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‘Out with the tout’ says London Assembly

Tonight, thousands of people will spill out onto the streets after enjoying the best of the capital’s nightlife – but how many will unknowingly get into minicabs that are operating illegally? The London Assembly today launched an inquiry into cab enforcement in the capital.

Led by Peter Hulme Cross AM - on behalf of the Assembly’s Transport Committee - the investigation will measure how effective Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police Service have been in reducing the level of touting by licensed minicabs.

Only black cabs are allowed to ply for hire on the streets. However, there are concerns that licensed drivers of licensed minicabs are plying for hire.

Peter Hulme Cross said: “Many people do not know they are taking a big risk when they flag down a licensed minicab. If the cab is not pre-booked, it is not insured to carry passengers, and it is much more difficult to detect offenders if a crime is committed.

“Campaigns such as Safer Travel at Night have raised public awareness of the dangers of using unlicensed minicabs, and it is encouraging that there have already been over 4000 arrests1 for illegal touting since 2002.

“However, we need a clearer picture of how effective awareness campaigns and enforcement have been over the past four years, and what can be done to make minicab journeys even safer in the future.”

As well as the significant number of arrests for touting, the number of sexual assaults in minicabs has fallen significantly2 in recent years – to an average of three each month.

Information will be gathered from the Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU), TfL’s Transport Policing and Enforcement Directive (TPED), the Public Carriage Office, private hire representative organisations and venues in areas known as ‘touting hotspots’. The report is due for publication in February 2008.

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After catching illegal mini cab drivers they should take them and there car to the scrappy and let them watch there car being crushed no court appearance just swift justice then inform there insurance company thats if they have any of what has been done
And because I'm a big she-it i would give them a 12 month on the spot driving ban