Unlicensed taxi boss ordered to pay £1,240

A MAN who operated a private hire taxi without a licence has been fined, following an investigation by Warrington trading standards.
Michael John Nolan, 47, of Woodbridge Road, Warrington, pleaded guilty at the borough’s magistrates court to two offences – permitting a vehicle to be used as a private hire vehicle without a licence and allowing a driver who was not licenced to operate the vehicle.
Warrington Borough Council Enforcement officers stopped a private hire vehicle owned by Optimum Travel Ltd at Manchester Airport in September  last year. They believed it to be an “additionally conditioned” private hire vehicle, due to the fact that it had no borough council branding.
The driver, Kevin Glass, was unable to confirm if the vehicle held a current private hire vehicle licence and said he would check with Nolan, the owner of Optimum Travel Ltd.
Glass also admitted he did not hold a Warrington Borough Council issued private hire driver badge and provided a job sheet showing the private hire journeys he had completed that day.
The council’s licensing office was contacted by Nolan the following day. He stated he was operating legally under a VOSA licence.
However, enquiries carried out with VOSA confirmed that Nolan had surrendered his operator’s licence for two vehicles in 2014, and
that Optimum Travel Ltd was no longer licenced to provide private hire services.
At interview, Nolan explained he had been under the impression that he still held a valid operator’s licence because he had found the operators disc in a drawer and it had not expired.
Using this disc, he had allowed Glass to drive his own, personal vehicle to pick up passengers on behalf of Optimum Travel Ltd.
Nolan was ordered to pay £400 per offence (£800), a £400 contribution towards costs and a victim surcharge of £40, a total of £1,240.
Warrington Borough Council’s regulatory services manager, Dave Watson, said: “Operating a taxi service without a licence is a serious offence and we will always take action against any individual or company who does this. It’s part of our work to protect the public and the legitimate interests of responsible licensed drivers and operators.”
In mitigation, Mr Koffman, the defendant’s solicitor explained the defendant had since resigned as a director of Optimum Travel Ltd with his wife now taking on this role. He expressed his client’s regret over the situation and that it was a genuine mistake.