Ensure your private hire vehicle is pre-booked, Newcastle residents reminded

The reminder is being issued by the borough council’s licensing team following a joint operation with Staffordshire Police where four private hire vehicle drivers responded to on-street pick-up requests by officers.

Private hire vehicles which are not pre-booked are not insured for that journey – risking passengers’ safety. Furthermore, there will be no official record of the journey by the private hire taxi company.

The April operation, which is scheduled to be repeated over the summer, also saw one vehicle impounded for not being roadworthy.

Only Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council licensed hackney carriages can be hailed from public places or picked up at designated taxi ranks. Private hire drivers risk licence revocation for breaking the law.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s Deputy Leader and portfolio holder for Finance, Town Centres and Growth Stephen Sweeney said:

We want to encourage visitors to our vibrant town centres and ensure they have a safe journey home.

 

We’d like to remind people either to use one of our hackney carriage taxis, which are black and have a white stripe down both sides, or book ahead for a private hire vehicle. People should be aware that journeys in private hire vehicles which have not been pre-booked are not insured or recorded, which risks their safety and wellbeing. Private hire drivers which undertake such pick-ups are breaking the law.

 

We’re committed as a council to protect our residents and visitors’ safety and support our taxi drivers who operating legitimately.”

Inspector Joel Hurst, from the Newcastle-under-Lyme local policing team, said:

We’re continuing to work collaboratively with our partners to combat illegal taxi activity and to keep local communities safe.

 

Using unlicensed taxis that aren’t pre-booked can put people at risk, and that’s why we’re continuing to act proactively to address the issue in Newcastle-under-Lyme.”