4.97 Uber star rating helps driver retain dual taxi driver licence after red light offence and insurance breaches

A taxi driver licensed by Bath & North East Somerset Council has been allowed to retain their combined hackney carriage and private hire driver’s licence following a Licensing Sub-Committee hearing into traffic offences and repeated breaches of insurance notification requirements.

The case was considered by the council’s Licensing Sub-Committee on 12 February 2026, according to official minutes published in the authority’s public reports pack.

Members were asked to determine whether the licensee remained a fit and proper person to hold a licence after receiving additional information from police. The committee was told the driver committed two speeding offences in 2024 and failed to comply with a red traffic light in September 2025. The red light matter resulted in a warning letter being issued to the vehicle keeper after statutory time limits had expired.

In addition to the traffic matters, the driver failed to provide updated valid insurance certificates within seven working days of expiry on three separate occasions. Compliance with this requirement is a standard condition of a private hire vehicle licence and is intended to ensure continuous proof of cover for public safety.

Licensing Sub-Committee issues formal warning but rules driver remains fit and proper to hold combined hackney carriage and private hire licence

The driver, who told the committee they had worked in the trade for 15 years, said they had a strong customer record including more than 3,000 five-star ratings on Uber and an overall rating of 4.97. They also stated they regularly undertake home-to-school transport for a child with special educational needs and disabilities and that their safeguarding training was up to date.

Addressing the delay in submitting insurance documentation, the licensee said the failure was linked to moving house and administrative oversight. They apologised and said they would ensure it did not happen again. On the red light incident, the driver cited heavy traffic conditions and said visibility of the signals had been affected as other vehicles began moving across the roundabout.

In reaching its decision, the Sub-Committee applied the statutory fit and proper person test under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, alongside relevant case law, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the council’s licensing policy. Members also considered complaints previously made by members of the public, which the driver said were racially motivated and unproven.

On the balance of probabilities, members concluded the driver remained fit and proper to hold a combined licence. However, a formal warning was issued requiring strict compliance with all licence conditions and legal obligations going forward. The committee directed the licensee to implement a reminder system for renewing and submitting insurance documentation within the required timescales, warning that any further issues could result in revocation.