Taxi Driver Online

Taxi Driver Fined For Illegal Fare Pick-ups

2 October 2009

A Barnsley taxi driver caught picking up customers who had not pre-booked has been fined £150.

Jason Waistnidge, aged 34, of Sulby Grove, Kendray, who trades as Jay's Travel, was caught in an undercover sting by Barnsley Council.

Officers approached the taxi driver while he was parked up on Eldon Street and asked to be taken to a local hotel without booking the private hire vehicle in advance.

Such journeys are against the law and invalidate vehicle insurance policies, so Waistnidge was not only prosecuted for picking up a fare that was not pre-booked but also for driving without insurance.

He was fined £150, ordered to pay costs of £150 and a £15 victim surcharge penalty.

He also had eight points added to his licence.

Councillor Charles Wraith, chairman of Barnsley Council's General Regulatory Licensing Board, said: "It is a criminal offence for private hire vehicles to act as hackney carriages and pick up people in the street who have not booked the journey. As the vehicle is not insured and the driver is acting illegally, the public are put at a significant risk. This will not be tolerated."

Anyone with information about illegal taxi operators in Barnsley should call 01226 772468.

Source; SheffieldTelegraph.co.uk

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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Don't read this thread Mr Saltmarket ..... it's lies ..... it never happened ..... the newspaper got it all wrong!!!

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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I wish Dundee would prosecute ph in this way in fact i wish the would just prosecute

Prosecutions are a monthly thing in Brum, invariably PH (for a variety of offences, but mainly illegal plying for hire), & occasionally HC.

The usual tally is about 15-20 per month, but that's just the tip of an iceberg bigger than the one that sunk the Titanic!!

The truth is that illegal plying for hire by PH is like prostitution used to be; available on every street corner & nowhere near enough enforcement.

The only difference is that these hoodlum PH drivers don't need to carry condoms.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
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We have not had any operations since last November and it is doing my head in. We are constantly at our lo but they dont see it as a problem infact they facilitate it by allowing the yard across from fat sams to continue.15 a month we dont even get that in a year

This is a question for the likes of Mr Sussex, Mr T or The Captain.

Is there any type of prosecution that could be taken against licensing officers, licensing enforcement officers, licensing committee councillors etc, for not doing anything about or attempting to uphold the law in respect of illegal plying for hire by PH?

Surely, licensing / enforcement officers can't just sit on their a*ses doing sweet FA about this national problem.

Perhaps one successful prosecution might get them all off their fat a*ses.

After all the DfT BPG did recommend that night enforcement should be a regular exercise & Brum have now taken that on board with enforcement officers employed specifically on nights, as has Nottingham too.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

How was he a "taxi" driver when he wasnt in a a HC?.....

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

If you go to court and win... you end up losing...... you need to go to the licensing committee.... go to them at their own surgeries.... and get your point across.... they are the people you must convince...... they have the power

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

The main bone of contention in Dundee relates to private property and a claimed block booking arrangement between a nightclub and a private hire company.

The council denies that this is illegal, and while this may be open to question it's not the normal straightforward pick up off the street scenario as in the Barnsley case.

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Dundee rocks. Almost.

If the PH cannot get near fat sams they would not be able to pick up would they

Have you thought about flooding the area with hacks?????

What, so then no one earns money!

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Grandad,

Or have somebody's mate's car break down across the entrance.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

No so only the hacks do, if they do it right they could fill one and the next takes its place

Can only be done legally if there is a rank outside Fat Sams surely

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

"(1A) The mandatory conditions referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a) above are–
(a)that a record be kept of every booking for the hire of a relevant vehicle taken at the relevant premises;
(b)that a record be kept of–
(i)the registration number of the vehicle which was hired as the result of a booking taken at the relevant premises; and
(ii)the name of its driver at the time of that hire; and
(c)that the holder of the licence shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that any booking taken at the relevant premises from a member of the public for the hire of a relevant vehicle results in the hire of a vehicle which is–
(i)a relevant vehicle; and
(ii)being driven by a person who holds a licence granted under section 13 of the Act F6 and that licence is in effect.".

Now !! How can a Block Booking side-step this ????

Time to buy a bigger money bag boys