Driver given wrong taxi pass in new ID blunder
ANOTHER private hire driver has been hit by a council ID blunder.
The Evening News last month revealed the city’s licensing department had given at least ten cabbies and other professional drivers identity badges featuring someone else’s photo.
Industry chiefs warned the errors could allow people who have not undergone vetting by police and city councillors to pose as qualified drivers - prompting opposition politicians to call for an inquiry.
Private hire driver John Simpson is the latest to receive a pass bearing the wrong image in the post. The 57-year-old from Corstorphine said: "The photograph is not me. I seem to have aged by about 30 years.
"I don’t understand how the council can muddle it up so much."
Cabbies and private hire drivers are required to wear ID badges when they are on duty and show them on demand to any passenger, police officer or council official.
Keith Bell, chairman of the CABforce taxi industry lobby group, said: "It’s obviously disappointing that the council seems to have failed to address these problems.
"As long as the council continues to gloss over these mistakes, the system won’t improve."
It is understood the ongoing problems have been caused by city staff confusing images of people with similar surnames stored in the council's photo database.
A council spokeswoman said: "Mistakes are very rare. Anyone with a concern about their ID badges should contact the licensing department as soon as possible."
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