Uber driver fined £1,404 for illegally plying for hire in York

An Uber driver has been slapped with a hefty fine for illegally plying for hire in York. Sohail Ahmed, 45, who had a licence issued from Rossendale Borough Council in Lancashire, was stopped by a joint City of York Council and police task force on Ladies Day during Ebor week at York races. He had two passengers in his vehicle who he had picked up illegally. According to reports in The York Press , the officers checked his Uber drivers account and confirmed that he did not have a app booking for this actual journey. York magistrates convicted him of illegally plying for hire and driving without insurance. He was fined £860 with a £66 statutory surcharge with £478.20 prosecution costs. This brings up the age old issue of "cross border" hiring. Because Ahmed had not accepted the job through the Uber app, it has been deemed, and rightly so, illegally plying for hire. Yet if this job had been processed through the Uber app, he would of been free to complete the trip, although he technically doesn't hold a licence to operate in this particular area. A huge grey mass comes to mind.