WEST DORSET: MP Oliver Letwin confirmed that the government will take a closer look at a clause allowing taxi drivers to use their vehicles for leisure purposes, says Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill.
The Commissioner wrote to the parliamentarian to outline his concerns over the measure, part of the Deregulation Bill scheduled to return to the House of Lords next month.
PCC Underhill said: “I am pleased that Oliver Letwin has acknowledged my concerns and that the government is looking again at the cause which would enable people who don’t hold a private hire licence to drive a licensed vehicle when it’s off duty.
“This could increase the number of unlicensed drivers pretending to be legitimate. People need to be sure that when they get into a marked private hire vehicle they know it’s driven by a licensed operator, otherwise there is a great risk in people being raped and sexually assaulted after a night out.”
PCCs are calling on the government to ensure that people can ‘Be Sure, Be Safe’ when getting into a private hire cab.
Currently, only licensed private hire drivers can get behind the wheel of a marked private hire vehicle; drivers have to be regularly relicensed and there are restrictions on vehicles operating across local authority boundaries.
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