Taxi Driver Online

Quite a short piece, but lots of potential talking points here, however life's too short

But interesting example of the badge/plate distinction in terms of 'fit and proper' status, not to mention the related confusing procedural stuff

Second driver could easily have come out of it all worse, though, but looks like he was saved by his Uber rating.

But if you're actually on Uber, doesn't that mean that you must have a good rating? Can't remember reading about the ratings things for a few years now, but wasn't it the case that once upon a time you'd be off the system if you dropped below 4.8 out of 5, or something like that?


High Uber rating saves Bolton taxi driver from longer sanctions

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/25 ... e-revoked/

A private hire driver in Bolton has had his licence revoked after failing to declare a traffic offence when using a mobile phone whilst driving - while another had his good Uber ratings taken into account after speeding.

The decision was made by the council’s Licensing and Environmental Regulation Committee, after members heard the driver had previously been convicted in January 2025 of a breach of regulations concerning control of a vehicle and mobile phone use.

The offence was classified as a ‘major traffic offence’ by the council and resulted in six penalty points.
Committee members also noted that the driver had failed to inform the council of the conviction, despite previously receiving a warning about compliance with licence conditions.

Councillors voted 9 to 1 in favour of revoking the driver’s private hire licence, with no abstentions.
The committee also considered whether to revoke the driver’s vehicle licence.

A proposal to take no action was challenged by an amendment calling for revocation, but that was defeated by six votes to three.

The original motion, which was to take no action, was then passed by a vote of five to four, meaning the driver can continue operating the vehicle, but not drive it themselves.

In a separate case, a different private hire driver was handed a four-week suspension for repeatedly failing to declare speeding offences committed in 2023 and 2024.

The driver had undertaken a speed awareness course the previous year and admitted to three recent speeding incidents.

While councillors noted concerns, they also considered the driver’s 18-year licence history and high Uber ratings when deciding on the length of the suspension.

Two further applications to drive private hire vehicles were adjourned at the request of the applicants and will be considered at a future meeting, even if the applicants do not attend.

I suppose the Uber rating is evidence of what punters feel about the driver/vehicle/ride, but I'm personally not convinced it's as honest as one would hope.

Nothing is stopping a driver booking, or his wife booking, his car as many times as they want, and giving themselves a five-star rating.

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IDFIMH