Taxi Driver Online

EPPING: Un-licensed taxi cabs are a danger to young women

TAXI drivers are warning young girls to be aware of un-licensed drivers who are picking up customers from local clubs.

Staff from Lawlors, Elite Cars and Sadlers, all in Epping, said the problem has become much worse recently because many cab drivers can not afford to pay for a licence.

Phil Hupson from Lawlors said: “At Club 195 I know that a lot of the vehicles are un-licensed. It takes away business but it also means that members of the public are going into vehicles which don't have a licence. The driver won't have had a criminal record check so it's dangerous.”

Paul Nelso Director of Sadlers said: “There is a problem with un-licensed cabs. It's drivers coming into the area who don't have a licence to be here. They are driving where they shouldn't be and over charging people by lots of money.

"We all pay a lot of money for a licence and it needs to be monitored more. Especially when they are ripping people off.”

The district council has issued more than 1,000 licences during the last year, with 267 of those new licences.

But taxi drivers said there are still people who refuse to pay up.

A controller for Elite Cars said: “I have been doing this job for 14 years and recently it has got really bad.

"There's not enough advertising telling people or warning them what to look out for with cabs which don't have a licence. On the back of every taxi is a plate which should be displayed near the bumper to say who it is licensed by.

"It's a very big problem. People need to know what to look for because it's so dangerous. I don't think there is enough being done in Epping to stop this happening and sooner or later a young girl is going to get into a cab which doesn't have a licence and something awful will happen.”

A spokeswoman for the district council, which controls taxi licences said: "Epping Forest District Council will be increasing enforcement work, including undercover operations to tackle drivers who are illegally plying for trade. The undercover operations will involve the Council's Environment and Neighbourhood Officers acting as passengers, supported by Essex Police.

"The aim is to catch any unlicensed taxi activities, or licensed taxis operating outside their licence. Unlike Hackney Carriages, which can be hailed from the streets or approached at a taxi rank, private hire vehicles are not allowed to be flagged down and must be booked in advance.

"Unlicensed drivers or drivers operating outside their licence will face enforcement action and possible prosecution by the Council.

"Unlicensed vehicles operating as taxis, will not have been examined by the Council for roadworthiness, may not have a current M.O.T. and are unlikely to be insured to carry passengers for hire.

"It is very unlikely that any checks will have been carried out to see if the driver is a fit and proper person for this type of work".

Will they include "Self drive limos"?

Its OK going after PH taking flag downs but...

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Why would they? Self drive does not require a license so you can hardly prosecute someone for no license when one is not required.

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Grandad,

They're uninsured and therefore illegal on the public highway. Doesn't the last amendment to the RTA make this a criminal offence with max 2 years clink?

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Trying to eat anything larger than your own head in one go may prove unwise.

The scabs that frequent Epping are the same scum that frequent most of London, thye have a change of scenery once in a while, but the 'taxee boss?' chant never changes.

"The problem has become much worse because drivers can't afford a licence"

I think it's more a case of certain ppl ignoring any of our rules and treating the whole country like a cow carcass in a vulture infested desert.

the majority that break the rules are the people who are only in the trade for the short term or the weekend workers who have the safety net of another job to fall back on if they are caught. The problems lie with the licensing themselves as they're the people handing badges out like confetti. Going back to another thread about potholes then I can agree with the Blackpool cabbies about the state of the roads causing the damage and we all have that problem but if I feel there's something wrong with my suspension or anything then you have to get it looked at not because you might get a tug of an LO but because if you have an accident and then your vehicle is checked then your in big trouble. If the money we pay to plate and renew licenses was all invested back into the trade by having more officers out on the streets then I feel the part time brigade would give up. If your cab or car is roadworthy then we've nothing to hide. In six years I've never been pulled by a licensing officer once and I feel if they were a permanant fixture out on the streets then problems with 'cherrypicking' defective vehicles and the Bogus taxi would soon be forced off the streets.