Taxi drivers could be banned if they clock up too many penalty points

7:10am Thursday 11th March 2010

By David Paine

WORCESTER’S taxi drivers could be issued with penalty points and have their licences suspended or revoked if they commit too many offences in a year.

Worcester City Council is seeking to introduce a new penalty points system – similar to the DVLA licence scheme – in a bid to raise standards in the trade. Offences range from overcharging customers to failing to wear a driver’s badge.

Drivers will not be fined but they could be issued with between two and eight penalty points, depending on the nature of each offence or breach of licence.

If a taxi driver notches up 20 or more points within a year, the council will have the power to bring that person before its licensing sub committee for a review that could result in a suspension or removal of licence.

Suspended taxi drivers could also be made to take the ‘knowledge test’ again.

A decision on whether to introduce the system, which has had the input of the Worcester Taxi Drivers’ Association and West Mercia Police, will be made at next week’s licensing committee meeting.

Taraq Mahmood, chairman of Worcester Taxi Drivers’ Association, said while the proposals shocked some people at first a meeting held to explain how the system would work allayed drivers’ fears.

“It’s a good idea,” he said. “Both the association and the council want to raise the standards of the taxi trade in Worcester.”

A recent taxi enforcement exercise carried out on 18 vehicles operating in Worcester on Friday, February 12 resulted in one immediate and five delayed prohibition notices being issued.

Currently, drivers who breach conditions or commit offences are either hauled before a licensing sub committee or sent to court.

Worcester City Council’s environmental health manager, Martin Gillies, who is responsibile for taxi licensing, said that response can be “like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut” as many cases can be for minor issues.

He said giving officers powers to issue on-the-spot penalty points will free up more of their time because they will not have to keep preparing reports on each case.

He said it should also help to tackle ongoing problems, such as overcrowding taxi ranks.

Councillor Paul Denham chaired the working party - made up of councillors, licensing officers, and members from the Worcester Taxi Drivers’ Association - which drew up an 11-page list of how many penalty points will be issued for each offence or breach of licence.

Coun Denham said while the majority of Worcester’s 380 taxi drivers, which operate a fleet of about 220 vehicles, do a good job this will help tackle the troublesome minority.

“If this is going to work properly I am very keen to see officers out there on the streets enforcing,” he said. “You can have as many penalty point systems as you like but if there’s not a sufficient number to ensure a reasonable level of compliance then the whole thing will collapse.”

While the system would not involve additional enforcement by the police, Inspector Jan Heritage, head of local policing in Worcester, said: “All parties are committed to providing a quality service to the travelling public.”