Two things significant about the date. It is obviously April fools day, secondly it is the beginning of a new Financila year.
It may be the statement about the percentage rise is a April Fool prank, BUT, considering Ubers losses last year, some two million a day in China alone, it may be true.
UBER's business plan is to increase turnover at any cost and then go public, this is called an IPO, Initial Public Offering on stock exchange.
This is where Uber's invester's grab their profits and abandon ship.
The new purchasers of Uber shares, then watch with horror as their money burns before their eyes.
Signs that Uber are planning this comes as the storm gathers around the world of Uber's mounting debts and tax avoidence.
Rates to the driver's around the world are being cut. Unbelievably the Drivers mileage rate in Detroit and elswhere in the USA has dropped to 30 cents a mile, using the Post Office buy rate, that works out at 19 pence, a mile, in real money. 19 pence a mile ! !
Anyway have a butchers yourself and see what you think.
http://uberpeople.net/threads/detroit-is-30-cents-a-mile-i-m-not-kidding.53570/
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MILTON KEYNES
Imagine being able to compare taxi prices for the cheapest journey in Milton Keynes? Well that dream could about to become a reality.
A brand new taxi app – which labels itself as 'eBay for taxis' – is set to launch in Milton Keynes in April 2016.
Titled BidTaxi, the app will allow users to make a booking and have the five closest drivers bid for your custom.
Price and time of arrival will be listed for each, and after 45 seconds users can then select the best deal.
David Wright, 49, the entrepreneur behind BidTaxi, is from Old Farm Park and he is determined to make the app a success in his hometown.
He said: "We are a unique service which aims to avoid customers getting ripped off and give them the best possible price.
"Drivers get extra work and opportunities, while providers get a cut of the income. It is a win-win for everyone.
"I want BidTaxi to be a proof of concept, and where better to do that than in Milton Keynes?"
BidTaxi will be free to download, and payments to drivers can be made in cash.
Comparisons with rival taxi app Uber will inevitably be made, but Mr Wright is keen to stress the differences between the two.
He added: "Uber are in every major city, and they work with nobody themselves. BidTaxi is totally different – we work with the industry, not against it.
"We would select a company to work with, and we give them the opportunity to become partners on the platform.
"We also took a look at what Uber are doing, and realised they are excluding a large amount of the market by only accepting card payments."
http://www.onemk.co.uk/BidTaxi-New-taxi-app-launch-Milton-Keynes/story-28769861-detail/story.html
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Taxi drivers and Uber join forces.
Last year, taxi drivers in Belgium threw eggs at Uber drivers’ cars and blocked them from picking up passengers during a protest against the ride-hailing company. In France, during another day of protests, taxi drivers attacked Uber drivers, in a couple of cases even setting their cars on fire. Footage from a protest against Uber in Toronto shows a man banging on the window of someone he suspects is driving for Uber, only to be dragged 20 feet before letting go. And in cities across the U.S., Uber drivers and taxi drivers have faced off on opposite sides of protests over Uber regulations.
Both Uber and taxi trade associations have historically made efforts to fuel this vitriol. "We’re in a political campaign, and the candidate is Uber and the opponent is an asshole named Taxi," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick noted while explaining the rift in 2014. "Nobody likes him, he’s not a nice character, but he’s so woven into the political machinery and fabric that a lot of people owe him favors." The Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association has poured money into a smear campaign against Uber that includes, for instance, a running tally of alleged kidnappings and sexual assaults by Uber drivers.
But as Uber and Lyft cut fares, some of their drivers are beginning to see taxi drivers not as opponents, but as allies in a labor battle that impacts both groups."When I first started driving, taxis hated Uber drivers, and Uber drivers hated taxis," says Abe Husein, a former Uber driver who has helped organize strikes and protests in Kansas City and nationwide. "Now everybody hates Uber. Times have changed."
On Wednesday, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) and the International Association of Machinists, which represents black car drivers, cohosted a protest at New York’s City Hall to call for Uber and Lyft to reinstate fare rates that they cut by 15% last month. The NYTWA has organized several similar protests throughout the last several weeks, and another local chapter of the Taxi Workers Alliance has organized more in Philadelphia. "They were more pro-taxi," says Abdoul Diallo, an Uber driver organizer in New York City, about the NYTWA. "But what they realized is that Uber drivers were also really taxi drivers. It's just a new form of doing it. Their members were leaving the livery cab industry and going to work for Uber, so it became important for them to stand up, not just in the taxi industry, but for workers in general."
""Taxis hated Uber drivers and Uber drivers hated taxis. Now everybody hates Uber.""
At the demonstration in New York on Wednesday, a group of about 40 people stood on the steps of City Hall holding signs with slogans like, "Killing jobs is not innovation," and, "Hey Uber, politicians may cave in, but workers strike." Bhairavi Desai, the president of the National Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents 19,000 drivers in New York, led a short press conference. "We are here to say to Uber and Lyft, to all of these app-based dispatch companies, the race to the bottom must end," began Desai, who had no microphone and had to shout to be heard. "We will not let them continue to gut our incomes. When the biggest dispatching company in New York City, with over 30,000 affiliated vehicles, starts to cut its rates, it sends a signal across the industry to cut the rates across the board." Though Uber says it is a technology company, Desai believes it is no different than any car dispatcher.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3056857/taxi-and-uber-drivers-once-mortal-enemies-join-forces-in-a-new-labor-dispute
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West Yorkshire
Sex offenders and dangerous drivers are among those who have applied to be taxi drivers in Kirklees and Calderdale .
However, despite convictions for violence and burglary, drivers with previous convictions have been handed licences by councils.
A shock study reveals that almost one in six applications for cabbie licences to Kirklees Council were from people with convictions,
Among the previous convictions revealed through the Disclosure and Barring Service for people applying for taxi licences was a sexual assault on a girl aged under 13 in Kirklees.
There were two convictions for indecent assault on women aged 16 and over in Kirklees and one in Calderdale, and one for indecent assault on girls aged under 14 in Kirklees.
There was one conviction for manslaughter and one conviction for kidnapping in Kirklees.
There was one conviction each in Kirklees and Calderdale for causing death by dangerous driving.
Across the both councils, there were 12 previous convictions for dangerous driving.
In Kirklees, those applying for taxi licences between April 2012 and March 2015 had 141 previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, with 16 in Calderdale, 217 for having no motor insurance, 96 for driving while disqualified, and 83 for driving while over the limit.
A total of 220 applications from Kirklees in 2014/15 were revealed to have previous convictions, out of 1,298 applications, with a total of 919 previous convictions, according to figures revealed following a Freedom of Information request. In Calderdale, there were eight applications showing 19 previous convictions out of 63 applications.
Separate figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act show 12 drivers in Kirklees were issued a taxi licence despite criminal convictions between November 2014 and October 2015, out of 49 cases heard by the licensing committee.
Previous convictions included violence, burglary, attempted robbery and threatening behaviour.
All applicants for new or renewed hackney carriage or private hire licences must obtain a DBS check.
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/sex-offenders-criminals-apply-taxi-10916889
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Plymouth
A TAXI driver who failed to turn up to complete his unpaid work order – after being found guilty of assaulting three female fares – has been told he risks prison if he keeps missing the sessions.
Augustin Marian, of Union Street, was arrested following an incident at Sherwell Arcade in North Hill on August 11 last year.
He was found guilty following trial on December 1 of three counts of assault by beating. The victims were described as three females who were passengers of his Hackney cab.
Marian, aged 33, was handed a community order and told to carry out 120 hours unpaid work over the next 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £500 compensation and pay a Criminal Courts Charge of £520.
Marian recently appeared before Plymouth City Council’s taxi licensing committee where they made a decision as to whether he was considered to be a ‘fit and proper’ person to retain a taxi licence.
The council said it was unable to confirm their decision, but revealed Marian had until March 1 to lodge any appeal against the committee’s decision.
At Plymouth Magistrates Court, prosecutor Beverly Wilmott explained how Marian had missed a number of appointments to carry out his unpaid work.
Marian, who was unrepresented, said he showed up at one of the appointments but they rescheduled his appointment. The next time he had worked two shifts as a taxi driver having taken a long distance job and so could not attend.
He explained to magistrates he had a year to carry out the unpaid work, but he also needed to work to put food on the table.
Marian explained he was going to lose his taxi license within the next two weeks and needed to earn money now rather then attend the unpaid work appointments.
The chair of the bench attempted to explain to Marian that he had to attend each appointment.
In response, Marian said: “I know I have to do unpaid work, but I’ve things to do myself.”
The clerk of the court then explained to Marian: “If you don’t do the hours the probation service tell you, then you can be brought back to court and sent to prison – that’s how series it is, okay?”
After a brief discussion, the chair of the bench told Marian: “You have a community order for 12 months and once the hours are complete, you’ve still have the community order.
“We are prepared to allow you to carry on with this order. Should you breach it again, because you haven’t turned up and haven’t given evidence as to why you can’t attend, the chances are you will end up serving a prison sentence.”
Marian was ordered to complete a further 20 hours unpaid work and pay court costs of £50.
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-taxi-driver-assaulted-female-fares/story-28770295-detail/story.html
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