'Some taxi drivers feel CCTV invades privacy'

Taxi drivers in part of Shropshire have shown a reluctance to have free CCTV put in their vehicles due to privacy worries when the vehicles are used as personal family cars, a meeting heard.

Forty-eight licensed private hire vehicles and hackney carriages have had safety cameras fitted since a scheme was launched in 2022, funded by Telford & Wrekin borough's community safety partnership.

With about 400 licences in the borough, independent councillor Peter Scott asked if there was "any reason some don't" take it up.

A council official said: "Some of the taxi drivers don't feel comfortable having CCTV on because they think it would record every journey and they feel it's an invasion of privacy."

They added: "We only ever take footage from CCTV from inside a vehicle if there was a complaint or incident. It would be related to their work."

Some private hire vehicles were also used as personal private vehicles, a meeting of the community scrutiny committee was told.

Labour councillor Giles Luter said the rollout of CCTV in taxis was a "positive start and if we can encourage more people to get involved".

He added: "I think it makes women especially feel more comfortable travelling around".

Chairing the meeting, Labour councillor Elise Davies stated it was "an amazing initiative."

Committee members were looking into the night time economy and how the council and others work to keep people safe.

The borough supports a Taxi Marshal scheme, Street Pastors and the use of data and intelligence to identify hotspots associated with licensed premises, taxis and community safety concerns, targeted enforcement and preventative interventions.

The council also works in partnership with West Mercia Police on vehicle stop operations.

The authority has held a reciprocal arrangement with City of Wolverhampton Council, enabling borough officials to inspect and suspend Wolverhampton-licensed vehicles.

During last year, 18 breach of condition notices were issued to Telford vehicle proprietors, requiring identified defects or compliance issues to be rectified.

These breaches included failures to have private hire vehicle plates fixed correctly and drivers not wearing their private hire vehicle lanyards.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.