilst a 51-year-old man was arrested and released pending further enquiries.
Officers have now re-issued an appeal for witnesses.
Police Constable Gary Stewart said: “Our enquiries are ongoing and we are keen to speak to a taxi driver we believe may be able to help with our investigation.
"He was driving a black people carrier style vehicle."
Anyone who can assist is asked to call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 4941 of Saturday, June 10, 2023.
Source: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-police-want-speak-taxi-27130479
Artur Nowostawski has been jailed for six years and nine months after he attacked a taxi driver earlier this year.
Taxi drivers in the city are facing significant financial losses after a series of electric vehicle charging point failures left them unable to operate.
Police are appealing for help to trace a man who disappeared after getting into a taxi bound for the Otley area of Leeds.
The company’s operator licence includes a condition ordering all drivers to undergo the same training as those from other companies.
Police have stopped a private hire driver who was driving the wrong way on the M1 close to Junction 8 at Hemel Hempstead.
Newcastle City Council is set to introduce strict new measures to tackle illegal and inconsiderate parking near Newcastle International Airport.
West Mercia Police is appealing for information following a rape that took place in Malvern's Priory Park early on Sunday, August 4th.
Glasgow taxi users could be facing a near-10% fare increase and extended night-time charges.
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.