Taxi Driver Online

Reading Council prosecutes two drivers for illegally plying for hire in January

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news ... n-january/

Reading Council has prosecuted two drivers for illegally plying for hire this month.

On January 18, 52-year-old Abdul Qayyum Siddique, of London Road, Reading, pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates’ Court to illegally plying for hire.

Siddique did not have a private hire driver’s licence and also had no insurance.

At 9.30am on June 20 2018, Siddique was spotted outside Reading Station accepting money from a passenger.

Council officers approached him and discovered that he was unlicensed.

He was fined £100 for plying for hire and has had eight points added to his DVLA licence.

On the same day at Reading Magistrates’ Court, Najuhullal Rahmanullah, 32, of Bath Road in Slough, pleaded guilty to illegally plying for hire.

On August 24 last year, during Reading Festival, Mr Rahmanullah, offered to take Council Officers on Richfield Avenue to Windsor without a booking.

Rahmanullah pleaded guilty to plying for hire and was fined £200, with legal costs of £200 and a £30 victim surcharge.

Cllr Tony Page, lead councillor for strategic environment, planning and transport, said: "Two successful prosecutions this month send out the clear message this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

"Our hard working licensing team carry out regular test purchases and spot checks to protect the public from drivers who are tempted to work illegally and opportunistically in Reading.

"I hope both these prosecutions serve as a deterrent to others."

Not much to see here, but in view of the small number of councils who do seem to prosecute these things, and that this is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg, shouldn't there be some sort of fixed penalty notice system to deal with such matters?

Seems a huge rigmarole for this kind of thing, and no doubt that's why many councils simply don't seem to bother.

I assume the Law Commission examined such a possibility, but it was rejected?

They did propose that as a way of dealing with these matters, however we are still waiting for gov to reply to the Law Commission.

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IDFIMH

which they never will because the law commission don't contribute to Tory party funds unlike Ufail

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

The reason most Councils do not bother is enforcement officers do not enforce the LAW they are the most laziest of all Council employees.The bulk of them do not know what they are supposed to enforce,only interested in their pay packet at the end of the month which comes out of the licence fees paid by the TAXI and private hire vehicle proprietors and drivers.