Adverts for taxi services have started to appear in polish shops in Slough, offering airport runs by drivers that do not hold a valid public hire or a private hire taxi licence.
Slough Borough Council has said that passengers may be at risk as these vehicles will not have valid taxi insurance and furthermore they may also not have a valid MOT licence and potentially could be unsafe.
To use any vehicle for Hire and Reward Purposes, the vehicle must have a valid taxi or a private hire licence. The driver must also obtain the necessary taxi or a private hire driver’s licence. Once the taxi drivers have obtained their taxi licence they can then apply for either taxi insurance or private hire insurance depending on the type of badge they hold.
Also drivers go through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, a medical examination and in most council some form of a knowledge test before they are issued with a taxi licence.
Any member of the public utilising the services of taxi operators should check to see if the vehicle is licensed (usually a plate on the rear of vehicle) and also the drivers taxi badge which they must display whilst plying for work.