TAXI LICENCE CHECKS

Mohammed Ayub Khan has been granted a licence to drive a taxi, despite having a long list of convictions for offences including theft, assault, harassment and malicious wounding. Mr Khan has also been convicted for living off the immoral earnings of a prostitute and has been imprisoned twice. On top of that, he has been fined for driving while disqualified on at least two occasions and driving without insurance three times and has been caught speeding at least seven times.

Despite his convictions, dating back to 1971, Derby City Council has allowed him to drive members of the public around the city. His latest licence was granted in March 2004, despite having been refused in 1999 and 2001, with exactly the same convictions considered by the council's Taxi Licensing Committee. Michael Foote, the council's director of corporate services, refused to comment on the case, as did Councillor Hilary Jones, chairman of the Taxi Licensing Committee.

Comments:
I am appalled that Derby City Council can grant a licence to this person to drive members of the public around. With so many convictions, he should not have been given a taxi cab licence. He is not suitable to be in such a position and I think the council officials who granted this application should be suspended. It is bad enough getting into cabs which look as though they have never seen an MoT certificate, but to have someone with so many convictions beggars belief. I will now boycott all Derby cabs and suggest all my friends do the same. Spent convictions are relevant when members of the public may be put in danger.

It looks as though it's another case of political correctness gone mad. Also, if the guy can't understand English, how does he read road signs? Were the police informed of his application? This must be one of the most irresponsible decisions that Derby City Council has ever made. It is no wonder that women are getting attacked after getting into other cabs if this is the sort of vetting taking place by licensing authorities. Mike Twigg

What is the point of having any checks on people who work with the public if the city council is to show that issuing licences is just a farce? The same applies to people working with children and elderly people. If you get into a taxi, you are vulnerable whatever age you are. It seems that any faith in the council is misguided and as long as it receives its fee, it does not care who it issues a licence to. J. Davidson

Derby cab drivers said they were fed up with the council taking away their trade on the most important nights of the week. A council officer, accompanied by police, spent three hours from around 7pm to 10pm checking the city's Hackney cabs in the Wardwick. The drivers claim about seven colleagues had their licences revoked or suspended, with the council physically removing licence plates from the cabs. The drivers said the council could have chosen a night which was not so busy and argued that those who had their licences revoked had to wait the whole weekend, missing out on the two busiest nights of the week, before they could argue their case with the council.

Abdul Jabbar, a Hackney cab driver, said, "It is absolutely disgusting and malicious that they choose a Friday night out of all days of the week. We came very close to just stopping work at midnight. Action is something we have not ruled out." Yasin Hussain, Secretary of the Derby Area Taxi Operators Association, said, "It is very unfair they carried these checks out on a Friday night as there is no time to appeal over the weekend." Drivers warned that if strike action went ahead the situation in the city centre would be chaotic, with late-night revellers left stranded.

Mr Hussain said, "We do not want to have to go down that route, but if they start doing this regularly, the drivers will have no choice but to take action. We are currently holding talks about the situation and will be writing to the police and Ministry of Transport about this and other issues we are facing." Mohammed Afzal, treasurer of the association, said, "We don't want to strike, that would be a very last resort, but we have to see how the trade feels." Every taxi driver must have a licence, but they can be taken away for serious vehicle defects or for not having the proper documentation.

Councillor Margaret Redfern, who is on the city council's Licensing and Appeals Committee, said, "Why the council officials would go out on a Friday night I do not know. Maybe they assumed that because it was a busy night, there would be more taxi drivers out. It does seem a little unfair." She added, "Experienced drivers know the rules and regulations and it is their responsibility to make sure they have everything in order."

A taxi inspection campaign carried out between April and June this year by the city council, resulted in 27% of hackney carriages and private hire licences being suspended. Officers checked lights, brakes, tyres, steering and suspension. They also checked the cleanliness, meters and fuel systems of the cars. Out of the 113 cars checked, 31% of Hackney carriages and 24% of private-hire cars failed the inspection. The most common reason for hackney carriages failing the tests was suspension and in private-hire vehicles, the most common fault was with tyres.

Derby City Council's cabinet member for enforcement, Richard Smalley, said, "These figures show how very seriously Derby City Council takes the health and safety of taxi passengers and local residents in the city. The hardship this can cause drivers who fail the rigorous checks is regrettable but our priority has to be and always will be the health and safety of passengers. We will seek to help and assist drivers where we can to ensure their vehicles meet our stringent test but I make no apology for the authority carrying out these enforcement checks." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Oct/07)