Revealed: The private hire cabbies risking their jobs for just £5 in Birmingham city centre
AN UNDERCOVER crackdown on illegal private hire cabs in Birmingham netted drivers willing to risk their livelihood for as little as £5.
Plain-clothes police officers went out on to city centre streets to try to catch private hire drivers breaking the law by taking advantage of unwitting punters desperate to get home after a night out.
The joint operation led by Birmingham City Council taxi enforcement in conjunction with West Midlands Police was aimed at cracking down on drivers who collect passengers from the street rather than being pre-booked over the phone, as outlined in their private hire conditions.
The authorities want to raise awareness of the problem in the run up to Christmas when party-goers are more likely to flag down private hire vehicles – which automatically voids any insurance cover.
Police Constable John Slater – a police traffic officer seconded and paid for by Birmingham City Council – briefed officers ahead of the operation.
He said: “The aim of the operation is to target private hire vehicles that are illegally picking up fares without being booked which is an offence.
“Any insurance becomes null and void.
“We want to get a message across that we are targeting private hire drivers working illegally. We can prosecute and take them to court.
“They are not taxis which are black cabs which can be hailed. They are private hire vehicles – you enter into a contract with the operator and their insurance revolves around that. If the customer doesn’t ring to book, the insurance is not valid.”
After a 30-minute briefing, 20 plain-clothed special officers went out in pairs to various locations in the city centre including Broad Street, New Street station and Five Ways and attempted to get picked up.
If the driver agreed to the fare and began the journey, the officer issued a warrant – and asked them to proceed to a designated stop site before an enforcement officer stepped in to complete a proforma statement and caution the driver, which can lead to prosecution.
They also had to make sure the driver was not able to contact the base to amend any records to show the fare existed.
Within minutes of the operation beginning on Friday night, a driver was asked for a fare in New Street and accepted before the officer revealed their identity. But the driver failed to go to the stop site and enforcement officers were sent to the scene.
Another driver was asked to go from one end of Broad Street to Snobs nightclub and gave a fare price of £5 – he was then stopped and cautioned.
A rookie driver, who had only got his licence months ago was asked by the officers to go to Star City – he was unable to give a price and rang a friend for advice before starting the journey. He, too, was cautioned.
A total of 19 drivers were caught flouting the law during the operation at the weekend and now face prosecution and a six-month licence suspension.
However, more than 30 drivers turned the officers away and said they were booked – as they should.
Enforcement officer Doug Wright said the operation, which was aimed at educating the public as well as sending a message to drivers, said: “We are putting more emphasis on the issue in the run up to Christmas. The majority of private hires work legally, but the priority is to get the ones that are illegal off the roads and get people home safely.”
One enforcement officer said: “They are willing to risk their livelihoods, six months of not working, for as little as £5. They have signed the declaration – it is a condition of their licence – it’s on all the cabs ‘be booked, be insured’.”
Section officer John Harrison added: “This was a great operation.”
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top- ... 010/12/06/
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