Uber Driver Summoned To Tribunal For Wearing T-Shirt And Shorts At Malta Airport
An Uber driver who was recently fined by a Transport Malta official for being “improperly dressed” has been summoned to a tribunal and has pledged to fight the case.
Arthur Izuakor was fined on 20th October after he dropped a passenger off at the Malta International Airport and a Transport Malta official asked for his cab driver tag.
Izuakor told Lovin Malta that he showed the official his tag and was promptly fined for being “improperly dressed”, even though he was wearing a regular outfit – a white T-shirt and blue shorts.
The summons, issued by LESA, states that his contravention was that he “failed to wear uniform as approved by the Public Transport Authority whilst on duty” in accordance with Motor Vehicles Regulations 131.
Arthur Izuakor's tribunal summons
The cited law includes regulations for drivers of vehicles used to carry passengers for hire, including a provision stating that “the driver of any motor vehicle used for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward, other than a vehicle regulated by the Passenger Transport Services Regulations, shall, whilst on duty, wear a uniform of the pattern and colour as approved by the Authority [Transport Malta]”.
LESA’s notice informs Izuakor that a tribunal sitting has been set in Qormi for 1st March. He can opt to settle the €23.29 fine at least three days prior to the hearing or challenge the case.
However, LESA warned him that if the tribunal finds him guilty, he may incur a higher fine and potentially even lose his vehicle or license.
Izuakor said he intends to attend the tribunal and challenge the fine as he has a number of serious questions about it.
Besides the fact that he was never informed he had to wear a uniform or what the uniform should be, he pointed out that other cab drivers weren’t fined for wearing similar outfits.
In fact, he said that the very same Transport Malta official who fined him carried out on an inspection on another cab driver, who was also wearing shorts, right afterwards.
Arthur Izuakor's original fine
“I asked the driver if he was fined for wearing shorts and he said he wasn’t and that the official was just checking for his fire extinguisher,” Izuakor said. “So it’s not even a uniform procedure. If I saw other drivers getting fined and rushing to change their clothes, then I might admit I was guilty, but that hasn’t been the case.”
“I was working at MFCC today and no drivers were in uniform; you couldn’t even tell who the drivers and the guests were.”
Although several people on social media described the fine as an act of racism, Izuakor urged caution.
“I think it was just a stupid man who was bored of his job and just wanted to be vindictive,” he said. “I don’t want to rush to conclusions that it was racially motivated behaviour; it might have been but I don’t want to play that card.”
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