A Stoke-on-Trent cabbie will have to fork out more than £500 after plying for trade illegally in Stone.
Ramzan Nawaz, aged 30, was stopped after a joint operation between police and Stafford Borough Council to crack down on rogue minicabs.
Magistrates heard Nawaz agreed to take a plain-clothed policewoman and council officer to a local pub when they approached his Lucky Seven private hire vehicle in Station Road, Stone. Private hire drivers can only pick up passengers that have booked in advance – and it is illegal for them to collect customers in the street or from a taxi rank. Private hire vehicles that ply for hire invalidate their insurance and put their passengers and other drivers at risk in the event of an accident.
Nawaz, of Lakeside Close, Etruria, admitted plying for hire in an unlicensed vehicle in August. He was given a £135 fine, ordered to pay costs of £353.60 and a £20 victim surcharge when he appeared before Newcastle magistrates on Tuesday.
Cabinet Member for Environment and Health, Councillor Frank Finlay, said following the case: “We are determined to clamp down on private hire drivers who stick two fingers up at the law by coming into the borough and picking up residents with no prior booking. One of our top priorities is the health and wellbeing of our community and this operation aims to protect the public as they are at risk, because these vehicles will not be insured if they are picking up passengers in this way.”
Another Stoke cabbie, caught as part of the same joint operation, was given a conditional discharge when he appeared before Stafford Magistrates for a similar offence in December.
The ‘Safer Nights’ operation aims to reduce the risks to residents of uninsured and unsafe vehicles on the roads in the borough. More information on taxis and private hire vehicles can be found at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/taxis-and-minicabs
4 comments
David Clift
As a licensed taxi driver in stone £500 for plying for hire illegally is know where close to the punishment he should have received when he was pulled over the police should be impounding there cars as they have invalid insurance and the base operator who’s signs are on the side of the car should have £10000 fine for encouraging there drivers to work illegally and finally the driver should lose his taxi license as he would now not be a fit and proper person to hold a license because handing out slap on the rist fines are not solving the problem as there is still at least ten cabs working illegally every friday and Saturday night in stone and the police just stand there whatching doing nothing about it
Peter Calvert
Private Hire Vehicles that ply for hire invalidate their insurance and put their passengers and other drivers at risk in the event of an accident. Whether all ‘taxis’ should be Hackney Carriages that can be ‘hailed’ by passengers is a different question. Hackney drivers will say they are licensed to a higher standard and shouldn’t be subject to unfair competition.
Jamie Summerfield
Thanks for the clarification, Peter. Much appreciated. I’ll add that into the article
Rob Stanway
Great to see the police and council catching the ‘real criminals’ in our community.
Taxi’s pulled up in Station Road would actually be a great idea to get the punters of the popular bars home safely.
I’ve never understood why certain taxis are limited to being able to pick up only when booked on advance whilst others can wait in a rank and often charge double the amount of the prebooked firms.
The police are too busy criminalising ordinary decent folk instead of making life easier.
I hope that no burglaries, assaults or worse happened on that evening whilst focus was on this petty investigation.