GUILTY: Private hire driver fined over £700 for illegally plying for hire at Henley Regatta
Updated: Nov 24
A private hire taxi driver has been fined over £700 after admitting to illegally plying for hire during the Henley Regatta.
Shabuddin Parvas, 54, pleaded guilty at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 15 November. He faced charges for unlawfully plying for hire and failing to wear his driver’s badge.
The incident occurred on 5 July 2024, when licensing officers from South Oxfordshire District Council carried out compliance checks at the event. Mr Parvas was spotted in a key location on Thameside, near the main pedestrian route linking the regatta site and Henley train station. An undercover officer approached him, and he agreed to transport six passengers to Reading train station without a prior booking.
As a private hire driver licensed by Reading Borough Council, Mr Parvas is prohibited from accepting passengers without a booking outside of his licensed area. This practice, known as plying for hire, is illegal unless operating under the terms of a local authority licence.
South Oxfordshire District Council highlighted that Henley Regatta often attracts unlicensed drivers from other areas. Over the past three years, 16 individuals have been prosecuted for similar offences, with further cases due in court.
By operating illegally, Mr Parvas bypassed local authority checks designed to ensure drivers are fit and proper and their vehicles are safe. Such activity undermines public safety, as unauthorised journeys are unregulated, often overpriced, and untraceable. It also disrupts legitimate trade for fully licensed and vetted drivers operating within their designated areas.
In sentencing, magistrates considered Mr Parvas’s early guilty plea and mitigating factors. He was fined £145, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £58, and prosecution costs of £500.
Cllr Georgina Heritage, Cabinet Member for Communities at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Drivers operating without proper authorisation put passengers and other road users at risk and deprive properly licensed operators of legitimate work. We will continue to carry out checks to stop those who are operating illegally and we hope this conviction serves as a reminder to all drivers to understand and follow the terms of their licences.”
