Taxi Driver Dumps Passengers on M11

[kev b]

My sister engaged a local Taxi firm to take her and her brood all the way to EuroDisney in a Minibus. The vehicle broke down aaround 3am on the M11 near Stanstead, it was recovered back to base in Lincolnshire and the passengers left near Stanstead Airport ostensibly to wait for a replacement vehicle to finish the journey.

The driver phoned from home and told them there would be no replacement and to make their own way there at his expense. My sister hired a minibus/driver to get them to the ferry terminal and was able to alter the ferry bookings for a later sailing. This has ruined the first day of the trip as they have had to take the train to Disney which has taken all day to sort out.

My question is does the Taxi firm have an obligation to pick them up for the return journey as if they have to use the train it will lose them another day.

[Centurion07]

Obligation in what sense?

Did she give the driver ANY money at all (specifically for the outward journey)?

[Vaud]

I'm not clear why the train isn't quicker.

[singlecoil]

Vaud said:

I'm not clear why the train isn't quicker.

Do the trains run at night?

[singlecoil]

Somewhat misleading thread title.

[anonymous-user]

Stansted.

[Vaud]

singlecoil said:

Do the trains run at night?

A fair point; though they do run quite late.

[R_U_LOCAL]

kev b said:

My question is does the Taxi firm have an obligation to pick them up for the return journey as if they have to use the train it will lose them another day.

If the booking was made through a licensed private hire operator, then yes, they are obliged to fulfil their original booking.

To be clear, their issue is with the operator and not the driver. The operator must be licensed by your local authority and will have a condition attached to their licence which requires them to fulfil any booking which they have accepted. They are allowed to sub-contract to another local licensed operator if they do not have a suitable vehicle available.

They seem to have badly let your relative down on the outward journey, so I would suggest that someone contacts the operator, reminds them of their obligation to complete the return journey as per the booking. If there is real concern that they will not, you or your relative should contact the licensing office at your local authority. Very often, a phone call from a licensing officer to "remind" a licence holder of their legal obligations will sort the problem out.