Joint operation to check Hackney carriages and private hire vehiclesA JOINT operation, aimed at maintaining high standards among the town’s licensed Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, was carried out by Worcestershire Regulatory Services licensing officers, West Mercia Police and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) recently.
The exercise, which was carried out following a previous operation in December 2011, held public safety as its primary concern and a total of 41 Vehicles were stopped and checked.
An immediate prohibition was issued by VOSA to a driver with a bald tyre. They were given a fixed penalty fine of £60 and three points placed on their DVLA driver’s licence. Two other vehicles were also suspended, one because their taxi meter was not working and the other had out of date road tax.
Sue Garratt, Worcestershire Regulatory Services licensing manager, said: “There were plenty of licensing faults, such as roof signs not working, plates in the back window and no tariff cards, but overall there was a big improvement in the vehicle mechanical standards following the December 2011 operation.
"The results show that mechanically two tests a year is working to drive standards up.
"All drivers will now be written to, informing them that we expect only the highest standards in Redditch.”
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