Crackdown on taxi licences at Temple Meads

THE city council teamed up with the police to launch a crackdown on taxi licensing.

Officers suspended ten drivers after checking the safety of Hackney Carriages and private hire cars at Temple Meads on Saturday.

Staff from Revenue and Custom were also there to check if drivers were working legally.

Ian Wilkinson, of the licensing department, who carried out the exercise, said: “All the defects were ones obvious to any competent driver and so their failure was pretty disappointing.

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”As usual the agencies found the exercise very worthwhile”.

Of the 62 vehicles checked, 40 were licensed for private hire use, and the remainder as Hackney carriages. Most of the vehicles were found to be compliant with legal requirements, but ten were not

(7 of which were private hire vehicles), and the licences were suspended with immediate effect until the necessary remedial work was carried out.

Police issued one fixed penalty notice for a tyre offence and several others for lighting offences.

Councillor Fi Hance, chairwoman of the public safety and protection comittee at the council, said: “We were pleased that in most cases the vehicles examined were in good condition, as no prior announcement of the checks had been made.

“However, the amount of defects showed that we must be vigilant to make sure passengers are travelling in safe vehicles.”

“We would like to thank drivers for their patience during the stop checks and assure them that operations like this make the roads of Bristol safer for passengers and other drivers.

“The majority of taxis in Bristol are legal and safe and these operations are welcomed by responsible members of the taxi trade.

“Licensed Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles play an important role in Bristol, especially in relation to the night time economy, but we need to send out a clear message we will not tolerate any breaches of licensing conditions that could have a negative impact on public safety."