Taxi Driver Online

Taxi Test Trade

Officers from Sefton's Licensing Unit teamed up with Merseyside Police to carry out a successful taxi test purchasing operation.

At various locations throughout Merseyside, licensed private hire drivers were approached, without prior booking, and asked to take officers to previously set destinations, receiving payment for their services.

Under current legislation it is illegal for licensed private hire drivers in the borough to pick up customers without booking ahead.

The operation took place during December, 2005, in conjunction with officers from Liverpool City Council. It discovered eight licensed vehicles from Sefton contravening the law. Officers are currently interviewing the drivers caught out.

Currently there are more than 1,800 private hire vehicles and 271 licensed Hackney vehicles in Sefton. There are more than 2,200 licensed private hire drivers and 454 licensed Hackney Cab drivers.

Sefton's Trading Standards manager, Andrew Naisbitt, said: "Unfortunately several licensed drivers from Sefton did agree to take our officers to set destinations without prior booking.

"Not only does this contravene current licensing laws, but it also affects the drivers insurance liabilities if they were involved in a serious accident.

"Depending on where the initial hiring took place the relevant council will now investigate the offence in line with it's own enforcement policy. In Sefton we are currently speaking to six drivers while Liverpool City Council are investigating two Sefton drivers.

"This is a serious offence and something at Sefton we will not take lightly. Similar operations are planned throughout the year as we are determined to stop this happening."

Chair of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee, Cllr Brenda Porter, said: "By carrying out the operations we can help educate drivers about the law and it also shows our commitment to the public in ensuring all licensed vehicles adhere to the law.

"The Council meets regularly with local trade representatives and will work in partnership with drivers, and operators to solve the problem.”

http://www.sefton.gov.uk/page&5423

And as we all know, illegal plying for hire is evidence of un-met taxi demand. See Maud-v-Castlepoint.

So it would seem that Jacobs got Liverpool wrong as well as Edinburgh.

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IDFIMH

Please, don't anyone say 'entrapment'

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Our LO does it all the time, he also swaps with Liverpool and Runcorn LO's so they dont get recognised. It's nothing new.
A few out of 2k drivers isn't to bad, the only way to stop it is take away their licence's. They cant complain.

And as all Hackney Carriage drivers know, Sussex, illegal plying for hire by private hire vehicles, is a sign of oversupply of private hire, who frequently tout, because their operators cannot supply enough work. Why do I have to watch every PH that drops off on the station, lurking around, trying to filch a fare?

Because most p/h drivers are wannabee taxi drivers,why not allow all p/h become taxis issue them all a hack plate even on there old skankey cars and when they all have hackney plates change the rules and make them all have purpose built cabs then we can see the numbers go down

Well then surely the solution is to allow those PH cars doing iffy things to become taxis doing legal things, and guess which is the quickest way of doing that?

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IDFIMH

As strange as it may seem to you old chap, they want to drive around in saloons. Don't want to buy a WAV. Yes, like PH the nation over, they want to have their cake,and eat it too. Would you legalise burglary, to reduce the crime figures?

Well then your council need to act, a few prosecutions and lost licenses will have an effect. But I'm not that sure your manor's LOs are up to it.

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IDFIMH

LO actually. Finding her feet, and out to make a name for herself.

Well if she wants to make a name for herself then I know the perfect policy change for her.

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IDFIMH

In a democracy, a council employees job is to uphold council decisions, not make them.

The sheer scale of the number of Private hire vehicles in sefton makes illegal plying for hire impossible to police. I'm afraid illegal plying for hire in Liverpool as I am sure it is in many other major Cities has been a long standing problem for many years.

The Liverpool Taxi trade have been complaining about it for 30 years and all that's happened in that time, is that the Sefton Private hire trade has grown larger and larger and even larger. So it stands to reason that the percentage call is that the problem will only increase.

Whats the solution and are Licesning officers pizzing up a brick wall?

Regards

JD