Oldham taxi failures putting passengers 'at risk'

Safety issues included poor suspension, faulty rear lights and a lack of fire extinguishers.

More than 1,000 taxis failed safety checks in Oldham last year putting passengers "at risk", said councillors.

A licensing committee report revealed that nearly 41% of taxis in the borough had failed council tests on vehicles since last April.

Safety issues included poor suspension, faulty rear lights, tyre condition and a lack of fire extinguishers.

Councillor Graham Shuttleworth criticised the taxi trade for a "deterioration" in standards.

"We need to stop finger-wagging with the trade and get firmer with them because I just think this whole situation is totally unacceptable," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We either need to reduce the age of the vehicle, we need to deal with the drivers, or we need to get those vehicles off the road permanently."

'Disappointing'

Councillors proposed entering into dialogue with the taxi industry over plans to reduce the maximum age of vehicles from 12 years to 10.

Previously, the age limit had been increased in the hope conditions would improve.

John Garforth, who manages the council's trading standards and licensing division, told the panel that a 59% pass rate was both "disappointing and concerning".

"Some drivers are clearly bringing vehicles unprepared and are using the mechanical test as a way of identifying faults on vehicles," he said.

The panel agreed to gather more information about the condition failures and present them to the trade, with a view to trying to reduce the numbers.