A taxi driver who was implicated in the sale of illicit tobacco lost their licence according to Bolton Council.
The Bolton News reports that the driver was one of a number to be brought before a licensing committee at the town hall recently.
This was not accessible to the public or to the press and the identities of the individuals were not revealed as a result of an exemption under the Local Government Act.
However the details of the decisions were revealed afterwards and a taxi driver who was implicated in the sale of illicit tobacco lost their licence.
The decision said: "The applicant pleaded guilty to ten charges of possession for supply of illegal tobacco and was sentenced to a community order with 300 hours of unpaid work in addition to financial penalties.
"The committee expressed concern that the applicant would be working in an environment interacting with vulnerable people."
Meanwhile two applicants were not allowed a licence as a result of traffic offences in the last three years.
One was convicted of driving over the speed limit while the other was convicted of driving while uninsured.
The decision said: "The council’s Statement of Fitness and Suitability in terms of a traffic offence indicates, where a person has a conviction which is less than three years old, then the application would be refused.
"The three year period had not elapsed in relation to this application. The committee found no reason to depart from the guidance."
A drug dealer has been convicted after armed police stopped a taxi and found bags of drugs and cash.
The Argus reports that Fiorent Muharremi was stopped in the cab after leaving the vehicle twice in the space of 100m.
Plain clothed officers searched Muharremi by the side of Clifton Road in Brighton and found more than 30 bags of Class A and Class B drugs as well as cash.
Sussex Police Inspector Oli Fisher, of the tactical firearms unit, said: “Our highly trained officers conduct a variety of duties above and beyond armed response and regularly carry out patrols to assist our colleagues across the force.
“This includes proactive operations to help disrupt the supply of drugs which cause so much harm in our communities.”
Car valeter Muharremi, 20, of no fixed address, admitted possession of Class A and Class B drugs with intent to supply at Brighton Magistrates' Court.
He will appear for sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on March 7.
Source: https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24117176.brighton-drug-dealer-caught-sussex-police-raid-taxi/
A drunk passenger has been ordered to pay £500 compensation to a taxi driver she attacked.
The Daily Record reports that Holly Hart, 38, appeared from custody at Hamilton Sheriff Court last week.
At a previous hearing she admitted assaulting the victim outside the Asda supermarket in Newmains on January 17, 2021.
Hart also admitted failing to turn up for the court case on two occasions.
She had been in custody since October 31 last year after being arrested for a non-appearance.
Sheriff Michael Higgins released her on a community payback order, an alternative to further time in prison.
Hart will be under supervision for two years and must carry out 180 hours of unpaid community work.
Aga Mathieson, prosecuting, said the assault happened around 1am after an argument.
She told the court: "The accused said she wouldn't pay her fare.
"The driver was fearful and drove to Asda as the area was lit and there were other taxis around.
"She told Hart that she wouldn't take her any further if she didn't pay and the accused then spat in her direction before getting out.
"The driver pressed a panic button to alert her controller and tried to lock the doors.
"She was trying to speak to the controller when the accused grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out of the taxi, causing her to fall to the ground. Hart then punched her on the body.
"Shortly after this the police arrived and the accused was found nearby. The taxi driver was seen to be shaken and scared."
Defence agent Stephen MacBride said Hart, from Wishaw, had been under the influence and remembered little about the assault.
The solicitor added: "There are no assaults on her record. This must have been a harrowing experience for the driver but, thankfully, no injury was sustained."
Source: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area/lanarkshire/wishaw-woman-told-pay-compensation-32133386
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council has approved a ‘radical change’ to implement six-monthly criminal background checks on taxi and private hire drivers.
According to the Slough Express, at a licensing meeting on Tuesday 13 February, councillors voted in favour of all licensed hackney carriage and private hire drivers having their DBS checked for new information every six months.
The incurred charges will be covered by individual drivers and penalty points will also be introduced for non-compliance.
A public consultation over the proposed DBS changes showed that 81.9 per cent of respondents agreed with the new six-monthly checks, and a third-party ‘DBS Update Service Status Checks’ facility is the preferred option.
However, taxi drivers’ representative Mr Jaffri told the panel that the 68 per cent of people who said hackney carriage drivers should bear the costs were ‘highly’ misled by the question.
He suggested that if the cost to the driver was mentioned, it would have been ‘overturned’ and said switching from a three-year to a six-month DBS check is ‘too radical a change for us to bear’.
Mr Jaffri added: “At the last licensing meeting, we were under the impression that this would be cheaper than doing the current three-year DBS check.
“The payment is too much. A lot of drivers are struggling, and it is hard to make a living.
“We have been advocating in the past to lessen the burden on taxi drivers. When is the council going to do something for the drivers?
“Why is that whatever the licensing council introduces, the drivers are always made to pay, like delivery of a new car, safeguarding and so on?
He suggested the council should foot the bill to ‘ensure how seriously they are willing to help drivers’.
The DBS costs would be an initial £59 fee to sign up for the online service, £13 per year for the DBS Update Service, and £7.20 per year for the ‘DBS Update Service Status Checks’ facility.
The £7.20 would be waived for the first year and recharged to the borough.
The council would recover this cost by increasing the hackney carriage and private hire drivers’ licence charges in April next year.
Drivers will pay £72 in the first year of the scheme and £20.20 in all subsequent years.
Trading standards and licensing manager Greg Nelson said it would take time for drivers to get used to the new system and some leeway would be given for innocent non-compliance.
However, it was proposed that penalty points be introduced for drivers who did not comply after advice and assistance were given.
If 12 points are accumulated in a year, a decision would be made on whether the driver is still fit to hold a licence.
RBWM mayor, Councillor Neil Knowles, said he supported the recommendation as it made things easier for officers and drivers, and was cheaper for drivers in the long run.
He proposed the recommendation put forward by officers which was seconded by Cllr K Singh and the council voted by majority in favour.
A number of private hire drivers have been pelted with eggs over a recent weekend in Bolton.
Bolton News reports that the two private hire vehicles were targeted during the daytime in Tonge Moor and are the latest in a spate of attacks at taxi vehicles.
Another driver, Siraj Patel, was pelted with eggs at 10pm in Bromley Cross.
Following this Mr Patel has reiterated calls for mandatory stickers to be removed.
Last month members of the Bolton Private Hire Union met with members of Bolton Council to raise the issue.
They said there were a number of trouble spots where their vehicles were attacked including Leverhulme Park in Breightmet, Deane Church Lane in Deane, Tonge Moor Road and Highfield in Farnworth.
Concerns were raised at the time after reports that a taxi driver was dragged from their vehicle and beaten in Heaton.
Mr Patel said he and another driver with pelted with eggs on Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, near a bus stop.
And video has emerged of two taxi drivers having eggs thrown at them by a group of youths near the Railway Bridge on Tonge Moor Road.
Mr Patel, who is also a member of the union, spoke about the incident and said he wanted stickers removed.
He said: “Youths on Darwen Road threw eggs at us. I had a passenger in at the time.
“They threw eggs at us because they knew we were taxi drivers, they recognised us because of the stickers.
“We are always targeted from this area. It is normally between 7pm and 10.30pm.
“There are other bad spots, such as on Tonge Moor Road.
“They should get rid of the need for stickers.
“If you use an app to book a taxi how do you recognise it? You recognise it from the make of the vehicle and the registration plate, you do not need a sticker as well as this.”
Source: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/24116676.bolton-taxi-drivers-pelted-eggs-bromley-cross/
An unlicensed taxi driver who picked up two vulnerable women in Aberdare has been ordered to pay nearly £1,500 in fines and costs.
Cleethorpes taxi drivers are breathing a sigh of relief after council enforcement officers cracked down on vehicles illegally parked in designated taxi ranks.
A Barry man has avoided jail after launching a drunken attack on a taxi driver who refused him entry to his vehicle.
Jersey’s taxi service is in crisis, with driver numbers plummeting by more than a quarter since 2014, a new report has revealed.
On Wednesday 27 July, more than 300 vulnerable youngsters were taken on an all-expenses paid trip to Southport.
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Two men have avoided immediate jail time after a high-speed race left a taxi driver with serious injuries.
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Ways of increasing the amount of wheelchair-accessible taxis across the city are set to be explored to make it easier for those who need one to get one.
Cumbrian taxi drivers are fighting back against proposed licensing changes they fear will cripple their livelihoods.
Bolton taxi drivers are urged to sign up for free safeguarding and disability awareness training before the deadline on October 31st, 2024.
A Conwy Council meeting on Monday revealed a critical failing that allowed a taxi driver whose license had been revoked to continue transporting children to school.
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