More than 30,000 drivers a month are refusing to pay fines for misusing Birmingham's controversial Clean Air Zone straight away.
Of drivers issued fines during November, a huge 63% had not paid up by the start of January.
BirminghamLive reports that the city council has been overwhelmed by the number of motorists failing to comply with CAZ rules since its launch in 2021.
More than 50,000 drivers are still being penalised every month and collecting all the cash owed has proved impossible.
Birmingham Live revealed in December how the city council had given up on a huge 45,000 CAZ fines since its launch. Council chiefs have admitted recovering all the money it is owed will be impossible.
Analysis of latest CAZ data reveals the difficulties the authority faces in making motorists pay up. Only around 40% of penalties are paid within a month.
Those not paying up straight away will include drivers appealing fines they believe to be unfair and some who just refuse to pay. Some fines may end up being paid at a later date, but many have also been cancelled.
Many motorists have been left fuming after feeling they had been fined unfairly. Another 52,068 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued during November - 1,735 every day - once again showing huge numbers of drivers either ignore the CAZ or don't understand how it works or where it operates.
A city council report said: "Unpaid PCNs comprise of outstanding cases, excluding cancelled or written off cases".
Around 2,500 fines a month issued between November 2021 and April 2022 were written off - roughly one in 20.
More issued in recent months could still yet be written off if the council decides it won't be able to recover the cash.
Separately, more than 10,000 CAZ fines have been successfully appealed after being challenged by drivers who felt they had been unfairly punished.
Despite confusion over how the zone works, council bosses have insisted it is doing its job by cutting emission levels around the city centre. It costs £8 a day for cars which don't meet emissions standards to drive in the CAZ but the idea is the charge will act as a deterrent.
Drivers who fail to pay are hit with fines of £120, cut to £60 if paid within 14 days.
A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: "Since its introduction the CAZ has helped reduce the number of the most polluting vehicles that enter the zone every day. This is helping to improve air quality.
We would encourage anyone driving into the city centre to check whether or not they need to pay the fee, or the alternatives to using their car, by visiting www.brumbreathes.co.uk."
Source: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/more-30000-motorists-month-refusing-26108664
More than 1,600 drivers were fined for not paying Newcastle’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charge in its first month of operation.
ChronicleLive reports that council officials have confirmed that 1,658 motorists were hit with penalty charge notices (PCNs) for bringing a non-compliant vehicle into the CAZ without paying the toll from its launch on January 30 until the end of February.
Some older, high-polluting vehicles that do not meet certain environmental standards are now subject to daily tolls of either £12.50 or £50 to come into Newcastle city centre, under efforts to slash illegal levels of roadside emissions.
The charges apply to older buses, coaches, taxis, and lorries for now – with tolls for vans due to start this summer, but all private cars being exempt.
Newcastle City Council said that there were 1,476 journeys successfully paid for in the first month of the CAZ – fewer than the number of fines issued.
The amount of income generated by the CAZ in its first month was £54,327.50 – made up of £41,975 in toll payments, £7,402.50 in paid PCN fines, and £4,950 from discounted seven-day passes for taxi and private hire drivers.
However, transport bosses have warned that the figures come with a number of crucial caveats, which mean there are likely to be major changes that could see more vehicles charged and heavier fines levied over the coming months.
For example, many vehicles are currently subject to temporary exemptions from the CAZ tolls while drivers await the outcome of applications to receive upgrade grants.
Motorists issued with fines for the non-payment of the CAZ toll are also currently being offered a reprieve – with the chance to only pay the original CAZ charge, rather than the full PCN amount of up to £120 on top.
Civic centre bosses have said that income from the CAZ will be primarily used to cover the running costs of operating the toll zone, with any extra put towards local transport upgrades.
A spokesperson for the Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone said: “The Clean Air Zone is in place to reduce harmful emissions from some of the most polluting vehicles on our roads and we will be monitoring the impact of the CAZ over time.
"We are still in the early stages of implementation and it is not yet possible to provide robust data that will accurately reflect how the CAZ is performing.
"The information we have at this stage reflects the early operational and enforcement arrangements that are in place temporarily and, when these come to an end, we expect to see an impact on the data.
"We intend to publish further updates on the performance of the CAZ as soon as we are able to do so.”
Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-clean-air-zone-more-26407403
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has said it may make further investigations into the accessibility of the taxis it licenses, following a complaint.
The Welwyn Hatfield Times reports that Ben Gillum, a Welwyn Garden City resident, lodged a complaint with the council about the taxi services "not being made accessible for all types of disabilities".
69-year-old Ben has cerebral palsy, which means he struggles to use all taxis due to them being too high for him to get into.
Ben said: “WHBC have introduced a policy whereby every hackney carriage on the rank must be wheelchair friendly.
“I recently tried to use such a vehicle and found that it was unsatisfactory in that there were steps, and no ramp was available.
"I couldn't manage the steps and so my planned journey couldn't be completed, much to my disappointment."
After speaking with the deputy leader of hackney carriage licensing in Welwyn Garden City, Ben was told he would have to use a private hire vehicle.
Ben added: "What I would like to see is a policy to cater not only for wheelchair users, but also for people like me who's legs are stiff and who can't use the system as it currently stands.
“This policy needs to be reviewed; indeed, Age UK have said as much.
“As a disabled person, I find this policy somewhat counter intuitive in that it is aimed at helping disabled people but appears to be excluding a large section of them.”
A Welwyn Hatfield Borough council spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear of this resident’s difficulty recently with a Welwyn Hatfield licensed taxi.
“The Wheelchair Accessible Policy (WAV) was introduced by the council in March 2020 (in line with the Equality Act 2010). As such, our licensed hackney carriage vehicles must become wheelchair accessible at the end of their working life. There are eight of these already in operation in the borough.
“The wheelchair accessible hackney carriages are fitted with ramps that should always be available for all disabled customers, not just wheelchair users.
"These lower, to allow level access into the vehicle. This was something we discussed previously with the customer, but we would be happy to investigate further if it is felt necessary.”
An unlicensed private hire driver who was found to be illegally dropping off fares in Reading has been fined more than £900.
According to the Reading Chronicle, Tassawar Nawaz, from Reading, was caught operating a private hire vehicle without a licence, in a controlled district, and without the correct insurance.
In July 2022, Nawaz was approached by two Reading council licensing officers after he was seen dropping off two passengers on a taxi rank at Reading Station.
At Reading Magistrates Court on Friday, February 17, Nawaz was found guilty and ordered to pay a total of £982 in financial penalties, including a £690 fine, and a £92 victim surcharge.
Eight penalty points were also added to Mr Nawaz’s driving licence.
A statement from Reading Council said: “Licensing officers have stressed the dangers of using unlicensed private hire vehicles.
“Residents are advised to always ensure that the private hire or hackney carriage licence plate is visible before beginning their journey.”
Councillor Tony Page, Reading’s lead councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said: “I sincerely hope the outcome of this case will serve to further deter any drivers from contravening the law.
“Such illegal activity will not be tolerated and our team of licensing officers will continue to maintain their vigilant enforcement activities.”
Source: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/23368355.unlicensed-driver-fined-almost-1-000-illegal-trips/
A senior executive officer of Knowsley Council was accidentally appointed as a director of a company awarded £1m a year in council funds, a spokesperson has said.
The St Helen's Star reports that executive director for communities and neighbourhoods, Andrew Donaldson, was registered with Companies House as a director of Supreme Executive Cars Ltd in January of this year.
Supreme Executive Cars Ltd is one of a consortium of companies awarded a lucrative council contract to provide home-to-school transport for children in Knowsley in June 2020 with the deal worth in excess of £10m over a five-year period.
Last year, the company received nearly £1m in payments from Knowsley Council.
Concerns had been raised with the Local Democracy Reporter Service (LDRS) about the presence of Mr Donaldson on the board of the company, amid fears this could impact on the council’s reputation around fairness and impartiality and present a potential conflict of interest given the contract the company has with the council.
Knowsley Council was asked whether Mr Donaldson, who joined the council in April 2021 and is understood to deputise on occasion for the chief executive Mke Harden in his absence, had sought permission and disclosed he was a director of the company in line with the council’s code of conduct for officers.
The council was also asked whether it had any concerns about Mr Donaldson’s position in the company given his senior role at the council.
Responding to those queries, a Knowsley Council spokesperson said that Mr Donaldson had been registered as a director of the company “in error” and would now be removed.
Companies House records show that Mr Donaldson was removed as director of the company on March 3.
Mr Donaldson is also listed as a director for Knowsley Development Trust Ltd, which runs Knowsley business park. He joined the board of directors of that company in April 2022.
Supreme Executive Cars Ltd is “linked” with Knowsley Development Trust Ltd via its parent organisation Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd.
Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd is a charity limited by guarantee which was set up in 2004 by the directors of Knowsley Development Trust Ltd. The chief executive of Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd is seconded to the charity from Knowsley Development Trust Ltd, according to its most recent annual accounts.
Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd bought Supreme Executive Cars Ltd in 2018, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary company. This decision was connected to new requirements around permits for drivers, according to company records.
Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd was previously part of a consortium awarded the home-to-school transport contract by Knowsley Council in 2017. When the contract was being renewed in 2020, Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd was replaced by Supreme Executive Cars Ltd in the contract.
Referring to Mr Donaldson’s directorship of Knowsley Development Trust, the council spokesperson said this had been disclosed and permission granted by the council for him to take up the role.
The council said his role with the company was “voluntary” and added that Mr Donaldson is not involved in any contract decisions in relation to the company as part of his role with Knowsley Council.
The spokesperson said: “Mr Donaldson is a Board member of Knowsley Development Trust (a linked organisation to Supreme Executive Cars Limited) .
“His role on the Board of Knowsley Development Trust has been declared formally by Mr Donaldson at the time of the appointment. This has been approved in line with the Council’s Declarations of Personal Interest Policy which supports the Council’s Officer Code of Conduct.
“Mr Donaldson is not paid for this voluntary role and is not in involved in, or responsible for, any contractual decisions relating to Knowsley Development Trust as part of his employment as the Executive Director of Communities & Neighbourhoods at Knowsley Council.”
The spokesperson continued: “Supreme Executive Cars Limited is a related organisation to Knowsley Development Trust and unfortunately, in error, Mr Donaldson has been listed as a director of this company too.
“This is not the case and Knowsley Development Trust is amending its records and removing Mr Donaldson from its listing on Companies House.”
Knowsley Development Trust director, Steve Dumbell, who is also a director of Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd and Supreme Executive Cars Ltd told the LDRS: “I can confirm that Mr Andrew Donaldson is a valued Board Member of Knowsley Development Trust. He is not however and never has been a director of Supreme Executive Travel Limited.
“I can only apologise to Mr Donaldson for this error and for any confusion or issues that have been caused as a result.”
Source: https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/23370957.knowsley-council-chief-listed-director-company-error/
A private hire driver was found asleep in his vehicle in the middle of the road, prompting concerns for public safety.
A private hire driver who continued to work despite having his licence suspended, has been prosecuted by Oldham Council.
The Hinckley Area Taxi Association has proposed new tariffs to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, which could make the borough's taxis the most expensive in Leicestershire.
Shaun Meenan attacked the teenager, who was a stranger to him, both in his vehicle and then in her home after gaining entry under false pretenses
Hillingdon Council launches consultation on PSPO to prohibit PHVs and taxis from waiting in residential streets around Heathrow Airport.
A taxi driver was left shaken after being robbed and assaulted by a knife-wielding passenger in Gateshead.
The proposed changes,which are set to be discussed at the licensing committee this week, would affect fares during weekdays, evenings,weekends, and festive periods.
A 71-year-old taxi driver has had his license revoked by the Stratford-on-Avon District Council due to public safety concerns.
Wolverhampton taxi drivers are set to be given powers to record audio in their cabs if they feel in danger following a spate of attacks.
Residents of Stirling are being invited to have their say on plans for a new taxi rank in the city center, as the local authority looks to address a growing demand for taxi services.
As of this year, only 278 licensed taxis are in service, significantly lower than the government's goal of 310.
Over 200 children from across England suffering from chronic or life-limiting conditions experienced a dream come true this weekend, thanks to a heartwarming initiative by London's black cab drivers.
Residents are being encouraged to participate in a consultation on proposed new taxi charges.
Taxi drivers at Bristol Parkway railway station are expressing frustration over a subsidised bus service that they believe is cutting into their business.
A year after the removal of a taxi rank due to lack of customers, Ipswich Borough Council is proposing to introduce a new five-place rank on Key Street.
A taxi driver who had his licence revoked following allegations of posting offensive material online has been given the chance to reapply.
The Glasgow Low Emission Zone (LEZ) has shown initial positive results in reducing air pollution, according to a new report.
Colin Aylward, who lives in Chittys Lane, Dagenham, captured the shocking incident on his home security system.
Independent Councilor Dave Patrick warned that the proposed increases would make Fenland one of the most expensive places in the country for taxi travel
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