A TAXI boss has said he would back a zero emissions zone in Oxford that allowed hybrid vehicles.

Zero emission zones only permit vehicles that create no pollutants such as bicycles and electric cars and buses.

But Mark Green, owner of 001 Taxis, said at present electric vehicles were too expensive and do not offer enough mileage without lengthy charge periods.


He has just spent £4m buying 180 hybrid cars for his firm, many of which run on electric power at speeds below 30mph.

And because of speed limits in the centre of Oxford – all 20mph or 30mph – he said this meant they were effectively already running at ‘zero emissions’.


He said: “You would be running at 30mph or below throughout most of the city, so if you allowed these hybrid vehicles you could already have a zero emission zone.

“We have all got to do our bit to help with reducing pollution, but the current problem with electric vehicles is that there are currently no models on the road with the right mileage or cost.

http://goo.gl/FoT63i
----------------------------------------
OXFORD

 A TAXI driver who picked up two women stranded in Oxford wept uncontrollably when he was convicted of raping one of them while she was asleep at his house.

A court heard the young women had been on a night out in the city when they missed their bus home.

Judge Peter Ross told Oxford Crown Court the girls called Abul Chowdhury after two young men tried to get them to stay overnight at a hotel with them.

The judge said: “I accept that you answered a call from the girls. They needed your help.

“They had been duped into going to the Holiday Inn at the Pear Tree roundabout with two young men.”

A jury of six men and six women were told 36-year-old Chowdhury had offered the girls breakfast at his home in Witney. When they arrived at the house in Blakes Avenue, the women went to bed; one in the spare room and the other in Chowdhury’s room.

Prosecuting, Michael Shaw said one of the women woke up to find Chowdhury raping her.

The married father denied the rape and a further count of assault by penetration on the other girl.

But the jury found him guilty of rape by a majority verdict yesterday after nearly six-and-a-half hours of deliberation. He was acquitted of the second charge.

Sarah Buckingham, defending, said her client’s marriage had now broken up and his family was living in Wales.

She added: “He has lived in this country and been industrious and hardworking since 2006.

“It was an isolated incident, no violence was used to carry out the attack.

“No doubt custody will be hard for him.”

Chowdhury descended into uncontrollable sobs after the verdict.

Judge Ross told Chowdhury that he accepted the attack was not pre-planned and he had not lured the women to his home with the offer of breakfast to entrap them.

Jailing him for 10 years, he said: “There was nothing whatsoever that had occurred that night which would have given you the slightest idea that she welcomed any sexual attention.

“Because she was asleep she was particularly vulnerable.”
Judge Ross said Chowdhury had lied to police when he claimed the girl had “raped” him.
     
He added: “You allowed yourself to be overcome by your sexual desire.”

Chowdhury will also have to sign the sexual offenders’ register for life.

http://goo.gl/IL8Y6N
---------------------------------

 A TAXI driver who ignored the night closure at Horseshoe Common and mounted the pavement to get round the barrier has been banned from operating for five weeks.

The driver was one of two to face disciplinary action at a hearing of a Bournemouth Licensing Board sub-committee yesterday.

Council officers told the meeting both drivers were caught driving in the Horseshoe Common area despite it being closed to all vehicles after midnight.


The restrictions have been introduced by the police and council as part of the improvements in the town centre area to help reduce crime and incidents of anti social behaviour, as well as improve road safety around the common.


Earlier this year chair of Bournemouth Taxi Trades Association John Tye publicly resigned from his position over rogue taxi drivers flouting the rules, which he said made him ashamed.

http://goo.gl/cBhO1Z
------------------------------------
STOKE

 PASSENGERS have made almost 1,000 complaints about taxi drivers in just three years – including allegations of drink-driving, a rape and a stabbing.

Other gripes include overcharging, smelly cabs, dangerous driving and abusive cabbies.

In one incident a taxi parked without its handbrake on rolled down a hill and smashed into a car.

More than 800 of the complaints have been made about Stoke-on-Trent cabbies – with half relating to poor 'attitude, behaviour and customer service'. A further 188 complaints have been made about taxi drivers in Newcastle.

It comes after The Sentinel reported this month that Tunstall taxi driver Mohammed Shamraiz was jailed for eight months for sexually assaulting a drunken woman in his cab.

Customers have been left stunned by the scale of the grievances. Wheelchair user Michelle Cooper, aged 54, of Stoke, said: "I know of some people who are being charged three times too much for fares.

"The taxi drivers are hit and miss. You get some really helpful drivers who carry your shopping. But others are very arrogant and rude and treat you worse than a second-class citizen."

Ross Irving, of Cobridge, uses taxis frequently for getting around and on weekends.

The 25-year-old said: "It's a mixed bag. Some are very pleasant and others are miserable and drive dangerously. I've been in a car in Hanley where a taxi driver was doing 60mph in a 30mph road.

Pam Bryan, secretary of the Stoke-on-Trent Area Network for Disability (Stand), said members regularly complained about drivers. She added: "Some private hire firms are absolutely marvellous but others are not. Some drivers will park in disabled bays and when a person complains they get abused."

Details of the complaints made to the borough council include:

A Hackney carriage driver acting aggressively and swearing at a family;

A cabbie being rude to council staff after three failed MOT tests;

Attempted theft of a mobile;

A driver allegedly under the influence of alcohol.

However, taxi drivers today defended their record, saying a complaint doesn't necessarily mean a driver is guilty.

Tariq Mahmood chairman of the Newcastle and Kidsgrove Taxi Association, said: "There are some drivers who do overcharge but that's unfortunately out of my control. Complaints I've dealt with have gone down 90 per cent."

Dave Currie, regional secretary of the National Private Hire Association, added: "Private hire operators in Stoke-on-Trent move about 14-and-a-half million people a year. In terms of the complaints, that's a fraction of that number.

"It always has to be remembered that just because a person complains, it doesn't mean it's always justified."

According to Stoke-on-Trent City Council, there are 184 Hackney carriages, 1,186 private hire vehicles and a total of 1,704 licensed taxi drivers.

Licensing manager Rachel Wallwork said she 'wasn't worried' by the statistics given the amount of drivers in the city.

She added cabbies undergo rigorous training, disclose convictions and have a medical certificate. She said: "Sometimes the driver hasn't done anything wrong. We monitor firms to ensure they have responded to the complaint and each complaint is investigated."

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/1-000-complaints-cabbies-just-years/story-27848084-detail/story.html