More than 150 penalty points issued to taxi drivers in licence conditions clampdown

More than half of the taxi drivers stopped during a day’s enforcement operation were not compliant with their licence conditions.

The enforcement operation took place on Saturday 28 September across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse in partnership with Thames Valley Police.

Licensed vehicles were stopped and inspected to see if they complied with the licence conditions set out by the local authority, along with checks on the vehicle’s roadworthiness.

During the four-hour operation, 34 vehicles were stopped (18 registered with South Oxfordshire District Council, 13 with Vale of White Horse District Council and 3 with Oxford City Council) and of those 19 were non-compliant with issues such as drivers not wearing their badge, roof signs not connected and fare charts not displayed.

A total of 156 penalty points were issued to drivers on their council-issued licences as a result. Some of the licences will now be reviewed due to an excessive number of points accumulated.

Police also took action against five vehicles and issued fixed penalty notices.

Councillor Georgina Heritage, South Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “Taxis are a vital part of our transport system, particularly for those where public transport is difficult to access or those with disabilities. Passengers deserve to be able to ride in safe, comfortable and properly insured vehicles.

“These enforcement operations allow us to ensure licensed vehicles in our district do not put passengers at risk.”

Councillor Helen Pighills, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet Member for Community Health and Wellbeing, added: “This a great example of our partnership working with Thames Valley Police. It’s quite concerning that so many non-compliant taxis were found – hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to other drivers.”