Newcastle City Council crackdown on taxis refusing short-distance fares Newcastle City Council has launched an operation to stop taxis driver illegally refusing short-distance fares An undercover operation was put in place to catch taxi drivers illegally refusing short-distance fares.
Newcastle Council launched the crackdown after receiving numerous complaints about Hackney cab drivers refusing to take punters on short journeys from taxi ranks in the city’s Bigg Market and Collingwood Street areas.
And, after officers went undercover during a weekend in March this year, a number of prosecutions have been made.
Legally, Hackney Carriage Drivers are permitted to accept pre-booked fares, pick up passengers from taxi ranks and to stop for passengers where hailed in the street. They are not permitted to refuse fares starting and finishing in the city council area without reasonable excuse.
Now, one cabbie has been fined £230 after refusing a fare from the taxi rank on Collingwood Street, outside popular nightspots Floritas and House of Smith.
Dean Douglas, 21, of Mitford Drive, Westerhope, Newcastle, was caught refusing a fare in the early hours of the morning on March 17.
He pleaded guilty at a hearing at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court but claimed he wasn’t for hire and was waiting to pick up his aunt.
He was fined £110 and ordered to pay £100 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
A second driver, Mohammed Hussain, 48, of Normount Road, Benwell, Newcastle, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Linda Hobson, the council’s deputy cabinet member for community safety and regulation, said: “The council takes enforcement and the standards of its licensed fleet very seriously. Our role is to ensure the trade operates in a safe and responsible manner.
“Hackney Carriage drivers play a vital role both as part of the transport infrastructure and also in supporting the night-time economy.
“As the licensing authority we seek to ensure that licensed drivers comply with legal requirements and provide the high standard of service expected both by the council and by the public.
“We would like to remind the travelling public that it is an offence for a Hackney Carriage Driver to refuse a fare that starts and finishes in Newcastle. It is also an offence for such a driver not to use the fitted meter or to charge more than the legal tariff of fares displayed in the licensed vehicle.
“The safety of the public is the council’s main priority and we will continue to investigate complaints and to conduct enforcement operations to ensure that a high standard of service is maintained and that drivers acting illegally are appropriately addressed.
“To enable our licensing officers to investigate fully, we would like the public to record vehicle details including licence plate information and driver details where possible and the time and place of the incident.”
source:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor ... is-6213889
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