Walton taxi driver disqualified from driving after breaking council bylaws Driver had too many passengers in his vehicle
A taxi driver has been disqualified from driving after being prosecuted by Liverpool council.
Paul Azzopardi was taken to court for a series of bylaw offences, including carrying eight passengers in his six-seater vehicle.
The 52-year-old had previously had his taxi driver’s badge revoked by the council, but had been able to carry on driving pending a court appeal.
Mr Azzopardi, of Dumbarton Street in Walton, was disqualified at Liverpool magistrates’ court following a conviction for invalidating his insurance by breaching council bylaws by carrying too many passengers, failing to ensure their safety, failing to use his meter and demanding an excessive fare.
The court heard that the council’s Taxi Enforcement Officers apprehended him on August 16 2014. He had eight passengers in his cab which was licensed to carry only six.
The driver previously had his taxi driver’s badge revoked by the council as a result of other complaints about him but had been able to carry on driving pending a court appeal. That appeal was subsequently lost and Mr Azzopardi is no longer licensed by Liverpool council to drive taxis.
The court declined his request not to be disqualified on the grounds of exceptional hardship, disqualified him from driving for six months and ordered him to pay fines totalling £730.
Cllr Christine Banks, the licensing committee chair, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of this case as it sends out a strong message that licensed cab drivers who choose to flout the rules designed to protect the safety of the public and to stop them from being ripped off will not be tolerated in this city.”
source:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv ... ng-9445067
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