Member Article

Fare’s fair - Manchester cabbie fined for turning down passengers

A Manchester cab driver (not pictured) who refused to pick up two men who flagged him down in the city centre has been ordered to pay more than £1,000.

Michael Tung, aged 32 of Gurney Street in Ancoats, was found guilty of improper conduct during his absence after he failed to turn up to a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on November 20. He was fined £500 with £562 costs and a £50 victims of crime surcharge.

Two men complained to the city council’s licensing unit that the driver had refused to pick them up after they flagged him down in Withy Grove near the Printworks in the city centre after a night out in April this year.

He refused to take them to an address in Salford, just outside the city centre, and drove off but then stopped nearby to pick up another passenger who had flagged him down.

Manchester licensed black cab drivers have to pick up passengers for local journeys unless they have a good reason not to do so, such as the passenger being drunk, abusive or not having the means to pay for the journey. They are also not allowed to refuse to take them to Greater Manchester destinations within a ‘compellable area’ – which is any journey that ends within an area four miles from the city boundary.

When invited to an interview, Tung said that he would not pick the passengers up as they were standing within a no stop zone, set up by the City Council to avoid congestion problems late at night. There are two designated Marshalled ranks provided outside the Printworks for black cab drivers.

However, Tung had already stopped within the zone when he refused to pick up the passengers, while the passengers he went on to pick up after driving off were also within the no stop zone.

Cllr Kate Chappell, Manchester City Council’s executive member for the environment, said: “Hundreds of thousands of people will be visiting the city centre over the next few weeks, either for Christmas parties or to visit our world famous markets, and black cabs are an important means of making sure they can get back home safely.

“As this case shows, we will not tolerate black cab drivers refusing to pick passengers up unless they have good reason to do so. Anyone who feels they’ve not received a good enough service from a Manchester licensed driver should contact us and our officers will investigate.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .