Taxi Driver Online

11 Mar 2008

Crackdown on rogue cabs after taxi firm is caught with unlicensed driver

BLAENAU Gwent Council has prosecuted a Brynmawr taxi and private hire
operator for employing an unlicensed driver.

Hazel Jones, proprietor of G and H Taxi’s and Minibuses, of Unit 14,
Blaenant Industrial Estate, Blaenavon Road, for 28 years, pleaded guilty at
Abertillery Magistrates Court on Tuesday, March 4, to the offence of
employing an unlicensed private hire vehicle driver.

Jones was fined £450 and Blaenau Gwent Council was awarded costs of
£415 (including a £15 surcharge).

Acting on information received, enforcement officers from the council
stopped a licensed private hire vehicle owned and operated by Jones.

The officers found it was being driven by an unlicensed, female driver. At
the time the vehicle was conducting a school to home contract.

Speaking after the case Councillor Derek Morris, Chair of the Council’s
Licensing Committee, said “All licensed taxi drivers have passed medical
and criminal record checks. “All licensed vehicles are tested regularly to
ensure they are safe and suitable to be used as a taxi. It is possible that
these people have chosen to trade illegally because they know they would
not pass the criminal record and medical checks. In cases of unlicensed
vehicles it may be that they are unsafe.

“The public should be aware that unlicensed drivers and vehicles pose
serious risks to passengers and may not be insured in the event of an
accident. This practice is also unfair to genuine operators.

“Enforcement operations will continue until we disrupt these illegal
practices and unlicensed people should think very carefully about their
activities as the use of CCTV across the borough means that they will find
it hard to evade detection.”

Licensing officers would encourage the public to make sure that any ‘taxi’
they use has legal identification plates and stickers displayed on the
outside of the vehicle and that the driver is wearing an official badge.

If you have any information about unlicensed drivers or vehicles, please
contact the Licensing Team on 01495 355059.

You do not have to give your name and all information will be treated in
confidence.

Source: ic Wales
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That's a good start, let's hope many of the others get caught too.

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IDFIMH