Torbay taxi driver stripped of licence

'The protection of public safety is paramount'

A Torbay taxi driver has been stripped of his licence after councillors decided they would not allow their loved ones to get into a car alone with him.

The driver, who has not been named, has had his licence revoked with immediate effect, although he can still work in the taxi industry as long as he has no direct contact with members of the public.

Torbay Council has published full details of the hearing on its website.

The report says: “In coming to their decision, members carefully considered whether they would allow their son or daughter, spouse or partner, mother or father, grandson or granddaughter or any other person to whom they care, or any other vulnerable person known to them, to get into a vehicle with the respondent alone.

“An unequivocal and unanimous answer by members to this question, was ‘no’.”

The meeting of the council’s regulatory sub-committee heard that the driver, who held a Hackney carriage and private hire driver’s licence, had been found guilty of two offences of harassment without violence.

He should have notified the Town Hall licensing department when he received the court summons last December, but only did so five months later.

The driver spoke at the hearing, which had to be delayed because he had overslept.

Councillors said they found it difficult to believe that the driver would not have been aware that he had to notify the council of the criminal charges made against him within the required 48 hours.

He said he thought the rule only applied to convictions rather than charges.

The report of the meeting goes on: “The protection of public safety is paramount.

“Members resolved to revoke the licence with immediate effect, as they could not be satisfied that, despite the written personal references provided by happy customers, he remained a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

“Members believed that his conduct as a professional driver, which had led to his convictions, had fallen below the standards expected of a driver licensed by Torbay Council, and resolved that to revoke his licence with immediate effect was both necessary and proportionate, to ensure public safety.”