Taxi Driver Online

A sting on private hire cab drivers has left three facing prosecution for picking up passengers illegally.


Council licensing staff posed as potential taxi users on the streets of Preston during a late-night crackdown.

They approached or attempted to flag down 37 private hire vehicles outside the Black Bull pub in Fulwood, and in Lancaster Road, Church Street and outside Squires nightclub in the city centre.

Under licensing laws, private hire cabs cannot be hailed in the street and must be pre-booked through a licensed operator.



If a private hire driver accepts a fare off the street without it being pre-booked, he or she is liable for prosecution.

And anyone taking a journey in a “flagged down” private hire vehicle may not be insured for the journey.

Mike Thorpe, head of licensing at Preston Council said, of those approached, three said they were available for hire.

He said: “They will be reported for offences of plying for hire without a Hackney carriage licence and no valid insurance.”

A fourth driver was caught smoking in his car and faces action over that offence.

Licensing staff were on patrol between 10pm and 4am with a special constable from Preston Police.

Mr Thorpe said: “It’s important that the council and its partners undertake enforcement action of this kind on occasions to ensure that a minority of the private hire trade act within the confines of their licence.

“We had received reports there was a lot of illegal activity, in terms of plying for trade, outside Squires.

“However, we did approach 37 private hire vehicles, so we’re quite pleased only around 10 per cent of drivers broke the law.”

One driver was caught close to Squires, while the others were in Church Street and Lancaster Road. The council is preparing its case for prosecution.

Preston Council currently licences 187 Hackney carriages and around 400 private hire vehicles, as well as 30 private hire operators. It has around 265 drivers licensed to drive Hackney carriages and 450 licensed to drive private hire.

It comes as 11 Hackney carriage drivers wait to hear whether they will be punished for allegedly parking illegally in the city centre.

They have all appealed against being given points as part of the council’s in-house punishment scheme.

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/cabbies_facin ... _1_1542716