Torfaen Council’s licensing team received two complaints from members of the public about taxi drivers allegedly working while “under the influence of alcohol”.

The information has been published in a report for the council’s licensing committee to cover the team’s work from October 2022 to March 2023. The two drivers were spoken to by licensing officers and both denied the allegations. There was no evidence to back up the complaints.

The report said that during this period 32 complaints were made about private hire and hackney taxi matters and 12 complaints were made about taxi drivers. In December the team was told that an unlicensed driver was using social media to offer lifts to members of the public. An officer has attempted to contact the man on the phone number in the posts.

Other complaints included allegations of overcharging, vehicles turning up late or not turning up at all and general poor service provision. Officers followed up all of the complaints and the report says that action “was taken as appropriate”.

Twelve taxis were stopped in October as part of a multi-agency operation with Gwent Police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). The team issued:

• Six delayed prohibition notices
• One immediate prohibition notice

One driver was asked to remove window tint from his vehicle at the roadside.

The team did another joint exercise with Gwent Police during an evening in December. Five licensed vehicles were inspected and no major defects were identified.