TEN taxi drivers have had their licences suspended and will face prosecution after a crackdown on illegal taxi behaviour.

Among the problems uncovered during a joint operation by Burnley Council and Lancashire Police in the town centre were:

  • Private hire drivers soliciting for trade
  • Driving without insurance
  • Failing to display proper ID
  • Not using their fare meters.

The operation was launched after people in the trade complained their reputation was being tarnished by a minority of drivers who were prepared to operate illegally.

Coun Anne Kelly, chairman of the council’s licensing committee, said: “I am pleased to say the vast majority of our licensed drivers operate within the law and provide a very good service to the public.

“We will not allow the safety of the travelling public to be compromised by rogue drivers and we will continue to take appropriate enforcement action when necessary, and to support those taxi drivers who operate within the law.”

Of the ten drivers who were caught, six were Burnley private hire drivers who have been reported for offences of illegally plying for hire, driving with invalid insurance, and failing to wear their driver’s badge.

Two hackney carriage drivers were reported for plying for hire in places other than on a taxi rank, failing to engage their fare meters, and failing to wear their badges.

Two more private hire drivers licensed by Pendle Council were reported for illegally plying for hire, driving with invalid insurance, and failing to wear their badges.

The offence of plying for hire, when a private hire driver accepts a fare without it being booked through a licensed operator, invalidates a vehicle’s insurance.

This leaves passengers, and other road users, unprotected in the event of an accident.