TWO Manchester black cab drivers have been ordered to pay a total of nearly £2,000 after being prosecuted for breaking licensing rules.

The charges relate to one driver, who refused to pick up passengers, and another, who was caught operating without a licence or insurance.

"We take these matters incredibly seriously and we do prosecute drivers who don’t play by the rules."

Local driver, Tariq Ahmad, 46, was fined £807.50 after pleading guilty to refusing to pick up a married couple from Manchester Airport in September. He could now be suspended, or even suffer a revoked licence.

The couple complained to Manchester City Council after Ahmad, who was waiting at the front of the taxi rank outside Terminal Three, claimed he wasn’t insured to drive back to their home in Hale via a series of back roads.

Another driver, Toussaint Badia, 46, of The Links in Moston, was fined £950 after pleading guilty to driving without a taxi licence or insurance.
City Council licensing officers stopped Badia during a routine operation outside Piccadilly Station last September and found he was unable to produce valid ID. 

He was handed six penalty points on his driving licence, which when added to existing points means he is now disqualified from driving.

Councillor Kate Chappell, Manchester City Council’s executive member for the environment, said: “These two cases should demonstrate to both passengers and members of the trade that we take these matters incredibly seriously and we do prosecute drivers who don’t play by the rules.

“Anyone who thinks a taxi driver has refused to pick them up should contact us and we will investigate their case. Drivers who pick up passengers without a licence are operating without any regard for their customers’ safety as their journeys are not insured, and we do not tolerate this.”
Anyone else who wishes to complain about a Manchester licensed taxi driver should visit www.manchester.gov.uk/taxilicensing.