CHELMSFORD

TWO taxi drivers must pay nearly £2,000 after a landmark court case for refusing to take a blind grandfather's guide dog on board.

Braintree hackney cabbies Ramesh Krishnan and Saleh Attia appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Thursday last week for refusing to take on Philip Lee's black labrador Nan.

Mr Lee, a married 58-year-old father-of-three, said: "If another guide dog user didn't have the confidence to stand up to them this kind of thing could carry on.

"I did it for the other guide dog users."

The court heard that on Thursday, February 12, the grandfather-of-one was travelling to Braintree College to see his daughter, but not knowing Braintree well, he got off a bus in Manor Street to take a taxi instead. But Krishnan and Attia, in separate cabs, both refused to take on his seven-year-old guide dog Nan, before he successfully took a third taxi to the college.

"I went up to the first taxi and he said he doesn't take any dogs," said Mr Lee, who says Nan is "essential".

"I explained it was a guide dog, but he said again that he doesn't take any dogs, so I asked him for an exemption certificate and he just said again, 'I don't take dogs'.

"He told me his name and taxi number and I then approached a second taxi and got the same treatment.

"I was surprised at first because I'd stood up for myself and argued that they should be taking me. I was angry, but when I got that treatment from the second driver I was not only angry, I was also taken aback because I thought 'how am I going to get to the college?' It knocked my confidence and shook me up a bit."

The next day Mr Lee approached Guide Dogs UK engagement officer Sue Forster, who is blind herself, and together they took the case to the district council.

Prosecutor Braintree District Council, and Guide Dogs for the Blind, whose representatives were at court supporting Mr Lee, believe it could be the first such prosecution in Essex.

"If they had turned around and said they were scared of dogs or had an exemption certificate I would have completely understood," said Mr Lee, who volunteers at Guide Dogs UK, RNIB, Essex Cares and at an Essex County Council access group.

"I don't want them to lose their livelihood but I want to stick up for other guide dog users. I had to think long and hard about taking this to court."

Krishnan and Attia each pleaded guilty to one count of refusing to convey an assistance dog contrary to the Equalities Act 2010.

Krishnan, of Nottage Crescent, was fined £150, ordered to pay £50 compensation to Mr Lee, and £718 in costs.

Attia, of Coggeshall Road, must pay a £150 fine, £50 compensation, £707 in costs.

At the end of the hearing, prosecutor Gurvynda Paddan-White said the pair had failed to "comply with their legal duty" and that they were restricting Mr Lee's "freedom of movement".

Chairman of the bench Shaun Rayner said: "If someone with an assistance dog comes asking for help, you help them."

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 BRIGHTON

 City chiefs considering whether to allow Uber to operate in Brighton have been told they would be "out of their minds" to ban the taxi-hailing app.

Councillors will discuss whether to grant a licence to Uber on Monday.

Objections have come from the GMB union and taxi companies, but calls have also been made for the council to support Uber drivers as small business owners.

Councillor Mary Mears said there were serious concerns and urged the council to refuse the licence.

Founded six years ago, San Francisco-based Uber "connects riders to drivers" with an app that uses GPS technology to locate available vehicles.

Users tap their phone to hail a cab and pay automatically on arrival with a credit card.

Drivers sign up as independent contractors and are their own boss.

In Brighton, objections to the application raised issues about identification of Uber cars, whether vehicles would be wheelchair accessible, whether customers' data was secure, and how drivers would be checked.

But Darren Fell, founder of Hove-based Crunch Accounting, which works for micro-businesses including Uber drivers, said the city had to embrace change.

He said there were already 15,000 Uber drivers in the country, the smartphone app was creating thousands of new business owners, more and more platforms were emerging in the marketplace and the world was changing.

Arguing that Uber would bring an economic boost to Brighton and Hove, he said: "The council would be out of their minds to consider banning it. We are an entrepreneurial, dot com-savvy city.

"I want to see the council behind it. Do they support digital business or don't they?

"Users absolutely love it and all around the world we see people trying to ban it."

He said Uber offered a livelihood for someone who could not invest in a Hackney carriage - and it also offered drives balanced lives.

"Many of the drivers are family men," Mr Fell said.

"They can spend time with their family, their wife can go to work, they can see their children, and then they can go out to work in the evening in complete control of their lives.

"This is what the freelancing world gives people."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-34553127
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SWINDON

 TAXI licensing fee hikes of up to seventy per cent are set to be approved by councillors this week despite widespread opposition and petition sporting more than a hundred signatures.

Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet has been advised to push through the fee hikes, which will see a significant jump in the price paid for renewing drivers’ licences, knowledge tests and operators’ licences.

The matter was first considered by the cabinet in July before a consultation took place prompting a raft of responses from Swindon’s taxi industry in opposition to the rises.

In a report submitted for Wednesday’s meeting, the cabinet member for finance, people and performance, Councillor Russell Holland (Con, St Margaret & South Marston), said the proposals should be adopted.

“It is recommended that the proposed changes are implemented in order to ensure the income covers the cost of the service recognising that no increases have been implemented in the last three years,” the report said.

“The service must be self-financing and all fees must be re-invested back into the service with an additional post being employed to allow capacity for improved administration, systems and enforcement to the benefit of the service.”

Tracey Kirk, fleet manager for Private Hire Rental and CMH Car Hire, which own approximately 150 vehicles between them, was responsible for pulling a petition together which now has 125 signatures opposing the fee increase.

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“We are disappointed with the outcome of the fee increases as it is going to make life a lot more difficult for drivers, who are already struggling to make a living from it,” she said.

“At this point, I don’t think any of us will be bothering to make a protest. We have already done as much as we can and they are still not going to pay any attention.

“You wonder why you bother.”

Among the proposed increases, the largest jump is for those drivers wishing to sit a knowledge test, who would fork out £50 for their first attempt, as opposed to £30 as it is now.

Those existing drivers looking to renew their minicab licences would be required to pay out 54 per cent more, at £70 rather than £45.50.

Operators like United Radio Cars, including V Cars, Cross Street Cars and SN1 Cars, which service more than 20 vehicles, will now be needed to fork out £450 for a licence, up from £309 in 2014/15.

Ramin Pahlavan, a co-owner at United, said: “I’m very disappointed the council hasn’t taken any notice of the opinions of the people who are affected.

“Everybody will be suffering: the drivers, the companies and even the council themselves.

“When they take the fees up it will be less attractive for people to become drivers.

“They don’t know the number of people who might have wanted to join. That’s a hidden figure behind all this.

“At the end of the day, there’s going to be a great impact on a lot of lives in Swindon.

“If the decision’s made, it’s like everything else: you have a voice and want to make it heard, but when they hear your voice they totally ignore it.”

In a letter to Tracey, Richard Bell, head of planning and regulatory services at Swindon Borough Council, said higher costs are incurred for additional checks, a more rigorous knowledge test and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

He also said there would be additional enforcement to protect the reputation of the industry in Swindon and other road users by ensuring all taxis are properly insured.

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