Taxi crackdown at Gatwick Airport
16.04.11
An operation successfully targeted taxi offences at Gatwick Airport earlier this month. Police, local council licensing officers, the London Public Carriage Office (PCO) the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA), and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) came together at Gatwick’s South Terminal to crackdown on taxi offences.
Seventy five taxis, or suspected, unlicensed taxis were stopped and checked VOSA staff issued five immediate prohibition notices for vehicles with defective tyres, preventing them being driven further without replacements and fresh MoT certificates. The local authorities and PCO reported a further 27 drivers for various taxi licensing offences and also issued one immediate prohibition notice.
UKBA officers arrested two men. One was operating a licensed taxi but was in the UK on a visa permitting him only to work as a waiter, and the other was in the UK as a student. Their vehicles were towed away by police, and could only be recovered on payment of £150 towing fee plus daily storage costs.
A spokesman said that 'Operation Tout' enhances the safety of passengers and drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles coming to Gatwick Airport by enforcing compliance with local authority licensing regulations and checking vehicles are safe to be used on the road.
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