Rochdale taxis checked for safety ahead of festive flurry

Taxi

Pre-Christmas spot checks have been carried out on taxis across the borough of Rochdale.

Two sessions were carried out by the council’s licensing team and police officers in November to check the compliance of private and public hire vehicles operating within the borough ahead of the busy festive period.

Vehicles were checked to see if they were complying with licensing conditions and standards, and that all drivers were licensed.

A total of 48 vehicles were checked. All drivers were found to be licensed and 26 vehicles were fully compliant with the council’s standards and licensing conditions.

Suspension notices were issued to 16 vehicles for breaching licensing conditions. Reasons for the suspension included some vehicles not carrying a fire extinguisher on board or having a faulty light.

The vehicle licences were suspended from any duties and the drivers returned the vehicle licence plates to the council. All 16 drivers presented their vehicles and remedied the issue to the satisfaction of the council within 24 hours and had their licences reinstated.

Defect notices were issued to six drivers for the infringement of not displaying some of their licensing signage. All six drivers quickly carried out remedial actions and displayed the correct signage to the satisfaction of the council. 

Councillor Sara Rowbotham, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Rochdale Council, said: “We carry out these exercises on a regular basis to ensure the public are safe when travelling in licensed vehicles in our borough. 

“We were pleased to see that the issues were quickly remedied. Our monitoring will continue to take place and appropriate action will be taken against any drivers and vehicles found not to be compliant with our conditions.” 

If you believe a licensed vehicle or driver is not compliant with licensing conditions you can report it to the council’s licensing service by calling 01706 924114 or emailing licensing.reg@rochdale.gov.uk. All reports by the public are fully investigated.