BRADFORD x 2

EIGHTEEN taxi drivers have had their licences suspended after a joint crackdown by the police and Bradford Council. 

Chief Inspector Sarah Baker, of Bradford District police, said: “These checks were carried out to make sure that drivers were complying with the conditions of their licences and for safety reasons. 

“In total, 66 vehicles were stopped with 18 drivers suspended for breaching their conditions. 

“Police will continue to work in partnership with Bradford Council to make sure that private hire drivers comply with their terms and conditions and that the vehicles remain roadworthy.” 

Khurram Shehzad, chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, said he had concerns that some private hire drivers had been unfairly suspended for picking up customers who had not pre-booked. 

He said in a new tactic, enforcement officers had posed as customers, which he suggested could be seen as entrapment. 

Mr Shehzad said the drivers had made a genuine mistake when trying to find the customers who had booked them. 

A council spokesman said: “It’s illegal for private hire drivers to ply for trade and take fares without booking. . .

“There has been no change in the council’s approach to enforcement.” 

The operation ran from October 4 to October 31. 
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TAXI drivers are dodging the district's strict safety checks by exploiting a legal loophole.

And the problem is "out of control", according to the owner of one cab firm.

Some local cabbies are deliberately getting their licences from other local authorities rather than from Bradford Council.

This means Bradford's licensing enforcement officers, who often carry out spot safety checks on cabs, have no jurisdiction over these drivers.

It also means the cabbies can get lower motor insurance premiums, compared to Bradford's high prices, licensing bosses believe.

And other local authorities also have different standards for drivers' criminal records, vehicle safety and other licensing criteria such as whether cabbies have to sit knowledge tests.

Many drivers are getting their licenses from Rossendale Council in Lancashire, a rural area which has no upper limit on the number of hackney carriage licenses it will give out.

Stuart Hastings, the boss of private hire firm Metro Keighley, said he refused to take on drivers who had Rossendale licenses, but he estimated there were 30 to 40 Rossendale drivers in Keighley alone.

He said: "It is out of control."

Mr Hastings said there was a perception that the licensing regime was less strict in Rossendale than in Bradford.


Khurram Shehzad, the chairman of Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, said he disapproved of the practice of using Rossendale licences.

But he said drivers were doing so out of frustration with Bradford's strict licensing rules.

He said: "I don't think it is a good idea, but the council is forcing drivers to go there, because they are so heavy-handed."

Licensing bosses first started spotting the Rossendale cabs around two years ago, and it is now believed that around 80 drivers in Bradford hold these licences.

But the practice is entirely legal - hackney carriages licensed for one area can lawfully operate as private hire cars anywhere else in the country.

Councillor Brian Morris (Ukip, Keighley West), a former taxi driver, said he was very worried that the safety of the public was being put at risk by a "stupid and ridiculous" law.

He said: "If a Rossendale taxi driver, or any other out-of-town taxi driver, comes and works in Keighley, how does the public know that the man sitting behind the wheel is the man who has actually got the licence? They don't.


http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/NEWS/11621152.Taxi_drivers_dodge_district_s_strict_safety_checks_by_exploiting_legal_loophole/?ref=rss
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Scotland.

Health chiefs pick up £3.5m transport bill

More than £3.5 million was spent by cash-strapped health chiefs on taxi fares and mileage claims last year.

NHS Lothian spent £849,376 – more than most health boards spent in six years – on cabs to ferry staff and patients about, as well as transporting equipment and medical documents such as X-rays and case notes.

A further £2.72m was doled out in mileage claims as bosses admit they are struggling to meet this year’s savings target of £39.4m, with a shortfall of £4m in the first six months.

Jean Turner, a former GP and the executive director of the Scotland Patients Association, said the money would be better spent lightening the load on overstretched staff.

She said: “When you think of all the staff or drugs that could be provided with that, it’s a waste. It would be better spent on frontline services rather than ferrying people and things from one place to another.

“They use taxis for carrying notes and even prescriptions, so the taxi bill is going to be high. If we’re looking to save money then I think it would be a good area to look at and see why we’re using them and if it’s really necessary.”

The 12-month taxi bill is more than four times the £198,675.80 spent between September 2009 to August 2010 and is more than NHS Fife, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Borders and NHS Western Isles each paid between 2007 and 2013.

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/health/health-chiefs-pick-up-3-5m-transport-bill-1-3614048