MORE than a third of Craven's taxi drivers have not passed a test they were ordered to take by the end of this month.

There are 171 taxi drivers licensed by Craven District Council and 58 have failed to produce a taxi test certificate from the Driving Standards Agency.

The council introduced the compulsory extra test in March last year and gave the drivers until March 31 this year to pass it.

Now the council has written to drivers who have not produced their test certificate reminding them of the deadline.

If they still do not produce the certificate they must attend a hearing to say why they should be allowed to continue to drive as a licensed hackney carriage or private hire driver.

But Dalesman Taxis boss Stephen Pickering, who received a letter from the council as he has not yet submitted his pass certificate, said the council was moving the goalposts by giving drivers who had not passed the chance of a hearing.

He said he had previously told that those who had not passed the test would not be allowed to drive taxis from April.

Mr Pickering said it seemed the council was throwing a lifeline to those drivers who had not taken the test and it was not fair on those who had paid £53 to take the tests within the time stated.

But in a statement this week, the council said in February last year it had adopted a policy stating that drivers who had not passed the Driving Standards Agency taxi test by midnight on March 31, would be required to attend a hearing in the week beginning April 3.

They would have the opportunity to put their case forward and if a decision was made to suspend a driver, he or she would have a right of appeal to the Magistrates' Court within 21 days.

Colin Walker, the council's director of environmental and planning services, said: "The Driving Standards Test will ensure that licensed taxi drivers operating in Craven demonstrate they have basic driving skills which can only improve the confidence of the public and boost their business."

Coun Robert Heseltine, chairman of the licensing committee, added: "The safety of the travelling public is absolutely paramount in members' minds as we secure compliance."