Taxi drivers take liberties

Live next door to dodgy private hire driver who takes other neighbours on fares, smokes in his car and throws butt out the window whilst driving, applied for taxi licence not a private hire one, has a plate on his car that a friend of his used to have on his car dont know how he acquired it as they are supposed to be returned to the council, goes out at 4am comes home at around 10am goes about all day coughing and spluttering cause he smokes so much also has a heart condition and been hospitalised with a heart attack, how he passes the medical beats me, has had two prangs recently and changed cars just after them, also does a school run, anyone getting into his car must need their head examined!

I have a Canadian accent and live in a touristy town. I've lived here for years. When I get in a taxi for a night out, etc. I can see the driver beginning to take a route I know for a fact isn't the quickest way. Of course I always point out that its not the most direct route and that I've lived here for years and they immediately correct their direction. It happens almost every time. I am assumed to be a tourist (even though I'm picked up from a house not a hotel) and they try to take advantage of me. Its annoying.

How do you report a taxi driver? Is there a complaint body for such thing? Tx

Although taxi drivers have to earn a living, I certainly think that some charges extortionate prices - the Hackney cabs for example in London and in Birmingham, charge you even when they are in traffic jams, needless to say the cost of travel is much higher; In Birmingham, I once paid £22 to get from New Street Station to Stechford in Birmingham in one of those Hackney cabs; however on my way home, my partner called me a normal taxi and I just paid £9.

Taxis and minicabs provide a great service, a service that we pay for. I use them regularly.

However as a driver of an ambulance I see them take liberties that I most certainly would not even consider because of the risk to others whilst responding to an emergency.

Given that, whilst other drivers are considerate and assist ambulance crews reduce their time to a patient in trouble taxi drivers just get in the way most of the time. I wish we had cameras on the ambulances so we can record these events.
I would report serious indiscretions, just o make the roads safer.

Why dont you learn to drive yourself around?
Get a scooter or a car?
You must be paying a fortune in taxi fares or hey why they hell dont you walk? run? jog? CYCLE? I MEAN GOD FORBID YOU would have to do any work

Have you ever tried to report a taxi driver, OH what fun that is. first, the police say it's nothing to do with them, so you have to go through the council. So you ring the council, If, and only IF you can get put through to the correct department, does the fun really start.

I'll give you some info on what to be armed with BEFORE you ring.

Get the taxi licence number, which should be on a big plate at the rear, it should have ALL the cars details.

The EXACT time you saw the taxi offending, as most taxi have more than one driver.

If at all possible, get PHOTOGRAPH, this way they can't dispute it.

Get witnesses, if possible, as this will be of great help.

Once armed with all the above, ring council, and GOOD LUCK, but most of all,

PERSIST in reporting, you WILL succeed.

Taxi's MUST obey the rules of the road, they must not double park, they must not have more on the ranks as stated, private hire must not TOUT for business, they must not SMOKE in their cabs, or use mobile phones while driving.

They are the the worst drivers in london.U-turns like nobodys buisness just because they smell a 10 pound note across the road.Shame they dont declare all they earn to the tax man.