Taxi Driver Online

Mystery passenger project seeks to stop rip-off taxi drivers

IT is the pet suspicion of many a late-night reveller – is the taxi driver secretly adding a boundary charge to the bill of a short journey?

However, one local council in Scotland has taken a bold step to ensure this unscrupulous practice does not take place under their jurisdiction.
Renfrewshire Council has hired "mystery passengers" to check on taxi drivers and report those breaking the rules. The team took random trips in Renfrewshire, as well as to Glasgow city centre, by booking or hailing taxis from local ranks and Glasgow airport.

During the four-week scheme, the investigators examined 12 drivers and found 15 breaches of licensing conditions. Warning letters are being sent out to the guilty drivers, and the council is set to continue the scheme.
Council officials decided to embark on the initiative after complaints from the public regarding drivers using higher tariffs.

The local authority believed personnel from the licensing section would be easily recognisable by drivers, and that a true picture of the problem could only be ascertained by hiring an undercover firm.

George Rivers, secretary of the Association of British Investigators, said he thought the taxi initiative was unique, although local authorities regularly hire private investigators.

"I'm not surprised by this step. Councils hire investigators for all kinds of jobs, although this is the first time I've heard of them being used for surveillance in this way," he said.

"Usually our staff are hired by councils to make observations on certain orders that have been imposed relating to antisocial behaviour.
"These kinds of cases don't happen on a day-to-day basis," Mr Rivers added. "It's cheaper for the local authority to hire private investigators as and when they are needed, as opposed to having full-time staff. But the investigators in this case will just have treated it like another job – they have to pay their bills."

Every taxi driver in Renfrewshire received a letter from the council warning them of the scheme and that overcharging could cost them their licence. The report into the project is due to be discussed by councillors later this week.

A spokeswoman for the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) said: "If taxi drivers have concerns about the way this scheme has been carried out then they can contact the union. However, the public is entitled to a fair and safe service, and the TGWU would support measures that seek to ensure that."

A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: "We see this as an initiative which will benefit passengers and the taxi trade. We would stress that there was no evidence in our limited sample of 12 drivers of any Renfrewshire taxi driver overcharging passengers."

So if 15 breaches were found, but none of them over-charges, then you have to wonder what they found.

More than likely the breaches were relating to the council imposed dress code

Black dress shoes, shirt, tie, black dress trousers, you know...the kind of stuff all councils have the right to order self-employed people to wear.....what next ? approved hair length & clean shaven

tell the taxman about this, and that the council rules and conditions virtualy make you employees.

there will be big back pay to come, if dealings with operators are anything to go by they will be receptive

Don't forget paid holidays and the like.

But back to the issue, I think any dress-codes are in breach of the Human Rights Act.

The council can say that they want drivers to dress reasonably. But even that's hard to define.

In short it's a nightmare, and I think any council going down this path is just plain stupid. Which is why many do.

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IDFIMH

The results are in !

The offences commited by the 12 drivers were as follows;

7 counts of not displaying their badge
3 of not wearing the 'correct uniform'
5 drivers not explaining the boundary tariff

The drivers who commited these dispicable crimes will all receive warning letters

I say the punishment should fit the crime
Bring back hanging !


The full report can be viewed at http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/websited ... em%202.PDF

So no one was caught for over-charging, but because they had to justify the expense, they made a song and dance about the [edited by admin] things they found.

Did anybody think to investigate the investigators? Who are these people? They remind me of another organisation that produced waffle to justify the fee.
Ged