Older taxis targeted in safety crackdown

Date published: 13 July 2010

Older and potentially run-down taxis and private-hire cars were targeted in a safety crackdown.

Just two out of 18 vehicles passed spot checks carried out by Tameside Council in coordination with the police on July 8.

Out of the 16 vehicles that failed, eight hackney carriages and two private-hire cars lost their licence plates. Defects included excessive corrosion, faulty brakes and suspension, excessive exhaust smoke and steering box faults.

Tameside Council Executive Member for Environmental Services Cllr Catherine Piddington said: “This type of operation is vital to ensure our licensed vehicles are kept to the required standards and are safe for passengers to be transported in.

"It highlights the importance of maintaining vehicles between tests - if vehicle owners improved in this area we might not see so many failures. It also provides a reminder for taxi and private hire cab owners that we will act on, deal with and not tolerate poorly maintained vehicles.

“This result was not representative of the whole fleet however; we particularly targeted vehicles which may have been reported to us for being in bad repair or which are older and more likely to develop faults between tests. On a more positive note, one of the vehicles presented to us was immaculate both inside and out and we thanked and congratulated the driver concerned.”

Vehicles were taken to Tame Street Garage, Stalybridge, where they underwent testing and checks by Vehicle MOT testers.

The council issues private hire and hackney carriage licenses to vehicles that are thoroughly tested and passed as being safe to carry passengers. This test is more rigorous than the typical MOT test.

Taxis and private hire cars over three years of age have a test very six months and those less than three years are tested once every 12 months. However, despite regular testing, vehicles are often found to have faults between tests.