Taxis pulled over in Swansea city centre safety crackdown

Marked police cars patrolled Swansea city centre last Friday night as part of a joint licensing operation targeting taxis and private hire vehicles.

The crackdown — dubbed Operation Beccles — was led by the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Licensing Team, working alongside Swansea Council’s taxi licensing officers. It coincided with the launch of Op Advent, a festive policing initiative focused on keeping the city centre safe, and Operation Chirk, which saw outstanding suspects brought into custody.

During the evening, officers identified Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles for spot checks at a designated inspection area.

In total, 17 vehicles were inspected.

• Three were issued stop notices, meaning they cannot operate until defects are fixed.
• One vehicle received a Section 60 notice, allowing a short grace period before suspension.

Checks included physical inspections and database searches via the Police National Computer to confirm driver legitimacy and licensing compliance.

“Safety is our top concern”

Sergeant James Ponting said:

“It is very important that anyone visiting Swansea city centre has assurance that their safety is of utmost concern when they use a taxi. This operation highlights the emphasis we place on community safety — we want people to enjoy the city centre and get home safely afterwards.”

Andrew Williams, Swansea Council Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, added:

“Especially during the festive period, we want people to feel safe using taxis and private hire vehicles. The results of Operation Beccles show why it’s vital we take steps to ensure vehicles and drivers are fit for purpose.”

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#CllrAndrewWilliams #HackneyCarriage #motoring #OperationBeccles #PrivateHire #SouthWalesPolice #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil #Taxi #taxiInspection #taxiLicensing #vehicleSafety #vehicleSafetyInspection

Cash‑only taxis told to install card machines in Swansea

From December 2025, newly licensed private hire and hackney taxis must carry card readers, following a decision by Swansea Council’s general licensing committee. Existing licence holders will need to comply when their licences are renewed, meaning some drivers may not be required to install machines until next year.

The move follows concerns from passengers that cash‑only taxis risk leaving people stranded if they don’t have notes or coins to hand. Many passengers now rely on contactless payments, Google Pay and other digital methods.

A public consultation held in May and June found strong support for the change, with 82% of respondents agreeing that card machines should be mandatory in all taxis. In total, 417 people took part, including 179 from the taxi industry.

Andrew Williams, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, said:

“Many taxi companies and individual taxi owners already use card reader technology as well as giving passengers the ability to pay fares via a smartphone app.

However, there are still many taxi drivers in the city that only allow payment by cash, and this could put would‑be passengers at risk of not being able to pay their fare if they are not carrying cash.

Our recent public consultation has shown overwhelmingly that passengers want to see modern payment methods being adopted in all licensed taxis operating in the city.”

The council first signalled the change in January 2025, when a report recommended consulting the public and taxi operators on mandatory card payments.

The new rules mean that by the end of 2026, all licensed taxis in Swansea are expected to offer passengers the option of paying by card as well as cash.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Card machines could be mandated for city taxis
Earlier consultation explored whether card payments should be compulsory in Swansea taxis.

Unsafe taxis pulled off Swansea’s streets
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Carjacker sentenced after robbery of Swansea taxi driver
A man has been jailed after a violent carjacking targeting a local taxi driver.

Man posed as taxi driver to kidnap woman
A man was sentenced after pretending to be a taxi driver and assaulting a passenger.

#ApplePay #cardPayment #cash #cashOnly #cashOnlyTaxi #contactlessPayment #GooglePay #HackneyTaxi #motoring #PrivateHire #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil #Taxi #taxiFare #taxiPayment

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Singapore's Grab has started a GrabPet service which allows up to two pets to be transported with the pet owner.

Apparently, Uber had a UberPet service before it exit the Singapore market in 2017.

#PrivateHire #Transport #Singapore #Pets

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/grab-your-pet-and-go-grabpet-service-launches-singapore

Interesting glitch. For a period of time, all fares for the Singapore ride-hailing service Grab was SGD6; even for international destinations. Link shows a number of examples.

#Singapore #Grab #PrivateHire #Transport

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/grab-app-glitch-rides-cost-6-fare-regardless-of-destination-10863616