A Wolverhampton-led multi-agency day of action at East Midlands Airport on 24 September checked 209 private hire vehicles and drivers. City of Wolverhampton Council said the exercise, with 18 other licensing authorities and national partners, was among the largest taxi licensing enforcement operations of its kind and part of its countrywide compliance work.
MOT-qualified examiners looked at tyres, brakes, seatbelts, bodywork and related safety points. DVSA, DVLA and HMRC helped check registrations, road tax and any use of red diesel. Leicestershire Police and North West Leicestershire District Council, the airport’s host authority, also took part. Trade reporting from the same day, including PHTM, also lists Uber UK and insurance-fraud specialists among those present.
What inspectors found
Wolverhampton said 35 vehicles, licensed by a range of authorities, had non-compliance issues. Nine were temporarily ordered off the road until serious faults were fixed, including tyres below the legal 1.6mm tread depth, faulty seatbelts or vehicle damage.
Trade accounts of the same operation put the total at 45 faults across those 35 vehicles, adding defective lighting, missing wheel nuts, loose bodywork and dangerous collision damage to the list, plus licensing breaches on vehicle identification, driver badges and required safety kit.
Three vehicles were found using illegal “ghost” plates. Wolverhampton said it uses infrared cameras to spot them, and laser tools to check tread depth. Police will issue Fixed Penalty Notices to those drivers.
Cross-border work at a busy airport
Vehicles stopped included cars licensed far from the East Midlands, with trade reports naming authorities such as Wrexham, Cardiff, Hull and Milton Keynes. That spread is legal: under current law, applicants may seek a taxi or private hire licence from any licensing authority, and councils cannot refuse someone only because they live elsewhere. Pre-booked private hire work can also take drivers well outside their home district, which is why airport stops often need several councils on site.
Councillor Qaiser Azeem, Wolverhampton’s cabinet member for resident services, said safety was the council’s highest priority and that officers enforce “across the country wherever our licensed drivers are working.” Councillor Michael Wyatt of North West Leicestershire District Council said the day helped keep a level playing field for drivers and operators who meet the standards. More joint cross-border operations are expected.