The Following articles are in response to ‘hanger’ who said the following in a recent comment:
“Also many ‘passengers’ know the score and are so desparate to get home or their next destination, they know they are picking up taxis at a cheaper, illegal, rate. So it’s their fault if something goes wrong. ”
Private hire taxi driver fined £200
A private hire taxi driver has been fined £200 for unlawfully plying for hire in November 2007. Chaudhary Mohammed Arif of Vere Road, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to charges of unlawfully plying for hire and no insurance at Peterborough Magistrates Court on Friday (2 May).
Arif received six penalty points, a fine of £200 and was also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge fee and £450 costs.
Unlike London-style Hackney cabs, private hire cars must be pre-booked through the company’s operator and not ply for business on the city’s streets. If they do so, they invalidate their insurance. A joint operation between Peterborough City Council’s taxi enforcement team and Cambridgeshire Constabulary caught Arif doing exactly that in November last year.
Plain clothed officers approached Arif’s vehicles in Broadway at 11.20 pm on Saturday 9 November 2007 and he agreed to take them to the Showground.
Ken Gray, Peterborough City Council’s principal taxi enforcement officer, said: “This was an important undercover operation carried out by the city council and the police and I welcome the result.
“The public’s safety is paramount and they need to understand the dangers of getting into a private hire car in circumstances such as this. By getting into a private hire vehicle without a booking its insurance may be invalid, which in the event of an accident could leave a passenger without protection.
“In addition, from a personal safety point of view there is no record of who picked them up. It is extremely important for people to understand the difference between private hire cars and Hackney cabs. We will continue to crack down on any drivers who flout the law.”
‘Flagging’ Offence Brings Disqualification For Private Hire Driver
A private hire car driver who picked up a passenger without a prior booking was fined £25 for unlawfully plying for hire and £40 for not being insured and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £15 at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court today (Thursday 27 September).
Shaffique Chaudhry, 47, of Gladstone Street, Peterborough, received eight penalty points for the insurance offence, activating an automatic six month driving disqualification under the ‘totting-up’ procedure. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay £200 costs. Magistrates imposed low level fines in response to a hardship plea.
Magistrates were told that during a joint exercise between Peterborough City Council’s taxi enforcement team and Cambridgeshire Constabulary in mid-April two plain-clothed special constables asked Chaudhry to take them to Stanground College. On arrival Chaudhry was interviewed by the taxi enforcement officers.
Ken Gray, principal taxi enforcement officer with the city council, said: “The law makes a clear distinction between a London-style Hackney Carriage that can be hailed in the street and private hire cars that must be pre-booked. If a private hire car picks up a passenger without a pre-booking it invalidates the vehicle’s insurance.
“Taxi enforcement officers closely monitor the taxi trade to protect the interests and safety of passengers and will not hesitate to prosecute any private hire driver who is found to be unlawfully plying for hire or ‘flagging’ as it is known in the trade.”
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
could i just say that the public are NOT to blame if something goes wrong, the blame lies soley on the driver who willingly and knowingly engaged in the illegal act.
the public have never to my knowledge been educated on the importance of what to look for and using the correct vehicle, or booking your taxi. I know from fact that sometimes when the public are informed that the drivers insurance is nil and void in the even of a road traffic accident then most will get straight back out.
perhaps, licincing if they decide to re invent themselves could also look to eduacting the public, and students on the do’s and donts. students would be simple, simply attend the threashers briefing and stand in front of x amount of people and give a 5 minute talk. the public would more difficult and may mean a radio advert, or buss stop billboards.
if they consulted with the trade, as the trade is willing to do, and costs of educating the public were proposed, then the trade could consult together to see whether most would be willing to pay a small amount extra on there licence fee to cover the cost. i bet most would say yes, providing it wasnt a one off and then the following year the money collected and used elsewhere.