Out-of-area Sefton private hire driver faces court after Liverpool test purchase operation

A Sefton-licensed private hire driver is set to be summoned following a test purchase operation in Liverpool city centre.

Liverpool City Council licensing enforcement officers approached 67 private hire vehicles over the weekend to check whether drivers would accept passengers without a prior booking.

According to the council’s licensing team, one driver failed the test after allegedly agreeing to carry plain-clothes officers without a booking. The authority said the driver was licensed by Sefton Council and would be summoned.

Private hire vehicles can only carry passengers through a booking made with a licensed operator. Unlike hackney carriages, they cannot lawfully accept passengers who approach them directly in the street.

The operation produced a compliance rate of more than 98%, with 66 of the 67 drivers approached refusing the unbooked journey.