BRADFORD

A CRACKDOWN has started on a licensing loophole which Council bosses believe could leave some minicab drivers not fully insured.

Bradford Council's licensing officials have become growing increasingly concerned at the number of cabbies in Bradford who are getting their licenses from other local authorities.

Council bosses were worried that the move was being used as a way to avoid Bradford’s notoriously high insurance premiums, so earlier this year they decided to tighten the rules around the practice.

Now, private hire operators who take on such drivers must prove the cabbies have told their insurers they will be predominately based in Bradford – or the operators risk losing their own licence.

But with the new regulations coming into effect, some private hire firms say the paperwork burden is proving a nightmare for them.

Azad Khan, owner of 1st Choice Private Hire, Keighley, said: "Bradford Council is trying to put the burden on us.

"The Council is trying to tell us to do their dirty work. It's nothing to do with us.

"They can't stop these drivers from working in other areas. It's not up to me to tell them they can't work. The Council should try to change the law."

Under the law, cabbies can get a hackney carriage licence from one area and then work as a private hire driver throughout the country.

But the practice has sparked concerns locally, as other local authorities have different standards for drivers' criminal records, vehicle safety and other licensing criteria including knowledge tests.

The tighter operators' regulations were brought in after the Council’s regulatory and appeals committee debated the issue in January. Operators also have to prove the vehicles have undergone safety checks.

Khurram Shehzad, chairman of Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, said: "I'm disgusted that the Council are using the operators to get these out-of-town licensed drivers out.

"I think they are doing it because the money for the licensing is going out of Bradford.”

But Councillor David Warburton, chairman of the regulatory and appeals committee, refuted this claim and said the resolutions were brought in to protect the public by making sure all drivers were properly insured to work in Bradford.

He said: "It's about safety and security.

"It's not a clamp down, it's making sure the public are safe. We have a duty of care to the public. If anything untoward happens, the public are safe.”

He said the authority did “not want to stop people working” and drivers were still free to get their licenses from other areas if they wanted to.

A Council spokesman added: "These conditions to private hire operators’ licenses were introduced to ensure the safety of the public by providing proof that all taxis operating in Bradford are properly safety checked and insured, wherever their licence is issued."

And not all private hire bosses are against the move.

Stuart Hastings, boss of private hire firm Metro Keighley, said he backed Bradford Council's tightening of the rules “absolutely, without a doubt”, as all drivers should be properly insured.

Mr Hastings, who also heads up Keighley Private Hire Association, said: “If you said to your insurer you work in a different area and it is proven you work in Bradford, then there's a reason they have not to pay out.”

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said cab drivers who misled their insurer about where they did the majority of their work “may find that they will not be covered if their vehicle is stolen or damaged”.

She said: “However innocent third parties, such as passengers or other drivers, would be covered if they are injured in an accident, either by the taxi owner’s insurer or through a fund which compensates the victims of uninsured drivers.”

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/12942056.Cabbies_face_insurance_crackdown_amid_concerns_over_licensing_loophole/
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CRIMINAL gangs plan to target Glasgow cabbies with fake bank notes, the Evening Times can today reveal.

It is feared fraudsters will palm off piles of counterfeit money on unwitting taxi drivers across the city.
Cabbies were today warned to be on their guard for criminals who will go to astonishing lengths to dupe them.
A recent Evening Times investigation revealed fake Clydesdale Bank £20 notes were being used in scam deals in Glasgow.
Authorities, including taxi firm bosses, insist they are not aware of any influx of counterfeit currency.
But taxi drivers are being urged to be vigilant when they handle currency.
One cabbie told the Evening Times he won't hand over any change to a customer without testing the bank notes they have paid him with.
Stephen Flynn, vice chairman of Glasgow Taxis Ltd, said: "We've had no recent feedback from our members and drivers that the issues of fake bank note use is a significant one at present.
"However we are grateful to the Evening Times for bringing this to our attention and will be contacting our full fleet of drivers this week to remind them to continue to be vigilant on this front.
"Any incidents, which do seem to be irregular and sporadic, we continue to take seriously and will report to police."
Fake cash leaves taxi drivers - the majority of whom are self-employed - with the worthless currency and out of pocket after having given real cash back as change.
Police previously vowed to track down criminals printing and using dud bills.
Genuine Scottish bank notes have a watermark that is hardly visible until it is held up to light.
A metallic thread is embedded in the paper of all bank notes and appears as silver dashes on the back of the note.
When held up to the light, the metallic thread appears as a continuous dark line.
Each note also has an individual serial number and fluorescent features, which show up only when they are exposed to ultraviolet light.
During last summer's Commonwealth Games, we told how criminals were targeting Glasgow with fake bank notes.
Fraudsters were also using counterfeit £20 notes in scam deals in parts of the city.
Officers were forced to warn both locals and visitors to be vigilant when handling currency, after reports of fake £20 notes circulating in Maryhill.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/warning-over-fake-cash-scam-to-cabbies-206264n.125470034