Ash taxi driver loses appeal to get license returnedhttps://www.eagleradio.co.uk/news/local ... -returned/An Ash taxi driver has lost an appeal to get his license returned.The 51-year-old had it revoked in January after becoming aggressive towards a passenger and refusing to let her get out of the vehicle.
He appeared before Aldershot Magistrates on Friday July 29th and was ordered to pay Rushmoor Borough Council's £1,500 legal costs.
The court heard that the council revoked the man's Hackney carriage and private hire driver’s licence in March 2019, on the grounds of public safety, following an incident in January 2019.
After picking up a female passenger, he failed to put his meter on which led to a dispute over the fare.
He then became verbally aggressive and refused to let her out of the taxi immediately.
He had been put on a final warning by the council in December 2018 after a number of complaints, including refusing to take passengers on the meter and being verbally aggressive to passengers.
Voice recordings were played in court, including a phone call from the passenger to the taxi operator immediately after the incident.
Magistrates said that it was clear that the passenger was very distressed and dismissed the taxi driver's appeal, saying that he was not a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence.
Councillor Maurice Sheehan, Rushmoor Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Operational Services, said:
“We hope this decision reinforces the message that we expect high standards of behaviour from our taxi drivers.
"Anyone who treats passengers in this fashion deserves to have their licence ripped up.”
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