Taxi Driver Online

Thought headline here sounded quite juicy, but the headline's about as much detail as we get

Even checked the council's agenda papers and appendixes, and there's nothing more, except...


Fife Council: Taxi operators and drivers warned about conduct

https://www.centralfifetimes.com/news/2 ... d-conduct/

TAXI operators and drivers from "two competing firms" have been spoken to about their conduct.

Fife Council's licensing enforcement officer also issued verbal warnings to two firms, three cabbies and two street traders for "minor indiscretions".

Craig Ritchie's report to the regulation and licensing committee said he looked into various complaints, suspected non-compliance with licence conditions and other issues between June 1 and October 31

This included second hand dealers, street traders, taxi drivers and operators and led to seven warnings, verbal advice was given in 11 cases, one licence was applied for and two complaints will be monitored to check for any potential breaches.

Six of the complaints were unfounded.

Advice was given to two ice cream van operators on the use of their chimes, a street trader and a complainer on the trading location and taxi operators and drivers from two competing firms regarding their conduct.

A professional chauffeur company and an unlicensed motor trader and unlicensed vehicle operator were also spoken to.

Four spot checks were made on a second hand dealer and three street traders selling food and drinks and no issues were found.

...there's a couple of nuggets in the appendix of the agenda papers:


Of course, unlike down south, councils here must monitor demand between the big surveys. But down south I doubt they'd get away with an eight year gap, with no new survey planned, presumably.

So not really sure if an eight year gap is acceptable in Scotland, but I suspect that if push came to legal action shove, it wouldn't be


Like the illegally parked cars on the town's main rank EVERY night for hours on end?

Or like the council inviting non-zone HCs into the area en masse to ply for hire, presumably with little regard to the legal niceties?

I would hope an unlicensed vehicle operator was dealt with a bit more seriously than merely being spoken to.

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IDFIMH

The documentation says:


As regards the chauffeur, as you may recall there's still a statutory exemption for 24-hour exclusive contracts here, so very easy for chauffeur drive and golf/airport transfer operations to get round.

And widely abused, and very difficult to enforce, as far as I know. So I suspect there was some evidence of abuse here, or a specific complaint was made. But maybe insufficient evidence for any further action and/or maybe it was thought that a slap on the wrist was sufficient.

Likewise with the unlicensed operator advertising for hire and reward. Probably told simply to get badged and plated, or stop advertising.

Some other stuff that may be relevant to the approach outlined above:

https://www.fife.gov.uk/__data/assets/p ... r-2022.pdf

Are they also going to also give 'advice' to punters about not abusing, assaulting or threatening drivers ?

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

Former licensing committee member here. Just putting this up for reference.


Former Fife Tory councillor in court on child sexual assault charge

A former Fife councillor has appeared in court charged with child sex abuse.

Mick Green denied both charges levelled against him when he appeared at court on Thursday.

The alleged offences date back to 2006.

They relate to alleged conduct against a young girl and a teenage boy.

The 72-year-old spoke only to confirm his name at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

The charges

It is alleged Green behaved in a lewd and libidinous way towards a girl at his home when she was just nine years old.

The charge alleges he touched her leg and placed his hands under her clothing to touch her private parts.

The second charge alleges he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy at a property in Glenrothes in 2011.

Prosecutors say he rubbed the child’s genitals over his clothing.

Green, of Carleton Avenue, Glenrothes will stand trial in the new year.

Elected in 2017

Green was elected as a Conservative councillor in 2017 and represented the Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch ward on Fife Council.

Following his arrest on the charges for which he appeared on Thursday, he was suspended by the Conservative party and did not seek re-election as a councillor at the May elections.

Can't recall if I've read about this before, but certainly no recollection, so if I did then just really just ignored it at the time.

But according to press reports he was arrested regarding the above in May 2021.

A quick Google shows he appeared at a licensing committee meeting just a few days earlier:

https://www.fife.gov.uk/__data/assets/p ... 220621.pdf

But in August, the minutes are just marked APOLOGIES with regard to Councillor Mick Green. So he was obviously still a committee member, but didn't attend:

https://www.fife.gov.uk/__data/assets/p ... 821_JK.pdf

Somehow suspect if he'd been a driver then he'd have been suspended after arrest and charge. Yet while under charge this councillor could have been deciding on said driver's suspension, in theory at least