Prosecutions
This page shows cases taken by the City Council insofar as these relate to offences committed in respect of the Taxi Licensing Service.
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."
Private hire company fined £500
A private hire company has been fined £500 for operating
an unlicensed vehicle to pick up fares.
Stuart Barber, of Buckthorn Road, Hampton Hargate,
Peterborough, pleaded guilty at Peterborough Magistrates Court on
Thursday (17 April) to operating an unlicensed vehicle as a private
hire vehicle, failing to wear a private hire badge and failing to
keep a record of bookings.
Barber, who runs A Class Above, was also ordered to pay a
£15 victim surcharge fee and £450 costs.
Posing as a customer, Peterborough City Council's taxi
enforcement officers arranged a fake booking for the unlicensed
vehicle in November 2007.
Barber accepted the booking and met a plain clothed police
community support officer posing as the customer. Taxi enforcement
officers stepped in and interviewed Barber, subsequently reporting
him for the suspected offences.
Ken Gray, Peterborough City Council's principal taxi
enforcement officer, said: "Any complaints made about private hire
companies will be fully investigated.
"We mechanically test all licensed vehicles and check
registration and insurance documents before allowing the vehicle to
carry the public.
"The vehicle is then tested annually, six monthly if over
five-years-old and the drivers are subjected to annual criminal
record checks.
"If an unlicensed vehicle is used to carry fare paying
passengers the city council won't have been able to check its
roadworthiness, whether it is correctly insured or whether the
person driving the vehicle is fit and proper to carry members of
the public.
"Any allegation will be fully investigated and those suspected
of operating outside of the law will be prosecuted."
Private Hire Driver Fined £400
A private hire taxi driver, who illegally picked-up passengers
without taking an advance booking, had no insurance and failed to
keep a proper record of bookings, was fined £400 at
Peterborough Magistrates' Court.
Mohammed Kurshied, 36, of Mayor's Walk, Peterborough, had
pleaded not guilty to the three offences. However, the court heard
how a joint operation between Peterborough City Council and
Cambridgeshire Constabulary, involving two plain clothed special
constables, led to the successful prosecution of the city
cabbie.
Kurshied was 'flagged down' by the two officers, who asked him
to take them to Stanground. For no apparent reason the cabbie
decided to cut the journey short at Boongate, asking the officers
to get out of the vehicle. At that point they identified themselves
and were met at the location by members of the city council's taxi
enforcement team.
Ken Gray, principal taxi enforcement officer at the city
council, said: "The law makes a clear distinction between a Hackney
Carriage a London cab 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 interest 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.
"Many private hire drivers carry out their trade lawfully and
condemn the few that bring the trade into disrepute. People
who wish to use a private hire vehicle must pre-book the vehicle
with the private hire company, not the driver, to ensure they are
legally covered."
Kurshied was fined £100 for unlawfully plying for hire,
a further £200 and six penalty points for having no
insurance, and £100 for failing to keep a proper record of
his bookings. In addition he was ordered to pay £235 in costs
and a £15 victim surcharge.
'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."
Two Private Hire Cabbies Fined
Two private hire cabbies, who were unlawfully plying for hire, have been fined after pleading guilty at Peterborough Magistrates' Court yesterday (Thursday 6 September).
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. However, a joint operation between
Peterborough City Council taxi enforcement and Cambridgeshire
Constabulary caught Mohammed Kabir and Pervaiz Akhtar doing exactly
that in April 2007.
Plain clothed officers approached Kabir on Broadway, in
Peterborough, at 10.38 pm on 14 April, and he agreed to take them
to the East of England Showground. In addition, the cabbie was not
wearing his private hire badge an important piece of identification
and he was subsequently charged on both counts.
Appearing in court yesterday (Thursday 6 September), Kabir, of
Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to both charges. He
was fined £75 for each offence, ordered to pay prosecution
costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £15.
Akhtar, of Williamson Avenue, West Town, Peterborough, was
caught after picking up plain clothed officers at 1.27 am on 15
April, at the bus stop adjacent to Woolworths, in Bourges Boulevard
and agreeing to take them to Stanground. He entered a guilty plea
by post and was fined £75, ordered to pay prosecution costs
of £200 and a victim surcharge of £15.
"This was an important undercover operation carried out by the
city council and the police and I welcome the result," said the
city council's principal taxi enforcement officer Ken Gray. "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 invalidated, which in the event of an accident
could leave a passenger without protection. In addition, there is
no record of who picked them up and from where as no booking was
made. However, while it is 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."
Court Backs City Council In Revoking 'Private Hire' Licences
Peterborough City Council has re-affirmed its determination to maintain high standards among taxi and private hire drivers after Peterborough Magistrates' Court upheld its actions in revoking the licences of two private hire car drivers.
Councillor Graham Murphy, Cabinet member for the Environment
and Community Safety, said: "We have a
non-negotiable policy that requires taxi and private hire car
drivers to maintain exemplary standards.
"This policy is designed to ensure the safety of our residents
and visitors who make use of taxi and private hire car
services."
Naseer Ahmed, of Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough, lost an
appeal against the city council's decision to revoke his licence
after he was convicted of assault on his wife and
daughter. The appeal was heard on Monday 12 June
and Mr Ahmed was ordered to pay the city council's costs of
£1,253.75.
Summing up, the Judge said that the public has a right to
expect that licensed drivers are fit and proper persons to convey
them in safety and comfort. He said the public
would lose confidence in the taxi trade if persons with a criminal
record were licensed by the city council.
Another driver, Kabir Hussain, of Padholme Road, Peterborough,
withdrew his appeal just before a hearing on Thursday 15 June
against a decision to revoke his licence after he was found plying
for hire (flagging) in an unlicensed vehicle.
However, Peterborough Magistrates' Court ordered him to pay the
city council's costs of £1,053.75 and to surrender his badge
to the authority.
Private Hire Driver Loses Licence Appeal
A private hire car driver whose licence was not renewed by
Peterborough City Council after he received a police caution for
false accounting had an appeal against the decision turned down at
Peterborough Crown Court on Friday 28 April.
Judge McKittrick also ordered Mohammed Nasir, of Occupation
Road, Peterborough, to pay the city council's costs of
£1,700. An earlier appeal to Peterborough
Magistrates' Court in January was also dismissed and costs awarded
to the city council.
The court was told that Nasir received a caution from
Cambridgeshire Constabulary for false accounting after he admitted
wrongfully printing two gift vouchers while working at his previous
employer, Dixons in Queensgate, and using them to purchase articles
from sister company, PC World at the Boulevard Retail Park.
The city council's principal taxi enforcement officer Ken Gray
said: "As the authority responsible for licensing Hackney
carriages, private hire cars, drivers and operators the city
council must give priority to the protection of the public.
Vehicles must be roadworthy and drivers must be trustworthy."
Private Hire Driver Loses Licence Appeal
A private hire driver, whose licence was not renewed by Peterborough City Council after he had pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court on the 14 November 2005 to an offence of affray, had an appeal against the decision turned down at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on Thursday (4 May).
Magistrates also ordered Nadeem Ahmed, of Windmill Street,
Peterborough, to pay the city council's costs of
£1,203.75.
The court was told that Ahmed had pleaded guilty to the charge
of affray when he appeared at Peterborough Crown Court and was
sentenced to 80 hours unpaid community service.
The city council's principal taxi enforcement officer, Ken
Gray, said: "Licence conditions for a private hire driver stipulate
that they must at all times behave in a civil and orderly manner.
Any driver found contravening these conditions
can expect action to be taken in order to protect members of the
public."