Taxi Driver Online

Don't know if everyone's aware, but Wolverhampton Council has a specific X/Twitter account for its environmental health, licensing and trading standards stuff, and occasionally posts about its cross-border spot checks.

This is the stuff posted in the last six months or so, where there's a specific mention of numbers, or at least a proportion (eg one failed out of six, or all passed). There are other posts mentioning specific failed cars, but those posts don't indicate the total tested, or whatever, so don't give any impression regarding proportions or overall numbers etc.

Newest posts are listed first below, and this is the account itself, if anyone's interested in the photos, or picking holes in my analysis, or whatever...

https://x.com/WVProtect

(One of these things I started doing, then wish I hadn't )

Anyway, anyone see what I'm seeing?


15 January 2025
Blackburn and Darwen
Today, Compliance teamed up with @BwDPH Licensing @blackburndarwen Council to conduct thorough vehicle and driver checks in Blackburn and Darwen. 14 @WolvesCouncil PHVs checked, only 1 had minor bodywork issue, 14 day repair notice issued.


9 January 2025
Cambridge and Stanstead Airport
Compliance Officers were in Cambridge and at Stanstead airport yesterday, undertaking checks on @WolvesCouncil licensed vehicles and drivers. All found to be fully compliant.


22 December 2024
Chester
Last night, Compliance worked with @cheshirepolice in Chester City Centre. 6 @WolvesCouncil vehicles checked, 1 had its licence suspended for not displaying their PHV plate correctly. #PublicSafety #PartnershipWorking


21 December 2024
Poulton-le-Flyde
...Compliance Officers worked with @LancsPolice in Poulton-le-Fylde as part of Operation Nightsafe. 14 @WolvesCouncil vehicles checked, 1 had a minor issue with lights which has now been resolved. #Nightsafe #PublicSafety #PartnershipWorking


21 December 2024
Manchester
Last night, Compliance Officers worked with @gmptraffic in Manchester City Centre. 14 @WolvesCouncil vehicles checked, 2 had their licences suspended. 1 for an illegal tyre and 1 for bulbs out/engine management light on. #PublicSafety #PartnershipWorking


21 December 2024
Leamington Spa
Taxi Compliance in Leamington Spa, joint working with DVSA, Warwickshire Police, Warwick Council and Stratford Council. Excellent level of compliance found with drivers adhering to their conditions. Police did however identify one vehicle with no road tax and action taken.


15 December 2024
Barnsley
last night in Barnsley, Compliance teamed up with South Yorks Police, colleagues from Barnsley, Leeds and Sheffield Councils and conducted thorough vehicle/driver checks. 4 @WolvesCouncil vehicles checked and fully compliant and roadworthy.


15 December 2024
Manchester Airport
On Wednesday, Taxi Licensing Compliance worked with @gmptraffic and partners from the DVSA and Immigration Enforcement at Manchester Airport. All 12 @WolvesCouncil vehicles were found to be fully compliant and roadworthy. #PublicSafety #GetHomeSafe


11 December 2024
Hull
Yesterday, Compliance Officers joined with Hull Licensing & Humberside Police to enhance public safety by conducting thorough vehicle checks. All 11 @WolvesCouncil vehicles found fully compliant and roadworthy.


22 November 2024
Manchester Airport
Compliance Officers have been on a successful joint operation at Manchester Airport today alongside @GMPMcrAirport @seftoncouncil @LCC_Licensing @SalfordCouncil @TraffordCouncil @CheshireEast & Manchester Licensing Officers. Working together to ensure everyone #GetHomeSafe

Pleased to report that all 13 @WolvesCouncil private hire vehicles checked today were all fully compliant and roadworthy. #PartnershipWorking #PublicSafety


21 November 2024
Manchester Airport
Yesterday, Taxi Licensing Compliance worked with @gmptraffic and partners from the MIB and Immigration Enforcement at Manchester Airport. 11 out of 12 @WolvesCouncil vehicles were found to be fully compliant and roadworthy. #PublicSafety #GetHomeSafe


16 November 2024
Liverpool
Last night in Liverpool, Compliance Officers, in partnership with @MerseyPolice @MerPolTraffic @lcc_licensing and @MerseysidePCC, conducted thorough vehicle checks and found an excellent level of compliance, 19 out of 20 @WolvesCouncil vehicles fully compliant

[There's then a gap of several months until the summer of 2024, thus a good time to stop listing them. Before I lose the will to live )

To clarify, I haven't included the likes of this, because there's nothing to indicate how many cars were checked, whether all of the non-compliant cars are mentioned, how many were actually non-compliant etc

I mean, in the first post, for example, all the cars checked could have failed, but who knows?

On the other hand, you get the distinct impression that if all the cars were compliant, they'd have said so


2 November 2024
Manchester Airport
On Thursday, Taxi Licensing Compliance Officers worked with @gmptraffic and partners from the DVSA, Immigration Enforcement and Rochdale Trading Standards at Manchester Airport. Excellent team work in operation keeping the public safe. #PublicSafety



There are also a couple of these types, which kind of speak for themselves. On the other hand, again there's nothing about overall numbers, both in terms of the total cars checked, nor regarding the numbers non-compliant

15 December 2024
Blackburn and Darwen
Also, last Wednesday, Compliance teamed up with @BwDPH Licensing @blackburndarwen Council to conduct thorough vehicle and driver checks in Blackburn and Darwen and found this tyre with tread depth below 1.6mm. Vehicle licence suspended!m/WVProtect

So if you're seeing the same as me, it all looks like Wolverhampton only publicise things via their Twitter account when it's good news, in the main at least

Either that, or they've got a remarkably high compliance rate all the time

But think of the context, as opposed to the crude numbers - obviously 50,000 drivers are going to throw up quite a lot of issues, even assuming Wolverhampton's cars are more safe and compliant than the average.

First, not sure if they've got an age rule - off the top of my head, even if there is one, isn't it something like 17 years?

Second, all you need to plate a car with them is a standard MoT, from any garage.

Third, seems pretty unlikely that if you're a driver you'll be too worried about LOs rolling up on any particular night. I'd guess that, on average, Wolves-plated cars are likely to be stopchecked a lot less than some of the more stringent licensing councils, certainly.

So in that context, the stuff reported via their Twitter account seems, er, too good to be true

Another thing is maybe that I can't recall much stuff about Wolves PHVs caught plying for hire. I mean, 50,000 PHDs working the length and breadth of the country, but...

Here's another angle I'd never really thought about regarding the laxity of Wolverhamton's spec. I mean, a Corsa

(The plate is blanked, but looks like the distinctive Wolves plate shape, and the comments are also saying that it's a Wolves car...)

https://x.com/lcc_licensing/status/1771635329532899676

Busy weekend for Merseyside Roads Policing Unit, according to their Twitter account

No word of any Wolves LOs being there for the party

And the first one reads a bit oddly - police officer suspending a cross-border car for a 'breach of licensing conditions'

But looks like Liverpool LOs may have been present, and no doubt there are enforcement protocols in place with an obvious hotspot like Liverpool and Merseyside generally...

Meanwhile, the only mention of the trade on the Wolves Council 'public protection' account in the last few days is this.

All going swimmingly, of course

Check out the rear door handles on the Toyota in the top picture above

Must be one of those in the photo below.

Can you imagine the fannying about with those door handles?

Just no