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Four cabbies' licences revoked for operating outside Taunton Deane
FOUR cabbies have had their licence to ply their trade revoked by Taunton Deane Borough Council.
It is believed the men, who held either taxi or private hire permissions issued by the district council, were actually using them to work in Bristol.
Between 2014 and 2015, the Deane was inundated with applications for licences from drivers, mainly Bristol based, looking to avoid the rigorous testing of their own local authority.
They were able to exploit archaic taxi and private hire law, which allows drivers to carry out pre-booked journeys all over the country, regardless of where they are licensed.
In August last year - and in response to concerns shared by the council and taxi trade in Taunton – policy changed, to enable greater scrutiny of applications from people living outside Taunton Deane, with many applicants being interviewed.
While carrying out checks on applications recently submitted, officers noticed the same Taunton address being used by three different men, all of whom had previously lived in the Bristol area.
With help from colleagues in the housing department at the Deane House, they were able to contact the landlord, who confirmed that the property had actually been vacant for three months.
Subsequently, two of the men have had their driver and vehicle licences revoked, while attempts to contact the third man are ongoing.
Similar investigations into a driver attempting to use a Wellington address, also resulted in the revocation of a licence.
Cllr Patrick Berry, executive councillor for environmental services, said: “It is very important that the travelling public has confidence in taxis, their drivers, and the local authority that issues their licences.
“We have taken positive action to ensure that the taxis and drivers that are permitted to operate in Taunton, live in or near the area and have the necessary knowledge of the towns and the surrounding countryside.
"So our message to the taxi drivers is, ‘You have to work here to have a licence’.”
Mike Davis, of Taunton-based A1 Ace Taxis, said: “Our firm and the whole trade are delighted that the council has used its powers to close this loophole.
"We urge the council to remove all licences from those drivers not plying their trade in Taunton Deane.
“While we are delighted that the new licensing manager John Rendell and his team have acted swiftly, we hope that they will finish the job as Taunton Deane is potentially exposed by those who operate outside the licensing authority without processes for controlling their behaviour.”
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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