Police issue warning to taxi users after undercover sting catches multiple private hire drivers ille

Colne and West Craven Police have issued a safety warning to taxi users after four private hire drivers were found to be in breach of their licences during an undercover operation.

The four men were caught illegally accepting a fare which was not pre-booked. 

A joint sting operation was carried out over the weekend by the Colne and West Craven neighbourhood policing team alongside Pendle council, in an attempt to improve passenger safety.  Only hackney carriage licensed taxi drivers can accept street hails from customers who have not pre-booked a journey through a licensed operator. 

Any driver who only holds a private hire driver’s licence must only accept jobs supplied by their licensed operator. 

A police spokesman said: “This is dangerous as this invalidates the insurance on the vehicle as the driver is not abiding by the conditions of their licence. “Please ensure you pre-book a taxi for the reasons above but more importantly for your own safety to ensure a record of the taxi and the driver is held with whichever taxi firm you choose to book with.” The police confirmed that the four drivers who were found in breach of their license conditions are now being dealt with by the council’s taxi and private hire licensing team. 

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