One month clampdown sees dozens of private hire vehicles ordered off Bolton's roads

Dozens of private hire vehicles were taken off Bolton’s roads last month during a joint venture clampdown by the council, Greater Manchester Police and the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency.
Spot checks on a total of 59 vehicles found that almost half were falling foul of licensing and safety guidelines.
The operation took place over two weekends in June. Stop notices were handed to drivers for a variety of licensing and safety breaches, including not having a fire extinguisher on board, insecure data systems, not having a fare card, various issues with lights or broken bulbs and illegal tyres. As reported in the Bolton News, one of the vehicles which was ordered off the road was a hackney carriage vehicle. The rest were all vehicles used by private hire drivers. In addition to the 27 which were issued stop notices, a further six vehicles were given advisory notices for less serious issues. 13 drivers were also issued £100 penalty notices by the police for not wearing a seatbelt. Cllr Anne Galloway, Bolton Council’s executive cabinet member for environmental regulatory services, said: “Passengers in Bolton should have every confidence that our private hire vehicles and Hackney carriages meet all the required safety standards. “We continue to work with our partners in other agencies to enforce these regulations and ensure the minority of drivers who choose to break the rules are held to account.” Sgt Paul Lenarcic from the Greater Manchester Police Safer Roads Targeting Team added: “The main aim of operation is for public safety and to reassure the public that the vehicles they get into are road legal, safe and are being driven by licensed drivers. “Officers from the Safer Roads Targeting Team assisted Bolton Council in a multi-agency approach to achieve this. “We will continue to work with the local authorities to ensure that people of Greater Manchester, are being kept safe on the roads.”