Glasgow.

TWO men have died as their car collided with a taxi and crashed into a tree on the southside of Glasgow.

Their Honda Civic was in the crash with a Hackney taxi in Hillington shortly after midnight.

It resulted in both vehicles leaving the road, with the Honda hitting a tree and the taxi crashing into a fence.

A 23-year-old man driving the Civic and his 25-year-old passenger both died at the scene.

The driver of the taxi, a 56-year-old man, was uninjured while his 44-year-old male passenger suffered minor injuries and was treated at the nearby Southern General Hospital.

A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal and police are appealing for witnesses to contact them.

The accident happened on the A736 Hillington Road, south-east of its junction with Deanside Road in Renfrew.

Sergeant Jo McPherson, of the divisional road policing unit in Glasgow, said: “Although this crash happened in the early hours of this morning, this is a busy junction and I am sure there would have been a number of other vehicles on the road who saw what happened.”

Four injured as car and taxi collide in Walsall

Four people were injured, including a driver who had to be cut out of his mangled vehicle, following a head-on smash between a car and a taxi today.

This was the scene today when the Vauxhall Corsa was in collision with the Toyota taxi just after 1am on Bloxwich Road in Walsall.

The young driver of the Corsa was trapped in the wreckage following the crash, and had to be cut free by firefighters.

The taxi was carrying one male and one woman passenger in the back seat.
One of the cars ended up on the small central reservation of the road, and debris was strewn across both carriageways. The road remained closed off for at least four hours as police investigated the crash.

The Corsa driver had to be cut out of his car by three fire crews, two from Walsall and one from Bloxwich, which were called to the scene. The steering wheel of his car was buckled and bent forward into and across the driver’s seat.

Watch commander Tim Middleton, from Bloxwich fire station, said: “The compartment he was in was bent to such a degree it was across his knees.

“We cut the roof and doors off, pulled the seating out, and off to hospital he went. Although he was not seriously injured he was drifting in and out of consciousness, and he had a large cut across his chin.”

The two passengers and male driver of the taxi were helped by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Walsall Manor Hospital. Mr Middleton added: “They were the least injured, they had cuts and bruises, and the lady looked a bit groggy - she had obviously hit her head.”

Stoke, Etherington has Whiplash

Matthew Etherington is a doubt for Stoke City this weekend after suffering a whiplash injury when his taxi was pranged by another car.

The 32-year-old winger had hailed a cab outside Stoke-on-Trent train station yesterday morning and was en route to training when the accident happened.

The Potters’ players were given the day off on Thursday and Etherington is understood to have travelled down to London.

He returned by train and was due into work on time when the collision occurred.

'I think it was a significant one,' said manager Mark Hughes, 'Matthew wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure.

'He told me he was checking his phone when the taxi was hit from behind.

'Consequently, he’s got a bit of whiplash. We are hopeful that he will be okay for the game against Norwich tomorrow.'

 I only hope the driver was insured with @WestminsterMike.

Wigan driver in a coma.

THE distressed family of a Wigan taxi driver left fighting for his life after a hit-and-run have made an emotional plea for witnesses to come forward.

Cancer sufferer Peter Gregory was put in a medically induced coma due to internal injuries following the two car collision in Scholes last week. The driver of the other vehicle involved is being sought by detectives after fleeing the scene, leaving 57-year-old Peter trapped in his taxi.

Peter is now showing signs of recovery and has spoken of his recollections of the other driver approaching his car and looking at him through the window before running off.

Brother Alan Gregory said: “My brother had only just recovered from bowel cancer and his intestinal wall was very weak as a result.

“The impact of the crash has caused mass internal bleeding, his bowels almost completely disintegrated, and he was in a coma for most of last week.

“We’re relieved his condition is improving, he has been able to talk - but he remains in a critical condition in intensive care. We are desperate for people to come forward.”

“This is an extremely serious crash that happened in a residential area, someone must have been seen or heard something. My brother suffered life-threatening injuries and the people responsible just ran away.”

Fire crews spent two hours at the scene at the junction of Scholes and Vauxhall Road and used hydraulic cutting equipment to release Mr Gregory, who lives near Atherton, from the wreckage.

His passenger was taken to Wigan Infirmary while the father-of-two was taken to see a trauma specialist team at Salford Royal Hospital.

Detectives are asking anyone who may have seen the incident or can identify the drivers of the black Vauxhall Insignia that was part of the collision with the taxi – a blue Citroen Xsara Picasso – to come forward.

Whelley resident Alan said: “Initially, my brother was reported to have only suffered minor injuries but this was not the case. My family are understandably devastated and upset about what happened and want to find the driver of the other car involved.

“We are indebted to the fire crews, watch manager Craig Cubbins and the white watch from Wigan.”

The collision occurred at just after 3am on Friday, September 13.

Manchester

The Audit Committee met today in Manchetser. One item on the agenda was the Licensing Fee's Audit for year ended 2012.

We had Representatives and Journalists there. The meeting was abandoned in less than 30 mins.

Inadequate paperwork by civil servents was allegedly the reason.

This is Manchester, why is that not surprising ?

I will update you further, this is not going away.

 FURIOUS taxi drivers in Grimsby have claimed a victory after staging a noisy 5mph "go-slow" protest against changes which they say are preventing them from earning a living.

Drivers are angry about North East Lincolnshire Council's decision to close their rank on Victoria Street West and Town Hall Street as part of a long-term revamp of the town centre.

They claim the planned new ranks on Victoria Street South are too far from the town centre and yesterday morning, about 10 drivers launched the slow moving protest near the town hall beeping their horns before more drivers joined in, eventually bringing traffic to a standstill.

The protest came to a head when a handful of the drivers were invited into the council offices for a hastily arranged meeting, which saw the council agree to temporarily restore Town Hall Street as a taxi rank and to erect signs to point the public towards pick-up points.

Susan Barss, a taxi driver of over 30 years, said it was "bad enough trying to making a living as it is".

Fellow driver Colin Wilson claimed the driver at the front of the rank on Town Hall Street yesterday had been sat there for two hours without a fare.

"Nobody is going to be able to earn money and I can see the town centre grinding to a halt," he said.

"The taxi ranks are constantly full and nobody can move.

"It's going to have a drastic effect on us drivers, even if we do get fares the roadworks make it so difficult to get in and out of town.

"It's a total waste of money what is happening here."

One driver claimed the council had taken away some 20 taxi spaces in recent weeks. Councillor Andrew De Freitas (Lib – Park Ward), who watched some of the protest from the Town Hall steps, said he had sympathy for the drivers.

"The issue really needs to be dealt with immediately," he said.

"You can't have these people struggling to make a living.

"I have a lot of sympathy for these guys."

Marcus Asquith, head of highways at NELC, said: "The relocation of taxi ranks is part of the major Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) developments taking place across Grimsby town centre.

"From the start of this project we have worked closely with all stakeholders to communicate the changes and wherever possible address the concerns they raise.

"The problems which led to today's protest by the taxi drivers occurred as a new phase of the LSTF project started. Following a meeting on site, the problems have now been addressed and we have made a commitment to work closely with them to continue to keep them informed of our intentions.

"As with any project of this size, there are bound to be times of change and inconvenience and we will try to minimise disruption wherever we can.

"We will continue to work with the taxi drivers and businesses in the town centre to keep them informed of progress. And I would like to thank them, and the public, for their patience during these essential improvement works."

Mrs Barss said the drivers had agreed to set up a new organisation which will have regular meetings for drivers to discuss concerns.
----------------------------------------------


Maidstone taxi driver Ahbabur Rahman 'deliberately reversed at three passengers', court told

A taxi driver injured three passengers when he deliberately reversed at them during a row in the early hours, a court heard.

After Ahbabur Rahman struck friends Remmi Sexton, Grace Dilley and Joe Glenister, he ignored screams and drove off in the black cab, it was alleged.

The trio had been out drinking in Maidstone town centre and asked the 47-year-old cabbie to take them to Vinters Park at about 4.30am on September 29 last year.

On the way, Miss Sexton and Mr Glenister had a heated argument and there was then disagreement over the fare, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Ian Foinette said because of the argument Miss Sexton asked Rahman to stop in Bedgebury Close and let her out. He did so and Mr Glenister followed her.

The others also got out and £10 was handed to the driver for the £7 fare.

"It seems there was some sort of argument going on with the driver," said Mr Foinette.

"There was shouting. At one stage, the taxi driver and Grace Dilley were more or less face to face.

"He got back in. Those behind saw the reversing lights come on the taxi. He then reversed back at speed some 12-15ft and hit the three.

"They were all knocked over. Remmi Sexton hit her head on the ground. After hitting them the defendant moved forward and just drove off fast away from the scene.

"One person described the engine not only revving but also the tyres squealing."

Mr Foinette told the jury of eight women and four men: "It must have been blindingly obvious to the defendant he had reversed into them and hit them.

"Screaming around the back of the taxi must have told him something had happened.

    "One person described the engine not only revving but also the tyres squealing..." - prosecutor Ian Foinette

"The Crown say this was a deliberate act by him, annoyed perhaps by what was going on in the back of the taxi and afterwards.

"In a fit of pique he decided he was going to show them he was the boss."

An ambulance was called and injuries were treated in hospital.

Rahman, of Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, denies two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm, one of assault by beating and dangerous driving.

He claims he did not get out of the cab and did not reverse it.

The trial continues.

Stoke.
 
PRIVATE hire taxi firms in Stoke-on-Trent are campaigning for their drivers to be allowed to use the city's bus lanes.

Operators claim Hanley has become a 'no-go area' for private hire vehicles in the wake of recent changes to the road layout.


They are now asking Stoke-on-Trent City Council to review rules which allow Hackney carriages to use bus lanes but ban private hire taxis.

Dave Currie, regional secretary of the National Private Hire Association, is leading the campaign.

He said: "The people of Stoke-on-Trent are paying out £1 million a year in private hire fares that they would not need to pay if drivers were given access to the bus lanes.

"Since the road changes in Hanley the situation is even worse.

"At the moment they can only drop off and pick up on the outskirts of Hanley.

"If private hire could use the bus lanes it would mean revellers were cleared from the city centre more quickly late at night, and also reduce pollution.

"We've been banging this drum for a long time and I haven't heard one councillor say they don't think it's a good idea, yet the council will do nothing about it."

Mr Currie will meet members of the local authority's City Renewal Overview and Scrutiny Panel tomorrow – along with representatives from private hire firms – to ask for the situation to be reviewed.

Sue Riley, manager of Burslem-based Magnum taxis, will attend the meeting.

She said: "If people want to go into the centre of Hanley they either have to get the bus or a Hackney.

"All the time we have to say to customers, 'walk here' or 'walk there', and some of them really aren't mobile enough.

"The idea of private hire is you are taken door to door and you don't have to walk to a taxi rank in the first place. Since the road changes came in our base operators have a lot more hassle off people because we can't get to where they want to go.

"The situation is only going to get worse in the winter with the bad weather."

A report to the overview and scrutiny committee states that the issue was last considered by the council in October 2010, when the cabinet decided not to allow private hire vehicles to use bus lanes.

It adds: "There have been major changes to the road layout in the city centre, including proposals to better cater for private hire vehicles at night, and this needs time to settle down before considering any further changes."

The meeting starts at the Civic Centre at 10am.
----------------------------------------------------------------
 Edinburgh

Taxi operators have hit out at plans for a £50 administration fee for every cab fitted with wifi.

Internet access in taxis across Edinburgh via wifi hotspots would be free to all passengers, with installation and service charges to be paid by sponsors under the move backed by city council licensing chiefs.

However, the local authority still intends to ask drivers to fill out an application to have the equipment fitted – and charge a £50 levy for each vehicle in the process.

The fee could net the council as much as almost £66,000 if all 1316 of the city’s licensed cabs and private hire vehicles commit to the plan.

The charge was raised with operators at a regulatory meeting last week.

Major firms Microsoft, Heathrow and Styloko paid for a similar scheme launched in London in March.

Central Taxis director Tony Kenmuir said it was not the first time the industry had been stung with unnecessary fees, with operators charged £25 by the council for all adverts posted on the side of cabs.

He estimated the charge would cost his company more than £22,000, saying: “It just gets my goat that they do absolutely nothing for the trade and they’re just always looking for ways to take money off us. We’ll be paying for the unit and the advertisers will be paying for the unit. If there’s some kind of data charge, we might also have to weigh in for that.

“They don’t subsidise us, they don’t make any kind of contribution, which they would do if it was on a train or a bus.”

Mr Kenmuir said there was no doubt passengers would soon come to expect having free wifi in taxis, just like trains or buses.

He questioned why the council was not spending money on upgrading facilities for drivers such as installing new ranks near the 16 stops along the eight-mile tram line.

The council is opening a rank on Rosebery Crescent near the Haymarket stop, but will otherwise rely on existing ranks at St Andrew Square, Grosvenor Street and outside Waverley Station to service passengers coming off trams in central Edinburgh.

George Aird, chairman of rival firm City Cabs, said he was not convinced he wanted taxis in his fleet to be part of the wifi rollout.

He said paying the fee would be up to each individual driver, adding: “The average time of a taxi journey is about eight minutes. For somebody to sit in a train and do their work on wifi coming up from London, I can see the point. But on a taxi I can’t see the point.”

Taxi advertising firm Ubiquitous has agreed to help pay the bill for the Edinburgh service.

A council spokeswoman said the administration fee would cover the cost of a vehicle inspection needed to make sure the wifi unit was installed “safely” and met the taxi’s licence conditions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands
 
A taxi firm has come under fire for its advertising strategy. Image: Getty

A social media advert for East Midlands taxi company ADT Taxis has today drawn ire from students and women in the region with the release of a sexually explicit image supposedly intended to encourage young women to book taxis when drunk. Students at Loughborough University are demanding a boycott of the company, while others have publicly tweeted to the effect that they will no longer use ADT; meanwhile, the advertising agency possible has been dismissed.

The image, which appeared on Facebook about 16 hours ago, shows two young women, framed by a doorway, opening on to what appears to be a student bedroom. One is curled on the floor in a foetal position, her jeans around her ankles. The other crouches over her, an expression of apparent distress on her face.

While the first student retains her knickers, the focus is very clearly on her crotch. No attempt is made to anonymise facial details for either individual, who are both clearly identifiable from this picture – nor to cover over the first woman’s naked rear or crotch.

A caption to the image states: “be safe. Don’t overdo it… Adt it!”

Shortly after the original picture was spotted, campaigning organisation The Everyday Sexism Project took up the baton, calling on Loughborough University and Loughborough SU to boycott the company. This, in turn, called out a response from ADT’s Twitter account. They tweeted:  “its [sic] called humour…now get back to your daytime tv, you miserable pc brigade.” They also briefly republished the picture, with both the women’s faces anonymised and the more sexual elements censored by means of strategically placed cut-outs.

However, this too was promptly taken down, and the ADT Twitter account became temporarily unavailable: a decision, we are told, that was taken by ADT’s own managing director.

Such a turn of events is unlikely to be good for business. Describing themselves as “Loughborough University’s reputable taxi and private hire operator for the last 10 years... with a fleet of over 100 vehicles”, they clearly depend significantly on business from the local student community.

“Based at Loughborough University on campus, our shop at the students' union is open 24 hours a day during term time," continues the ADT website. "We are fully licensed and undertake most of Loughborough University’s transport needs.

“Our rank is there for you, we have plenty of cards on Union nights, to reassure you that you are going home in a vehicle operated legally by Loughborough University’s reputable taxi and private hire operator.”

A spokesperson for the university confirmed that they do have a rank on site, but that this is subject to agreement with the Student Union and is in no way endorsed by the university itself.

We also spoke to a representative of the Student Union, who described themselves as “horrified” by the campaign.  However, according to this same individual, the problem lay not with the taxi company directly but with their media agency, who have now been dismissed.  This followed advice from Loughborough SU and took place within minutes of the company’s proprietor understanding what had happened.

Whether this will be enough to avoid a major loss of business is unclear.

As news of the ill-advised campaign spread, a number of students expressed disgust, with several stating they would never use ADT again. The university's Vice Chancellor has been asked to respond on the matter.

A spokeswoman for national campaigning group, Ending Victimisation & Abuse, added:  "Images of vulnerable women being used as a marketing tool is one that we've surely grown out of. It seems not, if this advertisement is anything to go by. Regardless of whether they've 'overdone it' or not, we'd recommend using a taxi firm that is respectful towards all people - vulnerable women included."

This is not the first time that ADT appear to have used sexualised imagery in their social media advertising. A shot taken from their Facebook page, dated 13th September, depicts a topless women holding her breasts with the accompanying text: "That got your attention... Now remember our digits!" followed by the taxi company's various regional phone numbers.

A spokesperson for Loughborough University said: "This campaign by Ashley David Taxis (ADT) is totally unacceptable.

"Ashley David Taxis are an independent company, who rent operating space on the Loughborough campus."

An apology published on the ADT website stated: "Contrite apologies. The offensive tweet and response came from an agent who we misguidedly appointed to act for us on social media. We have dismissed them.

"We were horrified when we saw what had been put out on our behalf and even more so when we saw the rude response to @everydaysexism pointing out the issue.

Many apologies to anyone who has been offended. This absolutely does not represent ADTs [sic] values. We are very sorry for our error of judgement in appointing an unsuitable agent, at this point we can only apologise and make an assurance that we will make a more careful appointment in the future."
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Cambridge

More than 900 people have signed a petition over fears the proposed layout of Cambridge’s revamped station area could put as much as £2 on a taxi fare into town.

When the cb1 redevelopment is complete, taxis will be unable to enter or exit the new station square via Station Road, and will instead have to travel via Tenison Road and a new access road.

Cabbies from Cambridge City Licensed Taxis fear this road will be heavily congested, with journeys being held up for five or six minutes at peak times.

If this happens, a fare from the station into the city centre could have £1.80 or £2 added to it.

David Wratten, the organisation’s chairman, has presented a petition with 927 signatures, calling for the issue to be reconsidered.

Originally it was hoped that taxis may be able to exit onto Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue alongside buses via Brookgate, but this will not happen, and Mr Wratten said he would be content with being able to use Station Road.

He said: “It’s a mess and people don’t realise what’s coming.

“In rush hour we believe the average wait on Tenison Road could be five or six minutes, which will put £1.80 or £2 on a journey.

“They have done everything for buses and taxi customers should get the same level of treatment.”

Another concern is that the taxi rank in the new station square will only have space for seven vehicles, compared to 14 at present - so the queues of cabs in the car park will remain.

And the new rank would be single file, causing major difficulties if a vehicle breaks down.

Mr Wratten added: “I can’t understand why they have not put a bit more effort into a better design.”

Detailed plans for the station square will be considered by the city council at a later date, but a spokeswoman said the principle of taxis using the northern access road had been established in the outline planning permission which was issued in 2010.

A spokeswoman for Brookgate, the developer, said: “The delivery of a new access road for the station area, providing a through route for buses, and enabling the creation of a new pedestrian piazza forms an important part of the approved cb1 masterplan.

“We are committed to creating a station square that is compatible with all modes of transport, and an improved station that will benefit all users.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Addison Lee. London
 
Until recently, leaving a big London party or a Mayfair club at closing time meant joining a forest of waving arms: fellow departees jostling for the attention of passing cabs and watching with envy as the guests with private drivers fled the scene. Not any more. Step out of a glamorous fundraiser or launch party now and you will be met by tens of low-key cars, one of which knows your name and your destination. ‘You come out of something like a Burberry dinner, and it’s like a black sea of Addison Lee,’ as one fashion editor puts it.

This is how smart London gets around nowadays — in the back of app-summoned cars with well-dressed drivers, and all at short notice. Movers, shakers, models and socialites don’t need private drivers any more, and they certainly don’t want to stand waving on street corners: they just need their smartphones. Tech-savvy companies like Addison Lee, Green Tomato and Uber are employing algorithms and glossy apps to deliver cheap, flexible urban transport that appeals to the Cara Delevingne set and City types alike. Less rosy is the picture for some of the drivers, who are working longer hours than ever and say they aren’t getting a fair deal in the private hire boom. ‘I don’t know many people who have full-time drivers any more,’ says Clementine Churchill from concierge giant Quintessentially — quite a statement given the company’s famously ostentatious membership. ‘It increasingly makes sense for people to book on demand when they need a car, and if our members are looking to get from A to B, they will use Addison Lee and Uber.’ They are very different companies — one a massive London mini-cab firm founded in 1975, the other a San Francisco start-up which has proved popular in cities like LA with unreliable or nonexistent taxi service and is now spreading around the world at a rate of knots — but what they and others like ethical taxi company Green Tomato have in common is tech.

The new private hire trend has come about because of the convenience of well-made apps that magic cars out of thin air and sophisticated in-car systems that email you your journey particulars as soon as you finish. Green Tomato, who do big business for the BBC and whose cars are Prius hybrids, boast that the average time between booking on their app and collection is just under 12 minutes, while Addison Lee says ten and Uber says seven, ‘and four minutes in Mayfair’. It is Uber’s prices that are London’s best-kept secret: a trip from Kensington to Soho in one of their cheaper cars is about £2 cheaper than a black cab, although many suspect their prices will rise when they become established. Addison Lee cars cost at least a few pounds more for a journey like that but begin to make financial sense with slightly longer trips where you don’t pay to sit in traffic. Last year their app generated more than £50 million worth of business.

The fashion editor recalls seeing models ‘discreetly planning their exit from boring parties’ by tapping away at their phones on the dinner table and making their excuses minutes later. Among Uber’s early adopters since it launched in the UK in July last year have been the Made In Chelsea gang, who use its Uber X service (Audi A6s, Priuses and the like — many owned by the drivers) for daytime trips and its Uber Lux service (BMW 7 series, Mercedes S-Class) for nights out. The now widespread use of Addison Lee, Uber and Green Tomato by film sets, fashion shows and record labels means ‘You wouldn’t believe who I had in my car’ stories are more believable than ever.

While Uber drivers tend to juggle several driving jobs, with membership giving them an easy opportunity to make some extra cash, they are a cheery exception. In general the drivers commanded effortlessly with three swipes of your finger don’t always seem as enamoured with their side of the bargain. Everyone has a story about private hire drivers slamming boot doors or losing their temper, but given their worsening financial lot and lengthening hours we probably shouldn’t be surprised. Addison Lee drivers rent their cars for £150 per week — and £350 for an executive car — from a company called Eventech Ltd, which shares an office with the firm and has the same owners. The more journeys they do, the less they pay Eventech. Once the additional £40 weekly insurance and £12 car wash are added up, drivers can face a struggle to make a decent living. One Addison Lee driver, who works six days a week, told Spectator Life: ‘If you really want to make ends meet with these people [Addison Lee], you have to work at least 12 hours a day.’ Another told us: ‘The turnover of drivers is absolutely astronomical, just because people can’t earn a living here. I’m earning £500 less than I was ten years ago.’ Uber’s drivers are a mix of full-timers and chauffeurs who take work from the app when their oligarch is on holiday — and, crucially, many own their cars.

An Addison Lee Executive driver (they have 250 Mercedes E and S-Class cars on top of their 4,000 people carriers) says the company’s new-found fan base among London’s movers and shakers hasn’t led to earnings trickling down. Account jobs (a staggering 73 of the FTSE 100 have accounts with them and many private individuals do too, and one driver estimates than 90 per cent of jobs are now on account) only make the drivers a fraction of the money from cash jobs and often involve more waiting time. ‘On some jobs, they take 60 per cent,’ he driver says. To add minor insult to injury, when picking up executives and stars for Sony, a message pops up on drivers’ screens warning them not to ask for autographs or pictures. Interestingly, the firm’s £300 million takeover by the Carlyle Group in April seems to be having an effect. Usually the points targets that drivers have to hit to lower the cost of their vehicle hire are slightly reduced during the summer while business is slow. ‘Carlyle haven’t done that this summer,’ one driver told us.

Addison Lee told us: ‘While times have been more difficult for drivers and the industry over the recession, drivers representing Addison Lee are making more than they were last year. Consistent with previous years, our driver scheme takes into account seasonal fluctuations in demand.’ The company added that it had seen no increase in driver turnover.

As well as getting Harry Styles from A to B and ferrying most of the nightly visitors to clubs like Soho House and the Arts Club (both of whom are partnered with Uber), the technology fosters the illusion that everyone has a chauffeur. The tagline on Uber’s app is ‘Everyone’s Private Driver’, and the company avoids any branding on cars in order to maintain that illusion.

The investment that firms like Uber, Green Tomato and Addison Lee are making in their mobile technology should help them sustain London’s love affair with app-booked private hire: the latter employs 24 programmers. Whether either the success of black cab hailing app Hailo or worsening driver morale will undermine them, only time will tell. For now though, London is enjoying having a private driver at its fingertips.

Rossendale Cars on Manchester.

Another new Rossendale Cab arrived in Manchester this week. R823 is working on Oxford Cars at All Saints, he sits on Oxford Rd at All Saints Park, with his Top light illuminated.

Fat chance of our £170 grand compliance team doing anything, its to cold to come out of Bootle Street.

Plate R775 was plated on 5 August

Plate R823 was plated on 9 September. That means in the 24 working days in between those dates 48 extra Rossendale plates were issued. All appear to be working here in Manchester.

Law Commission Presentation - LPHCA AGM & Road Show 2013

The Law Commission roadshow, August this year at the Licensed Private Hire Car Association. AGM.

 They make reference to our Rossendale problem here in Manchester (21 mins in ), my sending the database was not wasted.

Watch it all, it is interesting, although Private Hire focused. Naturally considering the venue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pie09AaQ2hw

Anybody want to buy a 1 day old Bus. ?

Three people were left seriously hurt in hospital today after one of Boris Johnson’s new Route Master buses smashed into a queue of traffic while going the wrong way.

The £354,000 number 11 bus, which had only been in service for a day, careered into stationary vehicles resulting in a six vehicle pile up on Chelsea Bridge Road yesterday afternoon.

Transport for London said the bus was in service but “off route” at the time of the crash. It was unclear why the number 11 was not travelling on the normal route.

Ten ambulances treated passengers at the scene and London Fire Brigade used hydraulic cutting equipment to free at least one person from the wreckage.

The 58-year-old bus driver was among the three seriously injured, with a further 12 people treated for minor injuries.

A 47-year-old man and 34-year-old woman, the occupants of a Citroen car left in a crumpled heap of metal following the smash, today remained in hospital but the injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

TfL have launched an investigation after an apparent witness claimed one of the buses had been going too fast and ran a red light.

On twitter, @ontheriverdave said: “This was no ordinary bus, I saw a bus with what looked like a stuck throttle/no brakes, big impact, 30mph+ really nasty!! :(“

He later tweeted: “crash in Chelsea, I witnessed an out of control bus run a red light and then crash, are new buses safe?”

One man, who did not want to be named, said someone had seen a bus speeding past the Rose and Crown pub moments before the crash.

He said: “I don’t know if the bus was on its way back the depot, or if it had been diverted due to the cycle race, but it certainly had no business being on that road, it’s not the number 11 route.”

The Met Police have made no arrests.

This summer an investigation found faulty air conditioning on the buses meant temperatures were soaring to 30.4 degrees Celsius - hotter than the maximum temperature for transporting animals across Europe.

The brand new Route Master was introduced on the number 11 bus route, which travels between Liverpool Street and Fulham Broadway, on September 21.

Tfl is aiming to roll out 600 of the buses by 2016 at a cost of £212m.

Audit Update.

The Manchester Council Audit Committee meet on Thursday 26 Sep at 10 a.m.

The link to the agenda is here.

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/2010/audit_committee

If you just want the item 5 report, which concerns our audit, just dowload from here.


http://sdrv.ms/1aiAsC2

Please pay attention to the false statement on page 26. I have marked it.

Also pay attention to paragraphs 18 and 19 on page 12.

Note the Auditors charge for the process £58 grand.

Rossendale Cabs.

Do Rossendale drivers get a better service from thier local authority, than others from, say, Manchester.?

I think the answer to that MUST be yes.

For as long as I can remember the Manchester Trade has asked for a rank in Withington Village. South Manchester.

WE have always been refused.

 Rossendale seem to have no problems servicing thier fleet. They appear to have authorised a rank in Withington for thier own Cabs.

To make sure the public know its safe, please note the front door signs on the vehicle saying " Can be Hailed"

Well done Rossendale. Raspberries to Manchester.

You cannot make stories like this up.

Rossendale

Five taxis issued with fines in Rossendale enforcement operation

A TAXI enforcement operation in Rossendale saw five cars issued with notices for faults and defects.

Operation Maestro, a joint scheme between Rossendale Council’s licensing unit, Lancashire police and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), inspected seven cars on Friday evening.

VOSA served two vehicles with suspended or delayed prohibition notices for faults such as loose batteries, damaged bodywork, defective steering rack gaiters and air bag faults.

Council officers found damaged front bumpers, mirror casings, and side lights, resulting in the issue of three council defect notices. They also found one driver without a valid hackney carriage driver licence and one driver who was not displaying his licence badge as required.

A similar operation in March this year saw five similar notices issued while last September four vehicles were ordered to make improvements.

I am amazed, I did not know 5 vehicles actually worked in Rossendale, I thought they were all here in Manchester.
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Nelson

Bogus Nelson taxi driver jailed for sexual assault

A BOGUS taxi driver who sexually assaulted a woman he picked up outside a Burnley nightclub has been jailed.

Tassawar Shah, 28, had got on top of the victim and pinned her down after going down an alley instead of taking her to her home in Padiham.

She finally escaped by giving Shah her number, and telling him he could go back to her house later, Burnley Crown Court was told.

Shah, of Hartley Street, Nelson, admitted sexual assault, in December last year. He was jailed for nine months and three weeks and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Kimberley Obrusik, prosecuting, said the victim, who is in her 30s, had been out in Burnley town centre, last December 22, and had been to Lava and Ignite club.

She left by the main entrance and saw a blue taxi waiting across the road. She asked if the driver could take her to Padiham and the defendant said yes, despite not having a taxi licence. Shah started talking to the woman and told her he had a friend who could get cocaine, if she wanted it.

The defendant drove towards Padiham and the victim said she did not feel threatened at that stage, as they were just chatting. Shah then admitted he was not a taxi driver and did not hold a licence.

Miss Obrusik said the defendant pulled into an alleyway, stopped and the next thing the woman knew, he was on top of her, pinning her down.

The prosecutor said in an attempt to get away, the woman told Shah she would give him her number and they could go back to her house.

The victim supplied her number to the defendant and he said: “You had better answer your phone.” The woman repeatedly told him she would as he removed himself from being on top of her. She saw him pulling his pants up while he moved back into the driver's seat. The woman got out of the vehicle and called police. Shah phoned her 12 times that night.


Miss Obrusik said when the defendant was arrested and interviewed, he denied any sexual touching. He claimed when the victim approached the vehicle, he immediately told her he did not hold a taxi licence, but she persuaded him to take her. The defendant alleged the woman repeatedly touched him, put her hands down his trousers and kissed his neck.

Shah told officers he didn't respond, has had a girlfriend and would not cheat. The court was told he had 12 offences on his record.
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Redcar

Newborn lands parents with cleaning bill after hospital dash

Jenny Larkin with son Finlay and his father Tim Galloway Jenny Larkin with son Finlay and his father Tim Galloway

A MOTHER who gave birth on the front seat of a taxi has been landed with a £40 cleaning bill.

Jenny Larkin from Redcar delivered baby Finley in a hospital car park less than two hours after going into labour.

She was shocked to receive a valeting bill two days later from the unrepentant cab driver, who said he had lost two days pay as the interior had been so wet.

When contractions started at 2.30am last Friday, her partner, Tim Galloway, called JP taxis just after 4am to take them to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

 “Tim told them it was for maternity and when he came he had some plastic sheeting on the front seat and said it was fine for me to sit there,” she said.

“We got on the A174 and I said the baby was coming. By the time we were pulling up at the hospital, the baby was already coming out.

“Five midwives rushed out to see what the situation was and there my baby boy was, hanging down and in a bit of shock. I had to deliver him there. That’s when he said to my partner 'I want the cleaning bill'."

Finley was born weighing a healthy 7lb 15oz and taken into the hospital, where medics kept an eye on his temperature after he was born outside in the cold.

Jenny, who also has two girls Elise, five and Ruby, two, said: “I was absolutely mortified. He knew he was going to maternity before he even set off and had put plastic sheets on the front seat.

Taxi driver, Steven Morrell, who is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of his own cab as part of his self-employed contract with JP Taxis, said: “Unfortunately someone’s got to pay for it. I don’t think I’m being nasty asking for the valeting cost back.

“I couldn’t work on Friday or Saturday because the interior was still wet so I lost two days’ takings.”

Craig Walker, who owns JP Taxi, said the driver had the right to pass on his bill to the family in accordance with a council bylaw.

 The state attorney general’s office is investigating whether some yellow taxi fleets and cabbies are breaking the law by discriminating against the disabled.

In recent months, the Civil Rights Bureau of the attorney general’s office has issued subpoenas demanding vehicle records from fleet owners and individual medallion owners who have Toyota Siennas and Ford Transit Connects in service without wheelchair ramps or lifts, according to a document reviewed by the Daily News.

The investigation comes as two pending lawsuits seek to stop the rollout of the city’s planned “Taxi of Tomorrow” in part because the vehicle selected — a Nissan NV200 — is not wheelchair accessible as currently manufactured.


Here's the bit thats important:

A van placed on the road after 1992 that has seating for fewer than eight passengers can’t be used as a taxicab unless it is handicapped-accessible, advocates contend, citing the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/taxis-flagged-bias-disabled-article-1.1458072#ixzz2fBeqV4QB

A MINICAB driver was 'careless' not to see a pedestrian with a crutch whom he ran over and killed in Kingsbury, a court heard.

Wahidullah Hoori, 41, had just turned off Edgware Road in Kingsbury when his 05-reg Seat Alambra people carrier hit Barry Southgate as the slow-moving 64-year-old crossed Kingsbury Road, at 11.50pm on April 11 2012.

Mr Southgate, of Theobald Crescent, Harrow, died nine days later from his injuries at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London.

Hoori denies causing death by careless driving and is standing trial at Wood Green Crown Court in north London.

 Prosecutor Nicholas Bleaney told jurors: "The prosecution say he should have seen him and had plenty of opportunity to see him and Mr Southgate was doing nothing dramatic.

"He was walking along at a relatively slow, pedestrian speed - something any driver in any part of the country, particularly in London, has to deal with all the time.

 "He did not suddenly come out from behind a tree and his movements, we say, were pretty obvious.

"Speed isn't an issue. The turn was conducted at a normal speed.

"The accident, we say, was caused by carelessness.

"He (Hoori) should have stopped in time to avoid a collision or at the very least swerved to avoid him."

Mr Southgate had helped plaster a wall at a friend's house before he and his friend went for a drink at The Moon Under Water in Varley Parade, The Hyde in Colindale, where the victim drank two pints of real ale.

His bus home sped past as the two left the pub and so Mr Southgate, who was also known as Barry O'Reilly, decided at 11.30pm to walk down Edgware Road and had just turned the corner into Kingsbury Road when he was hit by the nearside front grill of Hoori's minicab.

Mr Bleaney said the defendant made a statement to police that he had been working since 2pm on the day of the collision, that he had had a day off the previous day and had consumed neither alcohol or drugs before the crash.

Witness Raluca Frunza told the court: "I saw the old man. He was on the other side of the road.

"He was walking really slowly because he was on crutches. He was not using [the traffic island] to cross the road.

"I heard a noise like a metal-to-metal noise and heard a male scream, a yell, and then I realised that the car had hit the old man.

"I saw a lot of blood on the floor."

She described Mr Southgate as "a chunky man, overweight, with a big belly, grey messy hair and a great beard".

The trial of Hoori, of Raccoon Way, Hounslow, who using a Pashtu interpreter, continues.

http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-news/local-harrow-news/2013/09/16/minicab-driver-careless-not-to-see-man-with-crutches-he-ran-and-over-killed-prosecutor-116451-33851641/

 Taxi drivers in North Kesteven may soon have to sit a London Cabbie-style knowledge test.

North Kesteven District Council’s executive board is recommending the council’s full membership adopts amendments to the way Hackney Carriage licences are granted and the introduction of a test for all drivers of Hackney Carriage taxis and private hire vehicles.

The North Kesteven test will require all new drivers to meet standards of numeracy, literacy and local knowledge to show that they have a good knowledge of the geography of North Kesteven and Lincolnshire in general and an awareness of the rules and regulations that apply to licences drivers.

In addition there will now be a presumption against licensing Hackney Carriages where a significant proportion of business will be undertaken outside of the District

Currently, while a Hackney Carriage can ply for trade in the streets and at a rank within the area in which it is licensed, it can also operate on a pre-booked basis – like a Private Hire car – both within and outside of its licensing area, anywhere in England and Wales. Private Hire cars can only ever operate on a pre-booked basis, not hired in the street or at a rank.

But Councillor Richard Wright, executive board member with responsibility for licensing, said that by restricting this so that Hackney Carriages could only operate primarily locally would overcome an emerging situation which could compromise the Council’s primary aim in taxi licensing, which was to ensure the health and safety of the travelling public.

He said: “While it’s not unlawful, we are conscious that the ability to apply for Hackney Carriage proprietor’s licences from NKDC without there being any intention to ply for hire within North Kesteven is a barrier to us being able to take effective control. It means that drivers and vehicles can operate in areas at some distance from North Kesteven, taking advantage of a pre-booking exemption.

“We have a duty to ensure licensed vehicles, are safe and suitable and that operators, owners and drivers have proper regard to public safety. That duty can be compromised when vehicles and drivers licensed by NKDC are operating hundreds of miles away,” said Cllr Wright..

“In tandem with the new test, we hope that by restricting the geographic scope of Hackney Carriages to operate primarily within the District and wider Lincolnshire area, we can retain local control and restore public confidence in the safety and standards of protection expected locally.

There will be flexibility and discretion in applying the new rules, the policy change reflects current case law which stresses the importance of retaining local control to promote better public protection

Existing licence holders will be exempt from the new provisions provided they renew promptly ahead of the expiry date.

Within North Kesteven there are 334 individuals holding a combined total of 665 licences – 72 of them being for Hackney Carriages and 213 for Private Hire vehicles, with 324 private hire drivers and 56 private hire operators.

This is being recommended by North Kesteven District Council’s Executive Board to the council’s full membership adopts amendments to the way Hackney Carriage licences are granted and the introduction of a test for all drivers of Hackney Carriage taxis and Private Hire vehicles.
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Man charged over gunpoint robbery of taxi in Bootle

A man is due in court after a taxi driver was threatened at gunpoint and then had his cab stolen in Merseyside.

An offender demanded the driver's keys and made off in the taxi parked at Hawthorne Road, Bootle, at 16:50 BST on Sunday, police said.

Police found the taxi and a loaded gun in Dymoke Road, Norris Green, at 17:30.

Steven Graham, 22, will appear before South Sefton magistrates later charged with robbery, firearm possession and attempting to escape lawful custody.

Mr Graham is of no fixed abode but is originally from Bootle.

Another bogus Taxi scheme gets ready for the De-Regulatory, draft Law Commission bill.

Meter ticking for taxi-cab offices

IF TIME is money, entrepreneur Mark Strachan is making the most of wasted travelling hours, with a plan to make money from commuting Blackberry addicts. The founder of British indoor ski slope firm Skiplex yesterday launched a crowdfunding plea for investment in the Luxury Mobile Office Company.

The firm is seeking £150,000 on crowdfunding website Crowdcube to strip and convert five Mercedes Viano cars into luxury mobile offices. With a fare of £250 per hour, the fleet will have 4G WiFi, total sound-proofing and flat screens for Skype conference calls.

“It looks like a Bentley on the inside, rather than looking bling like a stretch limo,” Strachan was quick to inform The Capitalist yesterday. And who would hail a £140,000 ride like this? Lawyers, financiers or anyone wanting to whip out a laptop on the commute from Battersea heliport into the City, apparently.

- See more at: http://www.cityam.com/article/1379380587/meter-ticking-taxi-cab-offices#sthash.jCFUn2wy.dpuf

As Deadline Nears, Taxi of Tomorrow Faces Court Fight and Reluctant Owners


 His green livery cabs finally patrol the streets outside Manhattan. His army of blue bicycles is well entrenched.

David S. Yassky, center, chairman of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, on Monday with officials of Koeppel Nissan in Queens.

But in the dwindling months of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s tenure, his administration has been charged with a final, 11th-hour transportation heave: ensuring that its fleetwide Taxi of Tomorrow — with a spacious back seat, “low-annoyance” horn and a persistent habit of attracting lawsuits and political opposition — reaches the road.

Beginning Oct. 28, virtually every new non-hybrid taxi is required to be a Nissan NV200, the Taxi of Tomorrow chosen by New York City as part of a competition in 2011. The cabs are expected to be phased in over three to five years, until nearly all of the city’s roughly 13,000 yellow cabs are the same.

The deadline has set off feverish preparations from the vehicle’s proponents, hoping to hustle the cab into service, and fleet owners who say they dread its introduction.

Some fleets have planned to retire their cabs early, stockpile new ones that are not Nissan NV200s, and begin operating them before the deadline in a bid to forestall the Taxi of Tomorrow as long as possible — recalling a popular practice when the Crown Victoria was retired.

And in the coming weeks, the city will have to defend the vehicle in separate lawsuits intended to prevent the revised program’s implementation, months after a State Supreme Court judge invalidated the city’s initial plan, ruling that it defied the city’s administrative code.

Any court-related delay could affect the cab’s fortunes, with the project less likely to find support in the next administration. Bill de Blasio, the leading vote-getter in the Democratic primary and a frequent recipient of taxi industry largess, has been a vocal opponent of the scheme. In a letter he wrote with Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner, and sent last year to the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, Mr. de Blasio said the vehicle was in “likely violation” of the Americans with Disabilities Act because it is not wheelchair accessible. (It can be retrofitted to become so.)

A spokesman for Mr. de Blasio said only that the candidate would seek to address “local employment and accessibility” issues with the cab if elected. It is unclear if Mr. de Blasio would seek to turn back the city’s plan outright if he had the power to do so, given the city’s 10-year contract with Nissan.

The city’s position calls to mind its early defense of policies like a smoking ban and a bike-share program: If passengers can experience the vehicle’s sumptuous amenities for themselves, said David S. Yassky, the city’s taxi commissioner, “that’s the end of any debate.”

Behind the scenes, the cabs are inching toward their debut. Production began last month at Nissan’s assembly plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Mr. Yassky recently traveled to Nissan’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tenn., where he inspected the cars before the city issued its final approval. And for months, a handful of NV200s have been road-tested in New York City.

But the taxi’s fate remains far from certain. After sitting out a spate of court cases in recent years, Nissan has petitioned a State Supreme Court judge to join the city to defend against a suit from the Greater New York Taxi Association, a group of medallion owners opposed to the plan. The group is accusing the city of exceeding its authority by mandating that operators buy a Taxi of Tomorrow.

Several industry officials said that Nissan’s involvement suggested a degree of concern. A spokesman for Nissan did not say why it chose to intervene for this case and not for others. Mr. Yassky attributed the move to “an abundance of caution.”

“I don’t think it reflects an elevated level of concern,” he said, adding, “They want to make sure nothing happens here right before the finish line.”

The next hearing in the case is expected on Tuesday. Ethan B. Gerber, the taxi association’s executive director, said the group planned to cite one of the mayor’s highest-profile legal rebukes: a judge’s decision to overturn his ban on large sugary drinks.

“You’ve got the court saying very clearly that administrative agencies are not there for social policy,” Mr. Gerber said.

The city is also facing a suit from accessibility advocates who argue that the Taxi of Tomorrow is a van. Under federal law, the suit contends, any van used as a taxicab must be accessible for people with disabilities. Advocates have noted that the NV200 has won awards for “Van of the Year.”
The city’s Law Department, while disputing that the cab is a van, said that even if it were, federal law does not require a taxicab van to be accessible if disabled passengers can find equivalent service another way. The city said that its Accessible Dispatch system, which allows disabled New Yorkers to summon taxis directly to their addresses, should be considered equivalent service.

Though the city continues to project confidence in its legal prospects, the Taxi of Tomorrow’s champions have found recent months to be trying. Besides the Bloomberg administration and the car company, there is perhaps no entity more invested in the cab’s success than the proprietors of Koeppel Nissan in Queens, who have committed more than $1 million to become the leading service center for the Taxi of Tomorrow.

A lot has been set aside to accommodate scores of NV200s. Mechanics will be assigned to service the cabs, and a collection of lifts, wheel balancers and other equipment will be installed in a currently vacant garage. There will also be a lounge for cabbies, said Mark Lacher, the business’s general manager, who promised bagels.

Mr. Lacher acknowledged that the suits had added an unwelcome “fly in the ointment.” But he and Howard Koeppel — the company’s president and a former fund-raiser for (and roommate of) Rudolph W. Giuliani — said they did not regret the investment, despite the cab’s uncertain future.

“Give it another year,” Mr. Koeppel said beside the lot on a recent afternoon, where he chatted with Mr. Yassky. “They’re going to love us.”

Nearby, where two mechanics were walking the grounds, Mr. Lacher offered further assurance.

“You ready for taxicabs?” he shouted, as the men looked up. “We’ll have them!”

Ibiza

A SCOTTISH holidaymaker has been stabbed in the chest by a taxi driver in Ibiza.

Grant Sommerville, 22, was attacked during a row over a fare on the holiday island.

Grant, from Motherwell, was last night in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The driver fled after the attack but police yesterday arrested a 29-year-old man.

The incident happened near the Poniente Playa Hotel just after 1am on Friday.

Grant and two friends had got the cab from the Ushuaia Hotel in nearby Playa d’en Bossa where DJ Carl Cox had been playing.

Paramedics had to treat him at the scene before rushing him to hospital.

The driver told police he acted in self-defence after he was attacked. He’s thought to be a cabbie from Ibiza Town.

Civil Guard officers confirmed his arrest and released a picture of the weapon, a multi-use
tool knife.

A spokesman said: “The victim was a young Brit aged 22 who had been stabbed in the chest who was with two friends when officers arrived.

“They were under the effects of alcohol and said the attack had taken place after a row
over the taxi fare.

“We launched an investigation after the British man was taken to hospital.

“We arrested a man on suspicion of wounding.

“The arrested man has said that after picking up the three men and taking them in his vehicle, they rowed over the fare and attacked him.

“He defended himself with a multi-use tool knife he had in his car.”

The Foreign Office said: “We’re aware of the hospitalisation of a British national on September 13. We’re providing assistance.”
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Ribble Valley taxi drivers face tests before they work

11:00am Saturday 14th September 2013 in News

TAXI drivers will have to pass a knowledge test and college course before taking to the roads, under new plans being debated by the council.

It would see the end of temporary, six-month taxi licences which new drivers are issued with before passing the test and the Steering to Success course at Rossendale College.

Ribble Valley Council’s licensing committee is due to debate the proposed abolishment at a meeting on Tuesday ((September 17)).

If approved, the council aims to seek the views of licence holders before making a final decision.

Sajjad Asgher, who drives for Penole Taxis in Clitheroe said: “I think it’s an absolutely brilliant idea.

“The council have been issuing way too many licences and this will slow down that rate and benefit existing drivers.

“The competition is massive in the Ribble Valley and if this is introduced then it will make sure that there are not too many new taxi drivers on the roads.”

There are currently 113 private hire taxi drivers’ registers in the borough with full licences and 13 with temporary licences.

Sajjad Hussain of Saj Cabs in Clitheroe said: “I’m worried that the quality of new taxi drivers’ knowledge of the area will go down because they might just simply study for a written knowledge test without ever having driven around the borough.


“Under the current rules, new taxi drivers can work for six months and gain a detailed knowledge of the area before taking the tests which means that they are able to do their job better.

“I’m not sure that this would be a workable system and it could lead to drivers starting their first day with a knowledge test pass but with no experience of the area.”

Coun Sue Knox, who sits on the licensing committee, said: “I am in favour of this change because the Ribble Valley is a complicated place to navigate around and new private hire taxi drivers should have passed the Knowledge Test before starting work.”

Alongside the Knowledge Test, new taxi drivers have to sit a free 10-week course at Rossendale College which covers topics such as how to present their vehicle, how to help disabled clients and conflict resolution.

LAW COMMISSIONS PROVISIONAL PROPOSAL 15

The defining feature of taxis, the concept of “plying for hire”, should be placed on a statutory footing and include references to ranking and hailing.

This was the proposal put forward in May 2012 by the Law Commission following a year of extensive research into all existing taxi and private hire legislation. In October 2012 a specialist legal meeting was held at which the RMT legal officer attended to specifically discuss such a definition, progress appeared to be made and in January 2013 the RMT London Taxi Branch met with the Law Commission, where they stated that they were going to define plying for hire.

However despite these assurances and having gained a consensus on this proposal, (see responses Taxi Globe edition 716) they have decided not only to ignore them, but are now suggesting something else not proposed as part of the consultation or of previous discussions. Needless to say we were bewildered and very disappointed when the interim statement was published. Why the sudden u-turn between the months of February – April?

WHY PP15 IS SO IMPORTANT!
Taxis have been plying for hire in London for almost 400 years. The first rank was introduced in 1634 on the Strand. The first London Act was passed in 1831 and contains the term plying for hire “Every hackney carriage which shall be found standing in any street or place, shall, unless actually hired, be deemed to be plying for hire.....” As such a considerable amount of case law has developed over many years in relation to exploring and upholding the meaning of this term contained within the various Acts. Hunt v Morgan 1947, Cogley v Sherwood 1959, Eldridge v BAA 1970, Eastbourne v Sterling 2000,to name but a few.

The Hindley report (1939) stated: “An essential feature of a scheme of control for private hire vehicles would be to ensure that the vehicles do not infringe on the cabs privilege of plying for hire......... Accordingly we recommend that, whether or not legislation for the control of private hire vehicles is introduced there should be legislation to define the term plying for hire used in Acts relating to the control of hackney carriages”

In 1962 the opinion of the Home Office was that “Plying for hire involved three elements, exhibition, soliciting and availability and that the difficulty of proving that an unlicensed vehicle was operating illegally could be eliminated completely by legislative amendment of the law relating to plying for hire by abolishing the element of soliciting from the necessary ingredients of the offence”. In 1994 the separate offence of “touting for hire” was created under the CJPO Act making it illegal to solicit prospective passengers.

The Maxwell Stamp report (1970) stated: “One further comment on plying for hire in the context of the definition of a Hackney Carriage is that it is the vehicle itself which is described as plying for hire. Although the situation of the vehicle must depend on human agency for the purpose of the definition the character of that agency is irrelevant. The uncertainty surrounding this definition has prevented any agreement on the line to be drawn between fair and unfair competition....”

NO TO COMPROMISE!
Over seventy years ago in 1939 there were only 7,811 taxis licensed and an estimated 2,000 private hire vehicles (not subject to licensing) operating in London, much lower figures compared with today. However with the emergence of minicabs the importance of defining plying for hire was clearly understood in the interests of developing fair policy regarding the competition that exists in providing door to door transportation where a level playing field does not. It is worth noting that the population of London in 1939 was 8.6 million and today it is only 8.3 million!

We believe our entitlements are being infringed, consequently for a two tier system to operate fairly and safely it is both in the public and the taxi trades interests that plying for hire is defined.

There can be no compromise on this issue. Any repeal of this term along with the offence of illegally plying for hire will make our case law redundant, putting us in a far worse position than the status quo! It may be prudent to define pre- booking, however it is paramount that PP15 proceeds to ensure the future survival of the world`s best taxi service, particularly now that PHVs are licensed, not to mention the plethora of Pedicabs plying in the capital with impunity.
It is said “Where there is a will - there is a way”

This was clearly the case in 1939 – What about now? PP15 Plying for hire – The defining feature of taxis,
or is it?
source = Mike Tinnion @Mike_Tinnion

The War of the Roses.(1455 and now 2013)

It would appear West Yorkshire have problems similar to Greater Manchester. We should have expected this. Both Rossendale and West Lindsey are nearer to W. Yorks than Gtr Manchester.


The following is a letter to Pontefract local paper.
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I am a taxi driver in Pontefract who obeys all the rules and regulations of the Wakefield licensing department .

These include every five years a medical examination, every three years a CRB check and my car must pass a taxi test every six months which consists of a 62 page test.

All these aforementioned are to secure the safety of passengers, which I agree is in the interest of all my passengers.

But what a joke!
Some of the operators in Pontefract and Castleford are using hackney carriages which are registered in places we have never heard of like Riverdale and West Lyndsey and are operating as private hire vehicles in Wakefield district.

These cars are not inspected according to Wakefield licence department and the drivers are not tested or vetted by Wakefield licensing department .

The Wakefield taxi inspectors have no jurisdiction over them and cannot guarantee the safety of the passengers who are being forced to use these cars by the different operators who send them out.

Name and address supplied
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Response from Coun Graham Stokes, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for corporate performance:

We also share these concerns as we work very hard with the taxi service providers in the district to ensure the vehicles and drivers registered by Wakefield Council provide a safe and secure service for their passengers.

It is very frustrating that we have no legal powers to stop hackney carriage vehicles and drivers licensed by other authorities working as private hire drivers and operating vehicles within Wakefield.

It is true that they don’t have to undertake any of our tests or abide by any of our policies. They simply need to work through an “operator” and be pre-booked.

We have advised the operators of our concern about this and asked them not to use drivers and vehicles licensed from other areas.
However, this is voluntary and unfortunately there are a number of companies within the Wakefield District that do use them.

The Law Commission recently completed a consultation on a number of proposals that seek to bring taxi and private hire licensing up to date.

Wakefield Council took part in this consultation, and along with many other local authorities, we raised our concerns about this issue.

We are now waiting to see the outcome of the consultation. Until there are any changes to the legislation we will continue to work with operators and do our best to get them not to use drivers and vehicles licensed from other areas.

There are a number of ways members of the public can check where a vehicle is registered. People can check the plate at the rear of the vehicle which gives the vehicle number and other details, look for a small sticker on the right hand side of the windscreen or ask to see the driver’s badge which gives his driver’s licence number and photograph.

We are currently reviewing all vehicle signage and will be consulting on this in the autumn.

http://www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress

Tax payers pay twice to take prisoners to Court.

Taxpayers foot £3million taxi bill to take prisoners to court despite security firm being paid £420million to do the job
 
 Labour justice spokesman said that taxpayers will be 'outraged' at the cost. The Prison Service said the cost has decreased by 10 per cent since 2010

Taxpayers are footing a £3million annual bill to pay for taxis to transport prisoners - even though a security firm already has a £420million contract to do the job.

The bill pays for prisoners to be ferried between prisons and courts, to visit sick relatives in hospital, or to go to funerals.

The cost was uncovered by Labour justice spokesman Sadiq Khan who called on the Government to 'get a grip'.

He told The Sun: 'Taxpayers will be outraged that they are stumping up millions to cart prisoners round in luxury taxis.

                      A typical Manchester luxury Taxi

'The Government is already paying companies to move prisoners, and then taxis to do the same job. Why are we paying twice?'

Conservative MP Priti Patel called the cost a 'scandal'.

The £3million sum is the equivalent cost of buying 100 black cabs according to The Sun or a £37.27 fare for every inmate in UK jails.

The Prison Service claims that transport hire costs had been cut by almost ten per cent since 2010 and that efforts were being made to continue to reduce the cost.

The service was criticised last year after it emerged that millions of pounds was being spent on taxis, hairdressers and even actors.

According to reports, one cab firm was paid £920,000 for its work.

The Prison Service also spent £720,000 on professional actors for role playing that is aimed at helping inmates get into employment.

A spokesman said: 'Prison transport hire costs have come down by nearly 10 per cent under this Government and this is continuing to fall as we look for further ways to save money.'

  A Bradford taxi driver, who was caught smuggling a £4 million haul of heroin into the UK, has been jailed for eight years.

Muhammad Shafiq Khan, 44, claimed he had flown to Pakistan because his grandmother had died.

Khan was caught at Manchester Airport trying to smuggle heroin with a street value of more than £4 million.

He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court.

 Khan pleaded guilty to importation of a Class A drug.

Khan, of Brassey Terrace, West Bowling, Bradford, who is originally from Pakistan, was stopped as he returned from Pakistan on Sunday, June 30. He told Border Force staff he had made the trip as his grandmother had recently died.

An initial inspection of one of his smaller cases found drugs hidden in its base.

Border Force officers then emptied his larger suit case and noticed that it weighed far more than expected. An x-ray then revealed drugs hidden in the lining of the case.

Tests showed that Khan tried to import 15kg of heroin with an estimated street value of £4,080,000. 
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 TAXI! Nissan showcase the NV200 plug-in cab

President and CEO Carlos Ghosn presented today the Nissan e-NV200 electric taxi for Barcelona, in the presence of the Mayor, Xavier Trias.

Barcelona aims to be the first city in the world to implement a zero-emission vehicle as publically accessible transport.

The city of Barcelona will lead the global rollout of the new e-NV200 100% electric taxi version of which will also be introduced in other big cities around the world and will begin production in 2014 in the city. Nissan and Barcelona City signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the use of electric vehicles as taxis and as delivery vehicles by improving the quick charging network and looking at a range of privileges for zero emission operators.

The Nissan e-NV200 will be manufactured at the factory located in the Zona Franca in Barcelona from mid-2014 with an investment of 100 million euros and will create over 700 new jobs. The factory in Barcelona will be the single global manufacturing plant for the e-NV200 and vehicles will be exported worldwide to a range of international markets.

http://www.dieselcaronline.co.uk/news/taxi-nissan-showcase-the-nv200-plug-in-cab
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Castleford

A taxi driver assaulted two passengers during a row about a £40 cleaning charge after one of the men vomited in his cab,

Gul Zeb, stopped his cab in Cutsyke, Castleford, and told Thomas Lucas and Curtis Bryan to get out, magistrates at Wakefield heard.

The court heard Zeb, 34, pushed both men in the face – causing them to fall to the floor – before driving off.

Mr Lucas hit his head on the floor and was unconscious for a short time during the incident in the early hours of May 6. Mr Bryan suffered a black eye.

Prosecutor, Diane Gomersal said Mr Curtis had been sick in the back of the cab and Zeb asked for a £40 cleaning charge.

Father-of-two Zeb was paid the cash, but a row started about the fee charged.

Mitigating, Paul Blanchard said Mr Bryan and Mr Lucas had drunk a “significant level of alcohol.”

Mr Blanchard added: “He (Gul) accepts he did something he shouldn’t have done and has to accept the consequences for that.”

Vicky Knott, for West Yorkshire Probation Service, said: “His employment is in jeopardy. He has been suspended from his role and expects a five-year-ban from driving a taxi.

“He has also been employed for 15 years as a part time youth worker with Wakefield Council. It involves working with troubled children and also the UK Youth Parliament.”

Zeb, 34, of Stanley Road, Wakefield admitted two charges of assault.

Bench chair Robert Smith sentenced him to 80 hours unpaid work and ordered him to pay £200 prosecution costs plus a £60 victim surcharge.

   

Manchester. Travis and Fairfield St

Photos taken at 10 am Monday morning. Cabs are double parked down Travis St, they back up over Fairfield St. Traffic coming in from Ashton Old Rd cannot get past without going on the wrong side of the road.

The Law Commission draft bill is expected in around 4 weeks.
(Oct 10). Will we need more Cabs ?

Dundee licensing committee has put its foot down in its bid to reduce taxi numbers in the city by refusing 17 new applications.

The unsuccessful applicants pleaded for leniency because their bids were received before the committee decided to cap numbers at 611 and not grant any further requests.

Their bids had not cleared the administrative process by the cap date of June 27, however, and the councillors ruled they could not proceed.

Taxi boss Davie Young spoke for four of the applicants and urged councillors to be less strict. He said his 203020 company had been at the forefront of introducing wheelchair access cabs to the city and the drivers he spoke for would put on more of these vehicles.

He alleged that other operators who also put on wheelchair access vehicles were ignoring their responsibility by not accepting disabled passengers, but the drivers he spoke for were different.

Other applicants spoke of the money they had invested in their vehicles and taxi driving providing them with employment from which they could make a real contribution to the Dundee economy.

Licensing convener Stewart Hunter said a policy had been agreed and a start had to be made to restricting numbers.

The committee agreed in June to cap taxi numbers in the city for the first time in almost a decade.

A survey was conducted revealing “no significant unmet demand” for taxis in Dundee, and councillors unanimously agreed to limit the number to 661.

There were 674 taxi licences in operation in the city — with five temporary licences — and that figure is being reduced through natural wastage, with no new licences being granted until the numbers fall below 611.

Once that lower limit has been breached, a further survey will be held.
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Leicester, soft sentence. 
 
A taxi driver has told how he was too scared to work for nine months after he was attacked by a group of passengers.

Harun Shah Zaman was attacked when he was working as a late-night cabbie in Leicester city centre in May last year.

Two of his attackers were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court last month.

Both admitted the attack and were ordered to carry out unpaid work in the community.

One was handed a suspended jail sentence.

Mr Zaman, who suffered two black eyes and bruises to his head, body, arms and legs in the attack, has only recently returned to the trade after nine months of unemployment.

A 33-year-old married father of two, Mr Zaman, of Humberstone, Leicester, said: "I still feel too scared to work nights, so I will carry on only working during the day.

"I didn't work at all for nine months because of what these people did to me. I was scared of having passengers in my vehicle, worried it would happen again.

"I have only just come back which means it has been a difficult time financially for me and my family.

"I don't think the punishments given by the court were enough. There have been a lot of attacks on taxi drivers and I don't think giving one of these two people a suspended sentence is a deterrent.

"I just hope they look back at what they did to me and realise the impact their actions had on me and my family."

Two people appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, August 16, to be sentenced for their roles in the attack, which happened in the early hours of Saturday, May 19.

The incident happened when Mr Zaman picked up two men and two women from Platinum Lace gentlemen's club, in Abbey Street. The group began arguing and bashing the partition window.

Mr Zaman pulled up at the corner of Millstone Lane and Pocklington's Walk, and told the group to leave. They got out of the car, but then opened the driver's door.

One man grabbed Mr Zaman in a headlock and headbutted him, while the other punched him in the face and head.

The girls joined in, hitting his body and arms, before the group stole his wallet, cash bag containing £80, mobile phone, car keys and satellite navigation unit – which they smashed on the street – and ran off down Pocklington's Walk.

Alexander Lewis Wardle (22), of Main Street, Bushby, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

He was given a nine-month prison sentence which was suspended for two years, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work and to pay £500 compensation to the victim.

Starla Boyd (23), of Hill House, Court Road, Thurnby, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community work and to pay compensation of £250.
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Liverpool, Latvian druggie jailed.

A DRUG addict who used his belt to choke a taxi driver for his takings was jailed for six years.

Maris Berzins, 28, was in the backseat of Andrew Dixon’s private hire car when he threw the cord around his neck and began to strangle him.

His accomplice then produced a knife and the pair demanded Mr Dixon hand over his takings.

Liverpool crown court heard brave Mr Dixon attempted to fight the men off, grabbing at the knife. But his attempts only led to him cutting his hand. His last memory before he lost consciousness was handing over his cash box.

Robert Jansen, prosecuting, told how Mr Dixon believed he was going to die in the brutal attack.

Berzins and his bleeding accomplice fled to the nearby home of a man they had previously bought drugs from. But after he left his property they broke in and stole his methadone and ate his food.

In the wake of the drunken crime spree on January 12, 2010, Berzins fled to Ireland and then his native Latvia, before eventually going to Denmark.

He was only snared on January 31 this year after he passed through Heathrow Airport on his way to Canada to start a new life.

Berzins, of no fixed address, but formerly of Inglewhite, Skelmersdale, immediately admitted the robbery and burglary and expressed his remorse.

But jailing him, the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC said: “Taxi drivers perform a public service. Those in the driver’s seat of a private hire taxi are vulnerable from attack from behind and from the passenger seat alongside him. The two of you had targeted such a person to take money from him.”

Judge Globe also highlighted the “significant physical and extensive psychological injuries” Mr Dixon suffered in the attack. He spent four days in hospital and needed plastic surgery to his damaged hand. He also suffered burn injuries to his neck and a wound to his leg. In a victim impact statement he told how he was off work for six weeks and was then reluctant to go back to work.

He even tried to get a new job, but was unsuccessful and had to return to his former career despite his fears.

Mr Dixon had picked up the two men outside Asda in Skelmersdale. They asked to be taken to Lee Vale Road in Gateacre, but then directed him into neighbouring Fordcombe Road, where Berzins began the attack.

Neil Gunn, defending, said: “At the time of this incident he was a desperate man, desperately in need of drugs. He had been drinking heavily with his co-accused. He was craving a fix and that fix was all-consuming.”
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North Tyneside
 
 Man given taxi licence despite terrible driving record

Dangerous driving is one of the previous charges facing Christopher Adam, including 16 of driving when disqualified and 13 for driving without insurance. This man has now caused a furor amongst road safety campaigners when he was given a taxi licence despite his bad record.

They say that despite having 62 convictions, the 37 year old was allowed to ferry passengers. Others who were disappointed were the town hall chiefs who tried to block his application. According to Alan Newton, the senior licencing officer, the sheer volume of offences was a cause for concern.

After North Tyneside council refused to proffer a taxi licence, he appealed to magistrates that he was a changed man, and that he wants the license. He said that he has new friends and is in a stable relationship. The father of two has also been charged with 27 counts of dishonesty, and has records going back to 1992.

He said that he wants to make a living from driving the taxi, and he has had a licence for three years, and had not committed any traffic offences. Probation officers also offered their support.

The chairwoman of the court, Joan Kay, allowed the appeal and upheld the fact that he was a changed man. His records showed that he had a clean record for the last 7 years, and they were now satisfied that he was in the right state of mind.

After hearing this, one of the council’s spokesmen said that he was very disappointed with the court’s decision. Siobhan MacMahon, from Brake, a charity for road safety, said that it was worrying that a person with such a record could be given a licence.

Christopher Adam, who hails from Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, said that people have the capacity to change and also do so. He says that he should not be punished for the rest of his life for the mistakes in his past.