Walsall to sign up to taxi hit-list
Rogue taxi drivers who have been banned from Walsall could find it difficult to operate elsewhere if licensing chiefs sign up to a new initiative.
Members of Walsall licensing committee are being recommended to join the National Register of Taxi Refusals and Revocations (NR3), which was set up in 2018.
NR3 allows those signed up to it to see the names of all hackney carriage and private hire vehicle drivers whose licences have been revoked or had applications refused.
A report to the committee, which meets on June 10, said that in the past drivers who have been banned in one town or city have managed to get a licence to operate elsewhere by not disclosing their previous misdemeanours.
Should Walsall Council sign up to the register, they will be able to add the identity of drivers banned or who have had applications refused to the register for other local authorities to see.
But information on why licences have been refused or revoked will not be contained on the register.
In turn, they will also be able to check the names of people submitting new applications in the town to see if potential cabbies wanting to operate in Walsall have previous issues.
The report to committee said: "There have been numerous high profile cases where drivers who have been refused licences, or had a licence revoked in one area, have gone to another area and received a licence in that area by failing to disclose their previous history.
"This undermines public safety, if there are legitimate reasons why a licence was refused or revoked, and damages confidence in the hackney carriage / PHV licensing regime and trade.
"This is why the initiative has been widely supported by a number of drivers and firms, as it will provide a mechanism for ensuring information about refusals and revocations can be shared between all licensing authorities in a safe and secure way."
