Taxi Driver Online

Well this is as clear as mud

Not entirely clear how the PHD was overcharging other than that the fare levied was more than normal.

And the lack of pre-booking isn't explained either, since it looks like some kind of regular telephone booking rather than plying for hire.

I'm guessing that it's more to do with the PHD taking bookings without an operator's licence


Taxi driver who blamed overcharging on coronavirus loses licence

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black- ... g-21474707

She charged more than double the usual price for a trip to Russells Hall Hospital

A BlackCountry taxi driver has lost her licence after charging almost double the standard fair to a hospital.

Sahrish Rahat Ayub picked up passengers who had not pre-booked their journey, which was a requirement of both her private hire licence and car insurance policy.

Magistrates dismissed Ayub’s appeal against City of Wolverhampton Council’s decision to revoke her private hire driver licence.

In April last year, council officers received a complaint that Ayub, 25, had picked up a passenger who had not pre-booked the journey.

The customer was charged £15 for a trip to Russells Hall Hospital from her home in Dudley, which is typically priced at £7.

When questioned by council officers, Ayub, of Broadway, Solihull, said the increased cost was a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The customer had been provided with a business card containing Ayub’s personal phone number and she told him she had set up her own business.

Ayub had frequently carried the passenger on journeys which had not been pre-booked which is illegal.

Councillor Philip Page, chairman of the council’s regulatory committee, said: “We take public safety very seriously at Wolverhampton.

“Placing members of the public at unnecessary risk by taking a booking without valid insurance is unacceptable.”

City of Wolverhampton Council currently operates a ‘Get Home Safe’ campaign which seeks to make sure the public are aware of the differences between hiring hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

The campaign highlights the risks involved in taking an unlicensed vehicle and how to identify a legitimate taxi or private hire driver.

well if he was taking non pre booked maybe he was charging more than the Hackney tariff ?

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

She should have said WTF has the price I charged got to do with you.

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IDFIMH

An alternative version of the Birmingham Mail's piece in the Express & Star clarifies the booking issue.



So that clarifies it for readers on here, but I suspect an editor thought that the detail of the illegality wasn't required for the more general readership of the Birmingham Mail - instead of quoting the legislation etc, they considered it sufficient just to say that the arrangment was illegal.

By the same token, the Express & Star version avoids the t-word (see below) and uses the correct terminology throughout. Again an editor presumably thought that the t-word would make for better public understanding rather than 'private hire'.

But apart from that the articles seem to be identical.

Didn't notice the other day that the driver was only 25, so a female BAME driver of that age a bit different from the norm


Private hire driver loses licence for overcharging passenger after illegal pick-up

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/loc ... -for-hire/

A Wolverhampton private hire driver who overcharged a customer, while taking her on an uninsured journey that wasn't pre-booked, has had her licence revoked.


But still none the wiser as regards the 'overcharging' aspect

Licensing officers ignorant of the law.

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IDFIMH

If a non prebooked fare is undertaken surely the hackney rates pertaining to that district would be the basis for assessing whether or not the passenger was over charged

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

Maybe the council just threw in the overcharging thing to make their case look stronger, although there was perhaps no legal basis for it, but they had her bang to rights on the lack of operator's licence anyway.

Of course, the precise issue with the pricing isn't disclosed, so maybe if the details were known to that degree there may be a fit and proper issue.

For example, she may have breached some kind of ongoing pricing agreement, whether expressly agreed or implied - maybe she doubled the usual fare after the job, but hadn't made that known in advance.

So it's maybe more in the domain of contract law, but to the extent she could be considered to be in breach of contract, that can be a factor as regards her fitness.

But presumably the punter took issue with this, complained to the council, and the lack of an operator's licence came to light.

If she'd been properly licensed I doubt they would have pursued her on the overcharging thing, whether or not she should have agreed the increased fare in advance.

Nope.

I can charge £1,000 a mile if I want, provided the punter is aware or it's displayed in the car/website.

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IDFIMH