A Bolton Uber driver has had his private hire licence revoked after serious allegations of sexual misconduct were made by a female passenger.
The decision to strip the driver of his licence was made by Bolton Council’s licensing committee following a hearing in April. The committee reviewed evidence relating to claims that the driver, who had only held his licence for three months, behaved in an “inappropriate sexual way” towards a female passenger during a journey.
Due to the sensitive nature of the case, the hearing was held behind closed doors with press and public excluded. However, recently published council minutes have revealed the committee’s findings. According to the report: “The committee found that, on consideration of all the evidence and submissions, on the balance of probabilities, the driver did act in an inappropriate sexual way towards a female passenger in his vehicle and also found the detailed account by the passenger complainant to be credible.”
During the hearing, the driver denied all wrongdoing and instead made counter-allegations of inappropriate behaviour by the female passenger, which the committee described as “terrible”. Councillors highlighted several inconsistencies in his version of events, noting that despite his serious claims, he had not asked the passenger to leave the vehicle, nor did he report the incident to police.
In a further contradiction, the driver had awarded the female passenger a 5-star rating on the Uber app following the trip, despite having previously given lower ratings to other passengers. The committee found his account lacked credibility and concluded that he appeared to be attempting to discredit the complainant.
The driver initially told the committee that he could not recall the specific journey in question. However, he later changed his story, alleging that the passenger had been abusive towards him for 25 minutes during the trip.
The council has not publicly named the driver, nor disclosed the exact date of the incident. Nevertheless, the licensing committee unanimously decided to revoke his licence with immediate effect, citing public safety concerns given the serious nature of the complaint.
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