Liverpool Council continued to clamp down on dodgy drivers at football matches in the final month of the Premier League season.
Across the month of May, one private hire driver was cautioned for illegally plying for hire outside one of the football grounds.
Elsewhere, two Hackney cab drivers were cautioned for failing to wear the correct badges while trying to pick up football fans.
Operation Topaz is a campaign by the city council to improve the taxi and private hire trades during football matches in the city.
It was launched after a host of complaints about drivers charging exorbitant fares to fans upfront, cherrypicking certain fares and private hire drivers illegally plying for hire after full time.
Across the city, the council had a busy month in its bid to clean up both trades in general.
During May, a total of 40 cabs and taxis were either taken off the streets or served with serious defect notices for a string of faults.
The team also took five cars off the road that belonged to taxi drivers from outside Liverpool. Any driver issued with a defect notice has seven days to make repairs or face further action.
Three Sefton-based private hire drivers were prosecuted for taking passengers who had not booked their journey in advance (plying for hire), whilst three black cab drivers were fined for being selective in what fares they took, rather than taking the nearest available passenger (cherry picking).
A further 53 taxi and private hire drivers were given written cautions for violations including failing to display their badges, not having valid insurance and failing to ensure the safety of their passengers.
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, Cllr James Noakes, said: “This is another successful month for the enforcement team and it is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved that they have been able to identify so many drivers who are not playing by the rules.
src=Liverpoolecho.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------
NOTTINGHAM
Private hire drivers were fined for breaking taxi rules after a judge told one: "This was for a quick gain and ultimately greed."
Both picked up plain clothes police officers and drove without insurance cover because of the hackney carriage rules, Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard.
Private hire drivers have to be booked - they can't pick people up from the streets.
Mustafa Nasserie was seen by a police officer at the reception area of the Queen's Medical Centre on February 22, said Ben Payne, prosecuting.
"He asked if he would take him into the city. The defendant asked him where he wanted to go and he said the Trinity Square area. The defendant agreed and both officers got in," said Mr Payne.
Uniformed officers were alerted and they stopped Nasserie, 29, of Springhead Court, Bulwell. He admitted plying for hire without being licensed as a hackney carriage and having no insurance.
He was fined £650 with £85 prosecution costs and a £45 government surcharge.
District Judge Leo Pyle told him: "You drove your Toyota straight through the licensing laws which are aimed at ensuring all persons are fit and proper, vehicles are safe and ultimately the public are safe.
"The only thing I am able to conclude is that this was for a quick gain and ultimately greed."
Nasserie told the court: "I can't say anything."
Later identical charges were admitted by Gurnam Taak, 43, of Highbury Close, Nuthall. He was fined £480 with £85 prosecution costs and a £38 surcharge.
The pair each had eight penalty points put on their licences. The judge ordered them to report their court appearances to the councils which issued their private hire licences.
In Taak's case, the court heard that he was seen on Friar Lane on the same night. When asked if he was free, he told the police officer that he was waiting for someone. But a few minutes later, Taak told the officer "I can take you," added Mr Payne.
Taak said: "At the time, I was very confused because I had some family issues."
The officer left after the first conversation but then stood in front of the car.
"I felt really intimidated when he came back to me," Taak added.
www.nottinghampost.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
BLACKBURN
Checks making it easier to uncover past criminal behaviour of prospective taxi drivers are set to be adopted in Blackburn with Darwen.
Earlier this year, The Department for Transport (DfT) launched a consultation on new licensing guidelines for councils.
The proposed measures consulted on included recommending every local authority ensures drivers have an enhanced criminal record and background check before they can operate.
This means vital information about a driver’s past behaviour is missed and a driver might be granted a licence in a new area despite having a licence revoked elsewhere.
In response to this, the Local Government Association (LGA) has commissioned the development of a national register of all revoked and refused private hire and hackney carriage drivers licences.
Authorities will need to update policies, provide historical data to the database and amend forms and information given to drivers.
Information about a previous revocation or refusal of a licence there is often no way for a licensing authority to find out about it.
This means vital information about a driver’s past behaviour is missed and a driver might be granted a licence in a new area despite having a licence revoked elsewhere.
In response to this, the Local Government Association (LGA) has commissioned the development of a national register of all revoked and refused private hire and hackney carriage drivers licences.
Authorities will need to update policies, provide historical data to the database and amend forms and information given to drivers.
In particular, all the drivers who have been refused or revoked in the past will need to be written to individually and informed that their details will be entered onto the register.
Last year, information released by the Disclosure and Barring Service under the Freedom of Information Act showed paedophiles and fraudsters were among the criminals whose convictions were revealed as part of the process of applying to be taxi drivers in Blackburn with Darwen.
Figures showed 315 people with a total of 1,678 offences applied for a check as part of their bid to hold a licence to drive a taxi in the borough over the last three years.
Executive member for environment, Cllr Jim Smith, said: “The simple objective is to ensure that all authorities are able to make properly informed decisions on whether an applicant is fit and proper, in the knowledge that another authority has reached a negative view on the same applicant.
“This will be achieved by providing a mechanism for allowing authorities to check.
“Whenever an authority receives an application for a licence they must check at an early stage if that driver is on the register.
“Every decision must be made on its own merits; a previous refusal or revocation cannot fetter the Licensing Authority’s decision by relying on the previous decision.
“However, it will always be relevant for an authority to consider the previous revocation or refusal and reasons for it.”
The register will be hosted by the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) through a dedicated secure portal.
An officer will be designated to input and retrieve information from the register.
www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------
ROYAL ASCOT
Royal borough residents are divided over plans to allow taxi drivers to charge up to fifty per cent more for journeys from Royal Ascot to elsewhere in the borough.
This comes after drivers complained about the time it takes to get back to the racecourse’s taxi rank because of increased traffic around the venue.
In April, councillors at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) agreed to support drivers by allowing them to charge up to 50 per cent more if customers want to be taken to a destination closer to the event.
Read more about the key decision here
Just days before the historic races get underway, residents have reacted to the news they could be paying more to get back from Royal Ascot.
Andrew Ford, from Ascot, said he thought the plans might lead to some customers arguing over the price of a journey with drivers.
He said: “It's a competitive market out there and if you're in no rush there's no arguing over the fare with Uber.”
Another resident told the News: “I use local taxis all year but find it difficult to justify the increase during Royal Ascot.
However, a number of residents got behind the proposals, which are going ahead under a trial basis this year.
“I use local Ascot taxi firms all year round and I don’t begrudge them at all.”
Another added: “I think it is enterprising and actually they are dealing with traffic and possibly louder customers.
“I don't have a problem with it. Everyone else is benefitting by hiking their prices, why not the taxi drivers too?”
The proposals were rubber stamped in April after a long discussion between RBWM councillors and taxi drivers.
“This will be a trial for this event and further consideration will be given following a report to the licensing panel in July.”
Royal Ascot runs from Tuesday, June 18
www.bracknellnews.co.uk
------------------------------------------------
HULL
A taxi driver jailed for 16 years after stabbing and strangling his teenage wife to death because she refused to move to Hull.
Mohammad Qoraishi killed his wife Parwin, in Kent on Christmas Day 2018, when he hit her across the head with a frying pan, stabbed her 38 times in the head, face, chest and thighs, and finally strangled her.
Qoraishi, 27, was working as a black cab driver in Hull and it is believed most of his trade was outside Paragon Interchange, before he made the move to Maidstone in November to be with his new wife, who was 19.
Last week, Maidstone Crown Court heard the couple had had an arranged marriage in Afghanistan in August last year.
hulldailymail.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment