Taxi Driver Online

summat's not right here

A TAXI driver who asked for £15 for a ten minute journey has been fined for overcharging.

Taxi driver Stephen Raymond Williams pleaded guilty at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court.

Officers from Durham County Council had pre-booked a taxi for a 10 minute journey from Whorlton to Greta Bridge, in Teesdale, during a test purchases exercise in November.

They received a text message telling them the fare would be £15. When Williams arrived, he did not activate his meter and subsequently charged them the £15.

According to the council’s tariff of charges, the journey should have cost between £5.80 and £7.70.

During an interview, Williams said that all journeys were charged in this manner and that he hadn’t realised he should be setting his meter for every job.

In a letter to the court, Williams said that the fare had been agreed in advance and that had he been a private hire driver, he would not have been committing an offence.

Williams, 46, of South Cleatham, Winston, in Teesdale, was given a conditional discharge as a result of his early guilty plea but was ordered to pay £320 in costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Owen Cleugh, Durham County Council’s consumer protection manager, said: “The aim of taxi licensing is to protect the public.

"It is important that people know they can rely on taxis working in our county and we will do all we can to ensure this is the case.”

so this was a pre booked private hire of a hackney from the sounds of it! So where does it say that hackneys have to charge meter rates and only meter rate that said it was more than meter rate by the sounds of it

but should test purchases be done by pre booking surely they should be testing vehicles off the rank and I wonder if the SKDC case was looked at by the magistrates or council bods because it sounds to me as if the booking was made between two points more than 3 miles from the main post office

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

I suspect it was a Uber car/taxi operating on a surge.

Hackney rates even apply to hackney stupid enough to be on Uber.

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IDFIMH

Seems correct to me Edders.

If you drive a Hackney, all work within the licensing district must be at or less than the meter. Go outside the district and the fare can be negotiated in advance.

If Whorlton and Greta Bridge are both in the district the meter must be used. If they are not then he has no case to answer.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

may i refer the honourable angler fish to the following case

D C Parsons vs South kesteven district council

the council argued as the text highlighted in red and LOST !!!!

the judgement was that the meter can be started if the start and finish of the job is more than 3 miles from the main post office of the district where the license is issued

I suspect neither the individual nor the magistrates were aware of this case

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

The higher courts have said otherwise, which is why they were unaware.

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IDFIMH

Point me in the right direction regarding legislation or directive can be found for this 3 mile scenario.