Minicab drivers are set to start a legal battle against Bradford Council if tough new measures are introduced to regulate the service.

The new rules which are set to be approved at a highways sub-committee meeting tomorrow has angered drivers of private hire cabs and Hackney Carriages who say they will fight the proposals claiming they are "unfair".

The overhaul, which Bradford Council say is paramount to the "safety of passengers", cover licensing and enforcement procedures.

The new rules would come into force on December 1 if approved by councillors.

If so, drivers applying for licences who have been convicted for indecency and drug offences could have their licence refused if they re-apply for a new one within three years of conviction. They will not be able to apply for a licence until five years after the conviction.

Hackney Carriage drivers also face suspension for up to 24 weeks if they ply for work in an unlicensed taxi.

And the 2,000 drivers working in Bradford also face a £25 administrative charge if they flout caution notices which cover incidents including failure to wear a badge, not setting a meter or not reporting an accident within 72 hours.

Anyone who attracts three or more caution notices within one year could face suspension. Penalties will be issued by an appeals committee and all drivers have a right of appeal at the magistrates court.

But Bryan Roland, general secretary of the National Private Hire Association, said his organisation would challenge the regulations in court if they are approved and he branded the appeals procedure as a "kangaroo court".

He said: "We are not happy with these rules and if they go ahead we will challenge them in a court of law.

"I do not know of any other Council that is applying the rules in this way."

The secretary of the Hackney Carriages for Bradford, Iftikhar Bhatti, said he could not support the regulations as they stood.

T&A Opinion

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