A STOKE ON TRENT minicab driver will have to fork out more than £500 after he was caught illegally plying for trade in Stone.
Abid Mohammed Ali, 27, is the fourth minicab driver to be prosecuted in recent months as part of a joint operation by Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Police to crack down on rogue cab drivers.
Ali agreed to take a council officer and plain clothed police officer to a local pub when they approached his ABC Supreme private hire vehicle in Station Road, Stone, Stafford magistrates heard this week.
It is illegal for private hire drivers to collect customers in the street or from a taxi rank. They may only pick up passengers who have booked in advance.
The council and police’s Safer Nights operation aims to reduce the risks to customers of uninsured or unsafe vehicles on the borough’s roads.
Ali, of Spring Road, Stoke, did not attend Wednesday’s court hearing and was found guilty in his absence. He was given a £200 fine and ordered to pay costs of just over £320 and a £20 victim surcharge.
Speaking after the hearing, Councillor Frank Finlay, cabinet member for environment and health, said: “We are determined to clamp down on private hire drivers who stick two fingers up at the law by coming into the borough and picking up residents with no prior booking.
“One of our top priorities is the health and wellbeing of our community and this operation aims to protect the public as they are at risk, because these vehicles will not be insured if they are picking up passengers in this way.”
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