Taxi Driver Online

40 TAXI DRIVERS PROSECUTED FOR FLOUTING TRADE LAWS

Private hire taxi drivers who illegally ply for trade are being targeted as part of a council crackdown. Since November last year, Newcastle Borough Council has prosecuted 40 taxi drivers for flouting the conditions of their licences.

A further 12 drivers are awaiting prosecution following undercover operations over the last three months.

The law dictates that private hire cabs can only pick up pre-booked fares and not tout for business at the roadside. Anyone taking a journey in a private hire vehicle which has been flagged down is not insured for the journey.

Nigel Gardner, team leader for licensing enforcement, said: "When private hire drivers pick up customers who haven't booked in advance, their car insurance becomes invalid, which creates a potential safety risk.

"The public can play their part in ensuring their safety by becoming familiar with the rules. People who want a taxi without booking in advance should use the black hackney cabs instead."

News of the crackdown has been welcomed by Newcastle and Kidsgrove Hackney Carriage Association. It comes after Newcastle Borough Council's decision to accept the group's demands for fare increases per mile for those journeys over a mile, by more than 14 per cent.

The group has been campaigning for tougher penalties against private hire drivers, particularly those licensed in Stoke-on-Trent, after claiming they were stealing what little work there is.

In March, members delivered a professionally-made video to Newcastle Borough Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council showing their rivals illegally positioning themselves at taxi ranks.

Teresa Jones, secretary of the Newcastle and Kidsgrove Taxi Association, said: "We're very pleased about the council's recent announcements. There is not much trade in Hanley and Stoke now, so private hire cars are coming over to Newcastle and stealing our business." Ms Jones said the illegal activities of private hire taxi drivers was making it harder for hackney carriage drivers to stay afloat amid rising fuel prices.

She said: "To acquire a hackney number plate, you need a purpose-built vehicle which costs around £35,000. For a private hire licence, you could get a saloon for around £4,000. I'd like to see the council forcing private hire drivers to put up stickers saying that passengers are not insured unless they have pre-booked the trip."

Dave Currie, secretary of the Stoke-on-Trent's Private Hire Association, said he welcomed the council's crackdown as long as it targeted genuine offenders. He said: "I have heard many stories from private hire taxi drivers who claim they have been accused unjustly. "It is often easier to cough up for a fine than face lengthy legal proceedings."

Mr Currie said many of the hackney carriage drivers in Newcastle were not open to competition. He said: "Private hire drivers have reported being harassed by hackney carriage drivers despite the fact that they are there picking up a fare and not breaking the law."

Hackney carriages can be hailed from the two ranks at Hassell Street and Merrial Street. For private hire taxi drivers, plying for hire carries a maximum £2,500 fine. Drivers also face additional fines for driving without insurance because plying for hire invalidates their policies.

Driving without insurance carries a maximum fine of £5,000, a possible six to eight points on the licence and a discretionary disqualification from driving.

A spokesman for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "We have prosecuted no private hire taxi drivers over the past 12 months for breaching the conditions of their licence. This is because there have been major changes to the licensing processes over the last year and taxi drivers have been sticking to the rules. There have been prosecutions in other areas, however, such as for not wearing badges."

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IDFIMH

Someone's telling porkies.



Wrong again.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Shes twisting the Truth a bit with that remark...She is Assuming you always Buy Brand New Hackneyed Vehicles and not a Used One and she is Also assuming that no one Ever Buys new Vehicles for Private hire use...its Not Accurate at all and twisting things to suit themselves, People buy new or used Vehicles in both hackneyed and PH, Im all for Private hire Sticking to Private hire jobs..but I hate petty officials warping the facts to suit themselves....

So now all the courts up and down the country are wrong too!!!!

Are they???

In that case, perhaps all the magistrates up and down the country need to be re-trained then!!!

Where shall we send them for that, I wonder???

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

the Passengers once in the Vehicle and assuming the operator doesnt get caught Phlimping..hows the insurance company going to know?

If you were sitting having your sarnies and someone rapped on your window and says" oi mate, you have any Taxi or Private Hire Numbers about ya" and you gave him your number it would take 10 seconds for the potential customer to whip out his Mobile and phone you, the PH Operators home number (no crime in giving anyone your phone Number) and if its Diverted to say your Mobile and your using a handfree phone in your Vehicle it would technically become pre booked and the insurance and fare would be quite legitimate. as you werent touting for business it'd seem like a fair booking..all this purely is Hypothetical and certainly not condone it....but just..What IF??

The passengers are always insured, regardless of what illegal activity takes place by the driver. I thought you would know that.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Absolutly right. Being drunk behind the wheel will also invalidate your insurance but if you hit another car or a pedestrian or someones wall, they will all be able to claim against the insurance. The car that the driver is in however will not be insured so if he has a nice £35K wav and it gets smashed up, then tough.
But if the Licensing Officers told it as it realy is then there would be no deterant for the punters would there?

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Grandad,

Someone's telling porkies.





A driver appealed against the lose of his badge when an officer clocked him not wearing it back in Janruary, this is SOT council

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Si

Knowingly accepting a hire in a PHV that's not been pre booked is illegal, driver's doing in this day and age and normally blatantly can expect a nice fine if they get caught, hopefully the passenger is insured as 50% of the time they don't know the law on what is and what isn't, well locally anyway, the others look for a cheaper ride home on purpose, best part is they hardly get it as the driver normally charges them more than the meter would, anyway it's always gone on to a degree, but over the last 5 years or so it's become an epidemic, perhaps if the radio charges were reduced to a sensible level they wouldn't feel obliged to do it, but then again maybe not ehh.

The only way to stop PH pirating is to keep them busy with fares off the circuit. The companies can't do this cos at the moment the phones aren't ringing enough and if they were they would just take on more drivers.

The problem we face here is the HC rank up outside all the pubs and not on designated ranks either. People phone for a PH then walk outside to wait or after a while go outside to see if it's there (even tho there's callback) they spot the HC and away they go. The PH turns up, no customer so pirates one. It's all wrong. If you say anything to the HC for ranking outside the pubs they say they're waiting for a customer. They could be cos there are so many of them on the PH systems. The whole thing is a shambles

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Are you the chap who wears the hat or are you the other one?