Taxi Driver Online

Very similar to the other case in many ways...

And another two week suspension

And presumably he was trying it on rather than a genuine mistake as regards forgetting to engage the meter. I mean, in 30 years I've never genuinely forgotten to activate the meter


Glasgow taxi driver's two-week ban after 'aggression'

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/259 ... ggression/

A Glasgow taxi driver has been given a two-week ban after passengers said he claimed his meter was broken and demanded a fixed price.

Complaints to Glasgow City Council’s taxi and private hire enforcement unit said Muhammad Rashid became “aggressive” when the customers asked to get out of his taxi.

The driver told the city’s licensing committee that he had forgotten to put his meter on and asked for a £6 minimum fee. He then decided “it wasn’t worth it” and let the passengers out, he added.

Councillors on the committee decided to suspend Mr Rashid’s licence for two weeks. Cllr Sean Ferguson, SNP, who was chairing the committee, asked why the driver didn’t put the meter on “and just charge them from that point onwards” if it was “a genuine mistake”.

Enforcement officers received a complaint that Mr Rashid had contravened a licence condition which requires a taxi driver to “ensure that a taximeter fitted in the taxi shall be operated at all times, within the licensed area”.

The couple, who got in his taxi at Queen Street station, said they were told the meter was broken when they noticed it was off. The committee heard they were told they would pay “by the mile”.

They questioned why “we were going another way from what we said and he didn’t respond”, councillors were told. “We then asked to get out of the taxi and he became aggressive and said you must pay £6.”

One of the complaints said, when the couple refused to pay, the driver threatened to call the police. They agreed as they believed he was “trying to scare us into paying”. He then “unlocked the doors and said we could leave”.

In an interview with enforcement officers, Mr Rashid said one of the passengers “became angry” and questioned the route he had taken. He said it was due to a road closure.

He also said he had forgotten to put the meter on and the couple asked to stop the journey. Councillors were told the driver said: “I mentioned I wanted a minimum £6 charge for the hire but they argued saying they wouldn’t pay it.

“I decided it wasn’t worth it and didn’t take any payments for this hire. I’m sorry for forgetting to put my meter on.”

At the licensing committee meeting, his son, speaking on Mr Rashid’s behalf, said: “Once the passengers realised that he forgot to turn on his meter, the passengers became aggressive and he told them to get out of his car.”