A taxi driver has been disqualified from driving after he was caught carrying too many passengers in his cab.
Paul Azzopardi of Dumbarton Street, Walton was disqualified at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court following an earlier conviction for invalidating his insurance by breaching the City Council’s bylaws by carrying too many passengers, failing to ensure their safety, failing to use his meter and demanding an excessive fare.
The court heard that the Council’s Taxi Enforcement Officers apprehended him for on 16 August 2014. He had eight passengers in his cab which was licensed to carry only six.
Mr. Azzopardi had previously had his taxi driver’s badge revoked by the City Council as a result of other complaints about him but had had been able to carry on driving pending a court appeal. That appeal was subsequently lost and Mr. Azzopardi is no longer licensed by Liverpool City Council to drive taxis.
The Court declined his request not to be disqualified on the grounds of exceptional hardship and disqualified him from driving for six months and ordered him to pay fines totalling £730.
Councillor Christine Banks , the Licensing Committee Chair, said; “We are very pleased with the outcome of this case as it sends out a strong message that licensed cab drivers who choose to flout the rules designed to protect the safety of the public and to stop them from being ripped off will not be tolerated in this city.”
