Addison Lee, the capital’s largest private hire cab business, says that while it backs the idea of an ultra low emission zone (ULEZ), Transport for London’s (TfL) scheme has not been thought through and is being rushed into place for political reasons.

The company argues that there is no “credible” plan to set up the network of fast recharging points that would be required, and the economic impact on taxi companies that would be forced to suddenly update their fleets has not been considered.

It also claims that the technology the industry is being pushed towards may might not be the best type to reduce emissions.

Research commissioned by Addison Lee, which operates 4,500 vehicles, found that replacing its fleet with alternatively powered vehicles would cost it £200m.

The ULEZ is a great idea and the industry supports reducing emissions but this is regulation being rushed through by the mayor before his term ends

Catherine Faiers, Addison Lee chief operating officer

When taking into account the more than 50,000 private hire vehicles operating in London, the bill would rise to £1.8bn and does not account for the depressed resale values of vehicles as the market is flooded with drivers ditching their old cabs. It claims that passing on the cost of updating the fleet will cause fares to rise by a quarter.

Catherine Faiers, Addison Lee’s chief operating officer, said: “The ULEZ is a great idea and the industry supports reducing emissions but this is regulation being rushed through by the mayor before his term ends.”

Hybrid vehicles were just as effective at cutting pollution as pure electric ones she argued, and that by forcing the industry towards a single technology rather than working with the industry and car manufacturers, innovation that could be more effective was being stifled.

Ms Faiers added: “We are all about efficiency, but faced with regulations as they look like they currently come, we will have to take radical solutions.”

These could include offshoring much of Addison Lee’s 550 back-office staff to countries with cheaper labour, and drivers taking wage cuts to help absorb the cost.

A spokesman for TfL said: “We do not accept the figure stated by Addison Lee for the cost of the private hire trade upgrading to zero emission capable vehicles.

“The proposed licensing requirements only affect vehicles being licensed in London for the first time and existing private hire vehicles would not need to be replaced earlier as a result of the policy.

“However, we are confident our proposals will provide a benefit for all Londoners by supporting the gradual transition of London’s private hire fleet to zero emission capable vehicles.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/11877406/Taxi-customers-face-1.8bn-green-bill.html
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DUNDEE taxi marshal plans to be investigated after cabbies pay thousands into scheme
Mark Mackay

The failure of Dundee’s taxi marshal scheme is being investigated by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO).

Councillors hoped the plan would protect drinkers from harm on the streets at weekends, defuse trouble and make problem taxi ranks safer.

Each of Dundee’s 1,300 drivers was required to pay £30 towards the scheme – with payment of the fee incumbent upon anyone seeking a licence renewal.

In June, however, The Courier revealed that despite taking drivers’ cash 14 months earlier, the council had failed to hire a single member of staff.

Now the SPSO has written to Dundee City Council chief executive David Martin to announce that it will examine the debacle and demand answers.

Mr Martin has been asked whether the council has considered refunding the fees paid by licence holders until a “definite plan to implement the scheme” can be brought forward.

The local authority has also been asked to explain why it did not do that in the first instance, rather than take money and then fail to deliver.

Dundee City Council confirmed it had been contacted by the SPSO, with a spokeswoman stating that it would “respond in due course”.

The SPSO’s examination of the scheme has been prompted by complaints made by city taxi drivers, including Gregor Ross, 47, from Carnoustie.

Mr Ross said he was “delighted” to see the watchdog intervene, telling The Courier that there had been “clear failures” on the part of the council.

“This scheme has taken money from the pockets of every single taxi driver in Dundee and I do not believe that is acceptable,” he said.

“If I had paid for a television package and been unable to view any channels I would expect a refund and it should be no different in this case,” he said.

“We have paid for a service that 16 months on has yet to be delivered. I have to question whether it will ever exist.

“There are serious questions to be asked and taxi drivers want to hear the answers.

“I hope that the ombudsman will bring this to a swift end.”

The council has been disappointed by its inability to deliver the taxi marshal scheme, which would have seen staff stationed at key city centre locations at weekends.

Licensing committee convener Councillor Stewart Hunter hoped they would protect worse-for-wear drinkers and help quell trouble at certain taxi ranks, giving drivers the confidence to stop for passengers in some areas.

The council had sought applicants with the skills to defuse trouble – such as retired police officers – but suitable applicants have not been forthcoming.

In July the council said it planned one final recruitment drive before giving consideration to refunding drivers.
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 SYDNEY

A taxi driver who repeatedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old deaf girl has been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

Osman Chamseddine, 65, sexually assaulted the child numerous times in 2009, as he drove her to her special needs school in western Sydney.

Judge Brian Knox said the offences Chamseddine committed were 'reprehensible' as he handed down the maximum 15-year sentence at Parramatta District Court on Friday.

Chamseddine's wife stood up and asked desperately 'Can I talk please?' once the sentence was handed down.

'I know him (sic) for 30 years,' she said before being subdued by her children.

Chamseddine placed his hands over his mouth and stared as the judge finalised his sentence.

Judge Knox said he was concerned the 65-year-old had always maintained his innocence, adding he 'has not shown any remorse or contrition'.

Chamseddine was found guilty in May of four counts of aggravated sexual intercourse and two counts of indecent assault.

His trial heard how he would drive his van to an isolated spot and ask the profoundly deaf girl, who is now 16, to sit in the front seat with him.

Chamseddine would speak to the girl in a 'flirtatious manner' before reaching across and putting his hands in her vagina.

'There was nothing for her to do,' Judge Knox said, adding she was unable to scream for help.

On other occasions he got into the back of the van and touched her breast and forced her to touch his erect penis.

'He gained her trust through his capacity as a driver,' the judge found, saying her disadvantages made her more vulnerable.

The girl, who cannot be named, was too frightened to reveal the abuse to her parents but later came forward in 2012, telling one of her hearing-impaired high school friends who then informed a teacher.

In a victim impact statement read to the court on her behalf on Friday, the girl said: 'I'm not comfortable in front of any men except my dad.

'I don't trust anyone.'

She said she only started sleeping well after the trial concluded and can only now concentrate in school.

Chamseddine will be eligible for parole in March 2025.
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 BOLTON

 A Robber who held a knife to a terrified taxi driver's throat stole his car and smashed it into a wall.

Callum Bates was seen careering around Tonge Moor residential streets in the Toyota Avensis at up to 70mph before writing off the vehicle in Eldon Street, Bolton Crown Court heard.

The hearing was told taxi driver Naeem Iqbal initially thought Bates was joking when he pulled out a kitchen knife and ordered him out of the car on Tonge Moor Road at midday on August 8. Mr Iqbal even tried to take the knife off the drunken passenger.

"But then the defendant put the knife to Mr Iqbal's neck and told him to get out," said Lindsay Thomas, prosecuting. "Mr Iqbal said at this point he felt frightened."

Sentencing Bates to three years in jail, Recorder Andrew Loveridge told him: "Members of the public have to be protected from individuals like you who drink to excess and then place them in serious fear."

Mrs Thomas told the court that a woman named Deborah had requested a Metro Taxis car to go to Marsden House in Bolton just before midday, but when Mr Iqbal arrived Bates got in and asked to be taken to Hall i'th' Wood.

Even though the driver refused his request to sit in the front, Bates, who had a bottle of vodka with him, got in next to him when the car stopped at traffic lights. A short distance later Bates pulled out the knife and drove off in the car with £85 of Mr Iqbal's takings leaving him by the side of the road.

Mrs Thomas said a witness spotted the car speeding down back streets and crashing.

The impact damaged the driver's door and 22-year-old Bates was seen climbing out of the passenger door, clutching the vodka and the cash bag, which he dropped before walking off.

He was arrested just an hour later and found to be more than two and a half times over the drink drive limit.

Mrs Thomas stressed that the robbery has had a "massive impact" on Mr Iqbal, whose car was written off and he could not work for 11 days until a new vehicle was registered. His family also have increased concerns for his safety.

Bates, of Green Way, Hall i'th' Wood, pleaded guilty to robbery, possessing a knife, aggravated vehicle taking and having no licence or insurance.

Colin Buckle, defending, said the offence had been unsophisticated. "He even leaves the money behind when wandering down the street in full view of everyone," said Mr Buckle.

He added that although Bates, whose parents were both drug addicts, had begun offending at the age 12, he had gone for seven years without committing crime.

But an assault while in custody led to a deterioration in his mental health and he began taking drugs and drinking excessively.

Recorder Loveridge, who also banned Bates from holding a driving licence for 18 months, stressed that taxi drivers should be protected.

"People who seek to earn their living from providing services to the public must, in my view, be able to do so free from the threat of violence and fear of attack," said the Recorder.

Metro Taxis boss Nick Astley said he was pleased with the sentence. He said: “When something like this happens it is important that the severity of it is recognised and acted upon and this is a fantastic result. I think three years is a just sentence for the crime and will send a clear message out — hopefully it acts as a deterrent. Drivers do have to put up with a heck of a lot of abuse and the psychological effects of an attack like this can be horrific.”

The robbery is the latest in a number of crimes against taxi drivers in Bolton. 
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NEW YORK state on Friday took over a failing credit union that put nearly all of its money into loans for yellow-taxi medallions as Uber and similar services continue to gobble up much of the market.

The step was taken because of “unsafe and unsound conditions” at the federally insured Montauk Credit Union, according to the Financial Services Department.

Some 98 percent of the state-chartered institution’s $178.5 million assets are taxi-medallion loans, sources said.

The move could mark the first major fall of lenders who specialize in making medallion loans.

Yellow-cab medallions have plunged in value from $1.05 million in June 2013 apiece to $800,000 this past January.

“It’s indicative of how much owner-drivers are struggling to make ends meet,” said Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

Desai put the blame squarely on Uber, which she says created an unequal playing field — saying she’s spoken to drivers who filed for bankruptcy after their incomes fell by more than 20 percent in the past two years.