Taxi Driver Online

Birmingham’s licensing officers are failing to keep checks on rogue minicab drivers at the times of night when passengers are most at risk it has been revealed.

The city’s taxi enforcement officers routinely work only until 2am, meaning that cabs picking up revellers piling out of night clubs during the early hours of the morning are unlikely to be checked.

Officials often check that vehicles and drivers are fully licenced, roadworthy and are not plying for hire on the city’s streets.

There is a fear that people posing as cab drivers collect drunks from nightclubs, either to make money on the side or worse to kidnap and attack lone revellers.

Opposition Labour Group deputy leader Ian Ward is among those worried.

Coun Ward said: “I am concerned that there is little effective enforcement at night and nothing after 2am when people are at their most vulnerable.

“The answers provided do not satisfy me that enough enforcement officers are working at the key times.”

Broad Street manager Mike Olley, a former Labour councillor, said: “It’s disappointing there are not more enforcement officers around and none after 2am. There is plenty of work for them.”

Birmingham’s licensing department has ten field enforcement officers who out of their 36.5 hour week must spend just six out between 6pm and 2am.

The breakdown is 250 hours of enforcement per week between 8am and 6pm and 36 hours per week at night.

There are 1,450 black cabs, 5,500 minicabs and more than 400 taxi rank parking spaces to keep tabs on throughout Birmingham. Plus many private taxi ranks including those at New Street Station and the Airport. But the licensing department claims its staffing levels are proportionately higher than most local authorities.

Coun David Osborne, the Liberal Democrat chairman of licensing, said that the enforcement is backed up with regular overtime initiatives.

He said: “The enforcement team have conducted over 6,000 checks on private hire drivers vehicles and hackney carriages. Officers have also submitted over 100 file for consideration of prosecution against driver who ply for hire illegally.”

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birm ... -26314916/

Sounds like the norm, it's the same here

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

I'd like to see ours out at 2 am there is only one 2 o'clock in their day and that's tea break

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Life? Don't talk to me about life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjm2eslm6hI

I can't remember the last time I saw ours out at night.

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Grandad,

Enforcement should be 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Not being out because the hours are unsociable is not acceptable.

They should have cover every hour of the weekend.

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IDFIMH

Sussex i agree, Dundee's cabs officers work 7.30am to 3.30pm mon to fri and are as much good as a chocolate tee pot

So if a cab has a licensing fault on Friday evening, it can be worked until Monday morning without being taken off?

Or what happens if we see illegal unlicensed vehicles picking up at the weekend? Do we ask them to wait until Monday morning?

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IDFIMH

Thats what happens here.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Not here. If a fault is apparent and spotted by the LO on Friday evening it's off the road until it can be produced at the office Monday morning showing the fault has been fixed.

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

And until about a year or so ago, there were no enforcement officers out on any night.

It was only after I & a few others cited Nottingham's night enforcement that they reluctantly decided to work a few hour at night.

Tomorrow's Taxi Trade Liaison meeting should be interesting, even more so after Mike Olley the Broad Street manager has put his tu'penny-worth into the matter!!

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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