Taxi Driver Online

Glasgow private hire drivers banned for 'pirating' around city

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/1658 ... ound-city/

EIGHT private hire drivers have been taken off the road for “pirating” around Glasgow.

Caught around the first few months of the year, they have been suspended to varying degrees by the Licensing and Regulatory Committee.

Only black hackney taxis – of which a licence is harder to obtain – are allowed to make random pick-ups from streets.

The practice is understood to be draining money from legitimate taxi and private hire drivers in Glasgow.

Alex Wilson, chairman of the committee, said: “Pirating, for me, is the worst part of private hire driving in the city, and it is getting worse.”

Driver Sunday Omoruyi Osaze had his licence suspended for its duration for pirating on Queen Street.

In a heated exchange at the committee meeting yesterday (Wednesday), he even ended up in a shouting match with Councillor Graham Campbell.

“You’re disrespecting this court,” said Mr Campbell as Osaze talked and shouted over him.

Osaze also started shouting incoherently at people gathered outside the council court when he exited the building.

Pirating Abdullahi Suudi had appeared before the committee before for other breeches of his licence last year.

But despite his profuse apologies the councillors also suspended his licence for its duration.

Both Suudi and Osaze would likely be rejected when apply for a new licence following its expiry date – so it is effectively a lengthy ban.

Yaqub Ibrahim Hassan, suspended for four weeks, insisted a high-quality video of him pirating was falsified to mislead the committee.

Suspended for four weeks, Muhammad Saleem told the committee he “couldn’t remember” pirating someone to Stirling.

Amaj Mohammed, suspended for six weeks, insisted to the committee the man was just sitting temporarily in his car when caught.

With previous breeches of his private hire licence, Mohamed Addow was handed down a four-week suspension for pirating.

Mohammed Sadiq admitted he was wrong and apologised to the councillors and was suspended for four weeks for a pirating incident.

Read more: Hundreds of Glasgow Taxi drivers could be taught life-saving CPR

Jean Ngonga Ngambet also apologies to the committee for pirating three teenagers and was suspended for four weeks.

On two of the complaints, for Hassan and Saleem, black hackney drivers had reported them to the licensing department.

Calum Anderson, who represents black hackney drivers in trade union Unite, condemned the pirating drivers.

He said: “The council is certainly using the powers available to them to great effect and tries its best to act as a deterrent against pirating.”

However, black hackney drivers, Mr Anderson says, want harsher punishments for pirates.

He added: “In England, what they’re then doing is the police are taking them straight to the courts.

“The courts are then charging them for driving with no insurance – they automatically get six penalty points and a fine.”

Committee chair Alex Wilson also backed Mr Anderson’s view that they should face criminal prosecution automatically.

Way to go

This is the modern uk people EXPECT to get away with all sorts and get VERY angry when they don't and a lot of people really lose their rag when you don't believe their lies

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

about bloody time
tip of the iceberg but at last some action

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

Do you have new licensing officer(s)?

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IDFIMH

not as far as im aware

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

Court??? Are things different in Scotland? If the chap actually said it was a "court" and it isn't some clever lawyer may decide that an appeal is in order.
When we have a licensing panel hearing one of the first things that the chair has to say is that "this is not a court of law". I was the chair on a licensing panel on Tuesday so I had to read this out to the gentleman concerned. It was an alcohol licence but the format is the same

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Grandad,

Did notice that, and can't see any difference to the English system that would justify such a remark - they're quasi-judicial committees.

Interesting too that a photograph of the council building where the hearings are heard was captioned "Licensing court at 40 John Street, Glasgow, part of the city chambers complex" on the Evening Times website, but doubt there's anything in that other than echoing the councillor's remarks.

Don't know if the remarks might constitute grounds for appeal though. Common sense would suggest not, but by coincidence I was earlier having a look at the Standards Commission's full judgement on the Fife councillor whose daft remarks to a driver at a committee hearing led to the driver successfully appealing to the sheriff court and the councillor being subsequently suspended.

It's ten pages, so just one for the anoraks: http://www.standardscommissionscotland. ... nFinal.pdf

yes.its the licencing borough court,if i recall correctly,this is in glasgow but im not sure if its the same all over scotland,things are different in scotland as we operate under completely different legislation from england,

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

That's interesting, but suspect the term is only of historical relevance, and has no significance today, although informally the committee hearings may be referred to as the 'licensing court'.

Had a quick google, and the only formal mentions I could find were from years and years ago - one legal case that mentions it seems to be from 1913.

So I suspect the term has no legal relevance these days, and I'd be very surprised if you were to find it in any current official document.

Definitely gives Councillors an illusion of grandeur.

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IDFIMH

That could be a factor - think Glasgow Council have started calling themselves the 'City Government', or something like that

Oy pal, it is not an illusion.

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Grandad,

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IDFIMH

havent heard that up here yet,but nothing about this shower of [edited by admin] in the city chambers would surprise me

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left