Taxi Driver Online

More than 300 illegal taxis caught at Parklife festival


MORE than 300 private-hire taxis were caught operating illegally in Prestwich in just two days.

Bury Council sent licensing officers to monitor the area around Heaton Park during the Parklife music festival on June 11 and 12 to check that only private-hire vehicles registered in Bury, Rochdale and Manchester were picking up passengers.

Those vehicles were only able to do so if customers had ordered in advance.

A Bury Council report out this week said: "At the request of (the organisers of) Parklife, Bury Council was asked to provide additional licensing staff to combat the 'taxi problem' during the weekend of Parklife.

"This was in addition to officers conducting their usual licensing duties.

"Officers from the Trading Standards and licensing service worked during the event,

"The issues that were identified was the large number of non-Bury licensed vehicles coming from all over the North West.

"Officers observed these vehicles attempting to ply for hire and over 300 drivers of vehicles were challenged during this enforcement exercise."

Bury licensing committee chairman, Cllr David Jones, added: "It is a problem that you encounter at major events such as music festivals, especially when you have upwards of 50,000 people a day turning up each day, and needing to get home at the end of the night.

"The rules are clear and say that only certain drivers should be picking up around the festival.

"It can be difficult for event organisers though because the last thing anyone wants is for people to get stuck without transport and be causing a nuisance to neighbours of the park."

In the last few years, Parklife organisers have introduced new measures to improve access to the festival.

They created a temporary bus station and a black-cab taxi rank and added more Metrolink and park-and-ride facilities.

A Parklife spokesman said: "We welcome the council's involvement in enforcement and will provide council officials with support at future events."

source: http://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/1461852 ... _festival/

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well done the Council for being there and nicking the SCABS

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Bury Council sent licensing officers to monitor the area around Heaton Park during the Parklife music festival on June 11 and 12 to check that only private-hire vehicles registered in Bury, Rochdale and Manchester were picking up passengers.

So what if someone had booked a PH or taxi from father afield for instance I've been down to reading festival to pick passengers up before; people do book companies they know to take them back home are they going to be prosecuted or ordered away from the site and prevented from picking up a legitimate booking ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

The report does state that these vehicles were seen plying for hire and challenged. So these would be the ones that did not have legit bookings.

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Grandad,

the problem is it could be deemed that turning up at the place is "plying for hire" I have heard of problems at cheltenham where legitimate pre booked taxis have been ordered away from the pick up point by police and licensing

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Uber couldn't manage the sheer number of passengers then?