Birmingham Private Hire Licence Knowledge Test Answers
A taxi driver's cab has been taken off the road in a row with the council after his vehicle failed its MOT.
Mohammed Khan claims he's spent almost £1,200 on getting the vehicle through the tests.
And the cabbie reckons he's even had to refuse disabled passengers as a result.
The 33-year-old, who is director of Dresden-based Premier Private Hire, has failed in a bid to keep his vehicle on the road.
The Staffordshire man says he has lost a £12,000 school contract along with a regular customer of two years, reports StokeonTrentLive.
Mohammed's wheelchair accessible Toyota Hiace had failed its MOT three-times with a date for the fourth attempt beyond when its private hire licence had expired.
Now Stoke-on-Trent City Council has stood firm over the dispute as Mohammed claims to have spent almost £1,200 on MOTs and required repairs for the vehicle to pass.
Mohammed says the vehicle failed its first two MOTs over emissions and the third on brakes. Having paid for the repairs he booked in for a fourth on June 4 - with the private hire licence expiring on May 29.
The dad-of-three says he kept his kept the vehicle off the road until it passed - but when he came to apply for his taxi license plates he was told he would not be able to have them as he let his MOT expire.
Mohammed, from Meir , said: "If you're not allowed to have license plates when your MOT expires then the council website should not have let me book the MOT for June 4 and they should have informed me at the MOT centre.
"I've explained to the council how important the vehicle is to us. I've lost out on a customer of two years because we don't have the vehicle to take her shopping and to her hospital appointments anymore, she would spend £120 with us a week.
"I've also just lost out on a £12,000 school contract where we pick children up from school who require the disabled access vehicle. The council should be supporting taxi drivers to have these disabled access vehicles not taking them off the road.
"There have been complaints about taxi drivers refusing wheelchair work, but that isn't the case for us, we have the vehicle but the council say we can't use it.
"It's a very important vehicle for the community because people rely on it and it's an important part of our fleet. That vehicle helps our customers who need it to lead a normal life. We're a small business and refusing these customers is not good for our reputation."
Mohammed estimates that in addition to the £1,188 he's spent on MOTs and repairs he's now facing up the prospect of spending £12,000 on replacing the vehicle. He said: "I've spent all of that money and now I've been told I can't have my license plates."
He added: "On the first two MOTs they said the emissions were a problem, but on the third they failed it on the brakes even though it had only done a further 150 miles. Why didn't they notice a problem with the brakes on the first two MOTs?"
He appealed to the council on July 16. However the decision to refuse the taxi license plates was upheld as his vehicle was more than seven years old.
Councillor Randy Conteh, cabinet member for communities and safer city, said: "The safety and security of people who are travelling with taxi and private hire drivers is absolutely paramount.
"Taxis and private hire do high mileage and suffer more wear and tear than the average person's car, but as a licensing authority, the city council has a duty to ensure that taxis and private hire cars are safe, roadworthy and fit for purpose.
"In this particular case, the car failed its MOT three times, before passing on June 4. However, its private hire licence expired on May 29, and vehicles that are more than seven years old must be renewed before their MOT runs out.
"We do not accept vehicles that are more than seven years old where there has been a break between the expiration of the licence and the renewal of its MOT, and that is clearly spelled out in our policy.
"Just because a car passes its MOT does not mean we have to give it a private hire licence, and public safety is always at the forefront of decisions we make. We expect all taxi and private hire drivers to ensure their vehicles are maintained to a safe and legal standard at all times."
Birmingham Private Hire Licence Knowledge Test Answers
Source: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/taxi-drivers-fury-cab-taken-16696148