Police Scotland & trading standards officers spent the day checking over taxi & private hire cars

Image credit: Piqsels

More than 50 taxis and private hire cars have been stopped and checked during a joint operation by Police Scotland and Highland Council Trading Standards.

The operation on Friday 13 November in the Inverness area, involved checks to ensure drivers are operating within the terms of their taxi licence and that vehicles are roadworthy.

Constable Mark Dalloway from the Road Policing Unit, said: “It is important that the public can have faith that professional drivers are conducting their business safely & legally. The vast majority of taxi and private hire drivers operate safely, however where issues are found we will take necessary action.

“We acknowledge that these are challenging times, & I would like to thank the taxi trade for their support & co-operation today.”

Mark McGInty, Trading Standards, said: “Today’s joint operation was a first since we entered the pandemic. Since the end of March our officers have been engaging with the Taxi & Private Hire Car trade at a distance, and the monitoring of compliance with regards vehicle safety & driver standards has been done remotely. Today this work was done face to face, jointly with Police Scotland, and I am very pleased with the level of compliance found.

“A total of 56 inspections took place which involved checking the roadworthiness of the vehicle, the legal documentation required to be in the vehicle, and other safety measures such as a fire extinguisher and first aid kit. Of this 56 only one vehicle failed the inspection for a defective tyre, with that matter rectified within the hour. This is very pleasing news and offers great assurance not only to the enforcement Authorities but to the users, the general public, for whom it is an obligation to ensure their transit is safe and legal.

“I’d like to thank the Taxi & Private Hire Cars that we engaged with today, not only for their co-operation, but for their efforts in ensuring that travel in this way is as safe as it can be at this time.”