Taxi Driver Online

Crackdown on illegal taxis catches more than 20 drivers

MORE than 20 drivers have been caught picking people up for illegal taxi journeys in the city in the last six months. Taxi licensing officers warned people against using illegal cabs after issuing fines to all those caught.

Cabs in Nottingham are licensed by the city council and fall in to two categories - those pre-booked through calling a taxi firm or green Hackney carriages that can be picked up without a booking. In the last six months 21 drivers have been caught ‘illegally plying for hire’, also known as ‘flying’ - where drivers have picked up passengers from the side of the road without having been pre-booked.

Angela Rawson, who heads up the taxi licensing function for the police and council partnership, Community Protection, said: “Getting into an unlicensed cab is like getting into a car with a complete stranger, and you wouldn’t dream of doing that. “We have no record of the driver or the company and no way of tracing them.”

Fines and costs handed out were £10,752, and 118 penalty points were issued across the 21 drivers.
Two drivers were also disqualified from driving for six months. Councillor Jane Urquhart, the council’s portfolio holder for transport, said: “We would urge every one of our visitors and citizens to make sure they’re only using licensed taxis.”

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IDFIMH

How do they trace licensed taxi pick ups then?

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IDFIMH

Is Angela Rawson saying that punters are getting into unlicensed vehicles or licensed private hire vehicles without a booking?

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Grandad,

No she's saying they're getting into vehicles licensed by Gedling Borough Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Ashfield District Council, Bolsover District Council etc etc.

So they are not unlicensed vehicles, just not licensed by Nottingham City Council.

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Grandad,

doesnt that make them unlicensed then

No because a Hackney can work anywhere in the UK as a Private Hire.

It makes them unlicensed for what they were doing.

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Not according to our LO who always quotes that a Hackney Carriage can be used anywhere in the country as a Private Hire.

Is a private hire licensed to take unbooked hires from the side of the road?

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No.

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IDFIMH

Not according to our LO who always quotes that a Hackney Carriage can be used anywhere in the country as a Private Hire.[/quote]

He's wrong again, a hackney is always a hackney, and it can be used anywhere, I saw a polish hackney the other day working on a Manchester circuit?

He's always wrong.

Then they are unlicensed, since they do not have Hackney carriage licences issued by Nottingham City Council.
What other licenses they may have or who issued them is immaterial. They are not valid for the activity they were undertaking.

Might as well be a TV licence.

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