Taxi Driver Online

Action to be taken against taxis registered outside Bournemouth

TOWN hall licensing chiefs have pledged to clamp down on taxis registered outside Bournemouth picking up fares in the town, leaving their passengers uninsured. A meeting of Bournemouth council’s licensing board ruled on Tuesday that action against taxis licensed in neighbouring towns would be taken “urgently”.

Bournemouth taxi driver, Duncan Craig, said drivers were very pleased by the outcome of the meeting. “A councillor put a move forward saying something needs to be done straight away. We were told there was no money, but I raised the issue of public safety.

“It feels like a victory. We just hope the council keeps its end of the bargain. “If passengers get in a car from a different area without a booking, they are travelling, by definition, uninsured,” said Mr Craig. Cllr Andrew Morgan, the chair of Bournemouth council’s licensing board, said that members were concerned that passenger safety had been placed at risk.

“There seems to be some evidence of private hire drivers acting as Hackney Carriages and picking up people without bookings. “The effect of that is that any passenger picked up in such a way is effectively uninsured.

“We have taken enforcement action in this area before. Drivers need to be on notice that we will take action to stop this because passengers are at risk,” said Cllr Morgan.

He said councillors on the licensing board had instructed officers to take “urgent action”, which would include posing as passengers to gather evidence for prosecutions. “Our feeling is that a couple of quick prosecutions will get the message home,” he said.

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