Bolton licensed Uber driver has licence revoked after sexual misconduct allegation
- Perry Richardson
- Jun 17
- 1 min read
A Bolton licensed private hire driver operating on the Uber platform has had his driver and vehicle licences revoked with immediate effect following allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct towards a female passenger.
The decision was made by the Bolton Council Licensing and Environmental Regulation Committee at a recent meeting. The driver, who had only held a licence for three months, was the subject of a serious complaint made by a female passenger. Three sets of additional information were submitted before the meeting, including material from the driver’s solicitor and Uber.
After reviewing all evidence and hearing submissions, the committee concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that the driver acted in a sexually inappropriate way. The committee found the passenger’s detailed account to be credible.
Although the driver denied the allegations, he later claimed the passenger had been abusive to him for over 25 minutes. However, he did not ask her to leave the vehicle, did not report the incident to the police, and rated her five stars on the Uber app. The committee noted that he had given other passengers lower ratings in the past.
Councillors found inconsistencies in the driver’s statements, particularly his initial failure to recall the fare, which was followed by a later claim that the passenger had subjected him to sustained verbal abuse.
The committee determined there was reasonable cause to revoke both licences with immediate effect in the interest of public safety. It was noted that serious complaints involving sexual conduct are treated with the highest concern, and the use of app-based platforms does not exempt drivers from local licensing standards.
