A BRADFORD private hire fleet manager is fed up of beig bombarded with fines for vehicles he claims comply with the city's Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
Hassan Shah, fleet manager of national cab company Arrow Cars, branded it "ridiculous" that his minibus private hire vehicles are being fined every time they pass through the CAZ in Bradford.
He says that, despite all of them being CAZ compliant, as confirmed when licensed by Bradford Council, every single one of his minibuses has received fines for entering the CAZ.
And in the past three years, he's received over 50 fines for just that - each of which he has to laboriously appeal - by hand. One of his vehicles has amassed a total of ten fines.
'No one can give me definitive answers as to why this is happening' (Image: T&A)
He said he has to appeal every ticket individually, even if one vehicle has had multiple fines.
He said all of his appeals have been successful - because the minibuses were always compliant, he claims.
"But whilst awaiting exemption I would have had to pay the fines or appeal the tickets," he added.
"If it wasn’t for me, the company I work for would have paid for the fines and not known any better."
Hassan Shah in one of his minibuses (Image: T&A)
When he joined as fleet manager, his cab company had unknowingly racked up £3,000 in CAZ fines.
"The council said I have to appeal every one single charge manually, and post it, because they wouldn’t accept over email – they’re just making it difficult on purpose," he added.
Mr Shah, 36, from the Heaton area, is fed up of trying to get to the bottom of the mysterious fines.
He's contacted Bradford Council, local MPs, CAZ and DVLA but claims he's got nowhere.
"Since the introduction of the CAZ a number of years ago, there’s been an issue and I cannot for the life in me figure out what the issue is – whether it's with the council or the DVLA," he told the T&A.
"Vehicles which should be exempt are being given notice that they need to pay a fine and they are being incorrectly issued a fine.
"How many other hundreds or thousands of private hire drivers from other cities will have been charged illegally and incorrectly?
"How many [other] taxi drivers are coming from Leeds, Manchester – know they’re compliant, but get hit with a fine?
"No one can give me definitive answers as to why this is happening, no one’s taking it further, I’ve spoken to people at the council.
"No one seems to be taking ownership on behalf of hundreds, if not thousands, of private hire drivers who enter Bradford."
The experienced fleet manager wants to know why he has to go through the rigmarole of applying for these exemptions, which "costs time and money" when Bradford Council has already authorised his minibuses for licence.
"I’ve contacted CAZ and they’ve said it's not our records, go to DVLA, I’ve then gone to DVLA, they said its not us, it's your local council. This is getting ridiculous," he added.
"How many innocent drivers will have come into the city unknowingly and been charged – where is that money going?"
He's fed up of receiving the fines, which he manually has to appeal (Image: T&A)
What the council and the DVLA had to say
The T&A contacted the council and the DVLA.
A Bradford Council spokesperson said: "Bradford Council and all other authorities operating Clean Air Zones around the country use the Government’s DVLA database for applying charges.
"We have processes in place for Bradford‑licensed vehicles of this type to share data so that CAZ compliant vehicles receive the correct exemptions and do not receive charges or fines.
"However, this cannot be replicated nationwide as Bradford Council doesn’t manage the national database.
"To prevent Penalty Charge Notices being issued, we encourage licensed vehicle proprietors whose CAZ compliant 5-8 passenger seat, non-WAV private hire vehicles are licensed outside of the Bradford authority to apply for an exemption for their vehicle so we can then ensure the appropriate steps are taken to apply exemptions where required.
"Where a licensed vehicle proprietor believes a PCN has been issued and their vehicle is of a compliant standard, we request that the PCN appeal process is followed so the PCN can be reviewed.
“Our CAZ team is always available to discuss experiences, answer questions, or respond to concerns from any private hire or Hackney Carriage proprietors.”
A spokesperson for the DVLA added: "DVLA’s role is as a record keeper only and decisions about which vehicles are chargeable in the Bradford CAZ are set and enforced by Bradford Council.
"Based on the information provided, we’ve identified that some of the vehicles are registered as non wheelchair accessible Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs), which may affect their compliance status.
"As Bradford Council is responsible for operating the CAZ and determining how different vehicle types are charged, they are best placed to comment on how their rules apply in these cases."
The council had no further comment.
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