Council carries out taxi safety operation

Licensing officers joined colleagues from the Greater Manchester Police Traffic Unit and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) on the night of action.

In total, 18 private hire and hackney vehicles were pulled over by officers and taken to the council’s Moorhey Street Depot so they could be checked over by trained mechanics to see if they were safe and roadworthy.

Of the vehicles stopped, three were immediately taken off the road for a variety of reasons, including odd size tyres, wrong headlamp, oil leak, missing parts and a cut in a tyre. The cars cannot be used to pick up passengers until the faults have been fixed.Licensing staff also carried out checks on the drivers to ensure all their paperwork was in order.

Councillor Elaine Taylor, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council and portfolio holder for licensing said, “A lot of residents rely on them to get around and they particularly support the night time economy.

“However, no one should be driving a vehicle that isn’t up to standard. Faulty vehicles potentially put the lives of passengers, other road users and pedestrians at risk.

“We’ll continue to work with the trade and take action to ensure drivers and taxis that operate in Oldham are safe.