Taxi Driver Online

Does beg the question as to why it's taken them so long to read up on the legislation.

Essex council wants Stansted Airport illegal taxi tout crackdown just like Heathrow

An Essex council has announced its plans to expand a crackdown on illegal taxi touts at Stansted Airport. Speaking in an Uttlesford District Council on July 11, council officer Jamie Livermore said the authority "disrupted a number of suspected touts" after a trial procedure earlier this year.

He also said the district council will look to run more of the operations this summer. Mr Livermore said of Uttlesford District Council's trial operation: "While we weren't able to take any formal action, we were able to disrupt a number of suspected touts.

"We will look to run more of these operations over the summer months while schools are closed and we are able to commit more time to doing so." Touting is a criminal offence under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

It is characterised by private hire vehicle or minicab drivers soliciting customers for business in public, or accepting journeys without prior booking. Only black cab taxis are authorised to pick travellers up on the street without a booking.

Drivers who are arrested and charged with touting are additionally charged with holding no valid insurance for carrying passengers. Mr Livermore, the district council's senior licensing and compliance officer, told the licensing committee the authority shadowed Metropolitan Police officers and Transport for London officials at Heathrow in March this year.

_________________
IDFIMH

As is often the case when touting is mentioned, you wonder whether it's actually plying for hire, or both.

I mean, the highlighted part is presumably referring to plying for hire rather than touting

Not sure it would be plying for hire as you can't get your car anywhere near the airport unless you pay crazy money to park up for a short while.

I suspect it's people in arrivals touting passengers personally.

_________________
IDFIMH

Most likely "reps" for rival companies to the airport official trying to pinch their customers. I would have thought as they would have off airport parking they could easily undercut the official airport taxis as they are very expensive.

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

I do quite a lot of Gatwick and Heathrow work, and I've never seen a tout tout at either of them.

_________________
IDFIMH

I have had customers tell me they were approached at Gatwick, and, Stansted but must admit never noticed or heard about it at LHR but the fact that announcements are regularly made at LHR suggests it must go on

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