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Manchester council fine private hire drivers for illegally picking up passengers



The pair were caught by Manchester City Council officers, and now face fines reaching into the thousands and six penalty points each

Two private hire drivers have been slapped with six penalty points each and fines of more than £2,500 for illegally pick up passengers.

Manchester Council officers caught Abdi Rahman Sharif, 38, of Upper Lloyd Street, Moss Side and Bashar El Khalailah, 30, of Birchfield Road, Longsight picking up passengers on the street in two separate incidents.

Only Hackney Carriages licensed by the council are allowed to pick up passengers off the street. Private hire drivers must only take passengers who have pre-booked through an operator.

Sharif was fined £1,200 with £573 costs and El Khalailah was fined £525 with £253 costs. Both received six penalty points.

Councillor Nigel Murphy said: “We take the issue of public safety very seriously - your journey will not be insured if you flag down a passing private hire vehicle - only Manchester licensed hackney carriage drivers are allowed to pick passengers up from the side of the road within our city boundaries.

“This serves as a warning to rogue drivers that their actions will not be tolerated. Our officers will prosecute anyone caught breaking the rules.”

source: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... re-9977415

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