Glasgow taxi driver back behind wheel hours after suspension

A Glasgow taxi driver got back behind the wheel again just hours after being suspended – and was caught trying to pick up passengers at the Hydro.

Mohammad Sarwar came to the attention of council enforcement officers after he was accused of refusing to take passengers to Milton in the early hours of May 9.

Officers examined his vehicle and found a number of problems, including that the meter time was about six minutes fast and needed recalibrating, and that the driver didn’t have all the proper documentation with him.

The wrong meter time could lead to passengers facing the wrong charges, depending on the time of day.

After uncovering the vehicle issues, officers suspended Sarwar’s licence – but later that day they spotted him at the Hydro rank at 9.35pm, bidding to pick up customers.

When challenged over continuing to operate, Sarwar told them he thought it would be “okay” and that he had only carried out two or three hires.

The city’s licensing committee heard Sarwar had taken his vehicle to have the meter adjusted after enforcement officers had pointed out the problem.

Trying to explain his actions, Sarwar said he was “sorry” and he had “misunderstood” the situation.

Committee chair Alex Wilson said: “You can’t drive when you have been suspended.”

He added: “There are a number of mistakes in terms of your operation of the vehicle.”

Adding that he should not have continued to take hires he said: “You should not have been back out in your vehicle the following day.

“If you are told something to do by enforcement, that is what you do.”

The committee suspended Sarwar’s taxi drivers’ licence for four weeks.