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Uber driver suspended for six weeks after unbooked Glasgow city centre pick-up
An Uber driver has had his private hire driver’s licence suspended for six weeks after picking up two people in Glasgow city centre without a booking.
Alaa-Aldi Abdul Aleem collected the passengers from Union Street on 19 April before driving them to the Leonardo Hotel in nearby Jamaica Street.
Private hire drivers cannot accept passengers directly from the street.
Journeys must be pre-booked, while licensed taxis, also known as hackney carriages, are permitted to ply for hire and use taxi ranks.
Glasgow City Council’s licensing and regulatory committee was told Aleem had previously claimed the two young people said they had no money for a fare and that he therefore gave them a free lift.
A person who complained about the incident supplied video footage of the pick-up. Councillors viewed the recording in private during the licensing hearing.
According to a Glasgow Live report, a representative acting for Aleem said the driver had a clean record and had travelled to Union Street to get something to eat. The committee was told he had made a genuine mistake, regretted his actions and wanted an opportunity to continue working.
Committee chair Sean Ferguson challenged the driver’s explanation, referring to the claim that the journey had been provided free of charge. He also questioned an account that the weather had been wet, telling the hearing it had been a dry night.
Following consideration of the footage and representations, councillors agreed to suspend Aleem’s private hire driver’s licence for six weeks. The decision temporarily prevents him from working as a licensed private hire driver.
The committee was also scheduled to consider three other licence-holder cases that day. Two of which were private hire drivers and one a taxi driver.
