The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is enclosed.

The Hearing Panel considered the report from the Headof Planning, Building Control and Licensing regarding the above application. The written papers and oral representations of the parties who attended were also considered, as well as the relevant guidance. The matter was considered in line with the established procedure for taxi licensing.

The Licensing Unit officer first handed out a written statement from EE and then stated that there were a number of conduct issues and complaints against EE of poor driving and poor language. EE started as a Private Hire driver then moved to Hackney Carriage in 2020. Complaints had risen recently, having begun and continued from 2019, 21, 22 and more recently receiving 3 in 2023.

EE addressed the Hearing Panel and stated that they had 4 children and had driven in the taxi trade since 2017, holding a private hire licence until they passed the Hackney Carriage test. EE expressed that being on the road for a long amount of time can be troublesome. A fellow driver had started a problem but EE raised that they know they should be more aware of their response and to stay calm.

EE went through each incident sequentially:

1)    EE went to the toilet at Piccadilly train station and three other drivers claimed that EE had blocked other drivers in the rank. There was alleged bad language in front of passengers from EE.

2)    EE was attempting to get into Piccadilly station and used an outside lane to turn left due to a tailback. Another driver swore at EE and took his licence plate

3)    EE had a family for a journey who abused him and called him names so EE cancelled the fare before leaving the station.

4)    EE had set a fare of £20 with a passenger due to bad match day traffic. There was an issue with the amount paid by the customer and a Unit Officer got in tch with EE to resolve the matter

5)    A driver wanted to report EE

6)    EE had a fare to drive to Macclesfield and the passenger then claimed that they had been overcharged

Under questioning, EE confirmed that the taxi rank was not for parking but for the collection of passengers, accepted that their bad driving affects others, EE accepted the use of bad language in case number 3 but added they tried using diplomacy in the first instance, that they had partly refunded for case 4 due to the nature of the complaint and not because EE considered that they had overcharged the fare, that the fare to Macclesfield was not an overcharge either as the passenger had EE head out that way and then kept extending the journey and the fare built up, that EE knew the rank and other drivers at Piccadilly station and that any taxis behind EE when they parked to use the toilet were gone when he returned so it was a false claim that they had been blocked in.

The Licensing Unit Officer summed up by stating that there was a common theme to the complaints of rudeness and bad language and that EE should be mindful of better communication to stay out of trouble.

EE summed up by stating that they acknowledged their mistake with regard to behaviour and language and that they are mindful that they are the first people some visitors meet when arriving in Manchester. EE promised no further complaints would arise from their conduct.

In their deliberations, the Hearing Panel took into consideration the Statement of Policy and Guidelines as well as the relevant statutory guidance. Due to EE’s acceptance of their mistake in many cases and showing some remorse alongside having an otherwise clean licence, the Hearing Panel felt it appropriate to issue a warning to EE this time.

Decision

To attach a warning to EE’s licence.