DARLINGTON Dial a Ride has defied the borough council by putting two vehicles back on the road without private hire licences.

Last Friday, the council was forced to issue the disabled taxi service's financial director Mr Charles Smith, with a notice to withdraw two nine-seater minibuses after he failed to prove why the vehicles should be exempt from private hire licensing regulations.

The action followed a year of negotiations with Mr Smith, following complaints from a number of taxi firms which have to undergo strict vehicle and driver checks before operating a similar service.

Mr Smith was warned that while three larger passenger-carrying vehicles fell outside the council's control, the two smaller ones were subject to licensing regulations unless he could prove they were exempt by law.

But on Wednesday, after taking advice from the national Community Transport Association, directors put the vehicles back on the road.

"We are back on the road with the vehicles in question and if they want to take it further, the CTA will back us," said Mr Smith. "We are confident that we are acting within the law and that the legislation regarding our buses has not changed."

Mr Smith claims the rules do not apply because the vehicles are part of a non-profit making car share scheme in which registered users pre-book transport driven by volunteers.

However, Mr Gordon Pybus, chairman of the disabled access interest group and chairman of the accessible transport task group, backed the council's action. He told the D&S Times: "Dial a Ride has brought this upon itself. It has known about this situation for a long, long time and done nothing about it.

"You can't do anything outside the laws of the land. Other disabled taxi minibuses have to go through rigorous driver and vehicle checks. Who does their safety checks?."

Mr Barry Pearson, the council's commercial licensing manager, said: "A technical loophole in the law that Dial a Ride claimed they were exempt under closed on July 1. Really, the legislation applied one year ago.

"We have tried to sort this out for a year now but Mr Smith's view all along has been that he doesn't need to licence the vehicles."

A council spokesman said: "Our main concern is to make sure public safety is protected."

The council confirmed it was continuing discussions with Dial a Ride and the Vehicle Inspectorate as well as seeking the views of the Community Transport Association.

Mr Smith added: "All of our buses are new and undergo continuous checks.

"Drivers are all checked by social services before becoming volunteers. I do not understand the council's logic here."