FIT AND PROPER FOUR PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS FINED FOR UNLAWFULLY SOLICITING FARES AT HENLEY REGATTA
Four private hire drivers have been slapped with fines totalling over £6,000 for unlawfully soliciting fares at Henley Regatta. Tahir Mehmood Awan, 53, from Maidenhead, admitted to illegally offering taxi services in Henley on June 30. Awan, who was not licensed by the South Oxfordshire DC, took the opportunity to transport another rider back to his hometown for cash. Oxford
Magistrates’ Court
considered his early guilty plea and personal means and fined him £310, along with a victim surcharge of £120 and costs of £1,100. On the same day,
Yassar
Mahmood, 39, also from Maidenhead, faced similar charges referring back to July 1. Despite initially disputing the claims, Mr Mahmood also pleaded guilty in court and was ordered to pay a total of £1,358. A third defendant, Haroon Qayyum, 39, from High Wycombe, was convicted on February 23 in his absence. The court heard Mr Qayyum had instructed a “passenger” to pretend they had pre-booked his service, unaware the “passenger” was a South Oxfordshire licensing officer. Mr Qayyum was subsequently fined £660, with a victim surcharge
of £264 and costs of £1,100. Mohammed Siddeeque, 46, from Reading, also admitted to illicit operation and was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and £1,126 in costs. In court, Mr Siddeeque said: “I had a clean driving licence and held licences with TfL, and both Reading and Fareham councils and had never had problems previously.” Leader of South Oxfordshire DC stated: “We take the safety of our residents very seriously and our officers work hard to make sure unlicensed taxis are stopped from operating in our district.”
FINE & POINTS FOR CO DURHAM PH BOSS WHO USED UNLICENSED DRIVER FOR WHEELCHAIR TRANSPORT
A taxi boss allowed a wheelchair user to be regularly transported by an unlicensed driver. Andrew Michael Bird, 53, has been slapped with eight driving licence penalty points and ordered to pay £2,183 after being prosecuted by Durham County Council (DCC) at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court. The court heard that council officers were carrying out an operation last July when they saw a minibus arrive at the Pathways Centre in Pity Me, Durham. They watched the passenger, a wheelchair user, exiting the vehicle and being taken into the centre by the driver and a passenger assistant. The minibus had Birds Taxis branding on it and was plated as a private hire vehicle. Checks were carried out on the
PHTM APRIL 2024
vehicle, including of the straps holding the wheelchair in place, and the driver and passenger assistant were asked for their driver licence badge and auth- orisation badge respectively. Magistrates were told neither had badges with them, with the pass- enger assistant having forgotten hers. The driver said he didn’t have a licence from DCC. The court was told that Bird has held a private hire operator licence since around 2001 and holds a number of contracts with DCC to transport children and vulnerable adults to either school or work. As a PH operator, Bird is required to keep detailed booking records. However magistrates heard the booking records he produced had little of the information required.
The court heard Bird had allowed the wheelchair user to be driven by the unlicensed driver on an almost daily basis for over six months. That driver had not taken the know- ledge tests set by DCC and there’d been no DBS or medical check. Magistrates heard there was no insurance in place as the defendant was allowing an unlicensed driver to drive a licensed vehicle. Bird, from Shildon, pleaded guilty to three charges and was fined £1,320, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £528 and costs of £335, and given the driving licence points. Ian Harrison, the council’s business compliance manager, said: “Mr Bird had no way of knowing if the driver was a fit and proper person potentially putting the passenger at risk.”
17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
