Authorities accused of 'catastrophic failure to public safety' as illegal cabs boom during Cheltenham Festival'Whoever is responsible for public safety within the town should hang their head in shame'https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/n ... ic-1364392Disgusted cabbies say there was a 'catastrophic failure to public safety' last week as Cheltenham was 'swamped' with unlicensed taxis.
The Cheltenham Hackney Carriage Association claimed there was an influx of illegal cabs to the spa town during Cheltenham Festival and it was 'by far the worst' it has seen.
The organisation accused police and Cheltenham Borough Council of failing to clamp down on the problem.
A spokesman for the association said: “The taxi drivers of Cheltenham are thoroughly disgusted as to the events in and around the town over the Race Week.
“The town was swamped with unlicensed vehicles posing as taxis, and private-hire cars from all over the country picking up passengers illegally.
“We acknowledge the police are stretched at this time but for one officer to tell one of our drivers who had just advised him of an illegal pick-up that ‘there is plenty of work for everyone’ is not acceptable.
“This driver did not have insurance to pick up these people so was guilty of a crime. He was also guilty of obtaining money by deception by posing as a taxi.”
One cabbie Andrew Evans says he saw about 15 illegal taxis over the week.
He spotted a group of revellers flagging down one and being told a journey from the Strand pub, in the High Street, to Winchcombe would cost £50.
Mr Evans said: “I told them the taxi wouldn’t be insured if there was an accident, so they jumped in my car. I only charged them £24.
“The same thing happens every year with illegal taxis. It is ridiculous.”
The association agreed that the problem has plagued Cheltenham during Race Week for many years.
It added: “Even a licence enforcement officer who was out on patrol said he was disgusted with what was happening but they didn’t have the resources to deal with it.
“Whoever is responsible for public safety within the town should hang their head in shame.
“Someone should be made accountable for the catastrophic failure to public safety.”
The group said it has received several enquiries about property lost last week.
“With so many illegal vehicles working we are not confident lost property will ever be recovered,” it said.
The association also noticed a 'vast increase' in Uber drivers operating last week.
It added: “Under new geographical restrictions only certain Uber are allowed in the area but they were here from all over the country.”
Gloucestershire police has apologised for comments made by one of its officers, who is alleged to have said "there is plenty of work for everyone” when asked about the illegal pick-ups.
A force spokesman said: “Prosecutions around unlicensed taxi drivers are the responsibility of the local council although we do assist them with operations to address the issue.
“The alleged comments by one of our officers are unacceptable and we apologise to the association for those.
“If we receive information or find evidence on unlicensed taxi drivers we would expect our officers to pass that information on to the council to review accordingly.”
Council licensing team leader Louis Krog said six licensing officers were dedicated to taxi enforcement work during both day and night, over the week.
“The council worked in partnership with the police and neighbouring licensing authorities to ensure that the festival remains safe and well managed,” he added.
“Many vehicles and drivers not licensed by the council were checked to ensure they were not acting unlawfully.
“We did identify a number of out-of-town drivers who may have been acting unlawfully and we are now making further enquiries to establish if any offences were committed.
“The council will always seek to prosecute drivers who were unlawfully plying their trade in Cheltenham.”
Mr Krog said the council has brought drivers who unlawfully ply their trade in Cheltenham to justice in recent years, and will continue to do so.
Fine for unlicensed taxi driver – one year onBirmingham City Council private-hire driver Tariq Hussain was seen operating in Cheltenham on March 16 last year.
Council officers approached Hussain and asked him if he was ‘free’ to take them to Gloucester.
He said he was and the officers got in. When he started driving, the officers asked him to stop the vehicle and cautioned him at the roadside.
Hussain’s driver records showed several journeys in Cheltenham between March 14 and 18 last year.
Many of these journeys were for pick-up and drop-off in generic locations including ‘Cheltenham centre’, ‘Gloucester’ and ‘Cheltenham’.
There were also several instances where Hussain did not have customer telephone numbers to call to identify the location for pick-up.
Hussain pleaded not guilty on November 6 to plying for hire without a licence and having no insurance to carry out this activity. The matter was referred to trial.
On March 12, Hussain attended the trial, where he changed his plea to guilty and made an application for exceptional hardship due to his personal circumstances.
The judge accepted the hardship argument and fined Mr Hussain £470, as well as putting six points on his licence.
Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinet member for safety, said: “The council will always prioritise the safety of the travelling public in Cheltenham.
“Illegal activity such as this can compromise public safety and protection and can also take away legitimate trade away from Cheltenham-licensed drivers.
“The council will continue to take strict and formal action where drivers flaunt the law.”
This matter has been referred to Birmingham City Council who license Hussain.
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