ADUR. 
 
Adur forcing hard-working taxi drivers out of business

It is with some dismay that I have read the report on the Adur District Councils decision not to accede to the local taxi drivers request for an increase in fares for the first time in eight years.

This situation has come about due to poor legislation in 1976 that changed taxi law for the first time since 1846.

So poor were the new rules they have been changed and redefined by many court precedent decisions over the last 40 years.

This together with the new internet taxi booking systems and the rise of privately run taxi circuits, has resulted in the intolerable financial pressure the 21st century taxi driver.

At the top of the financial pecking order and with all the clout is the local authority, the large circuit owners and the Internet companies.

These organisations have one objective and that is to get as many drivers as possible paying them for their services. Lower taxi fares mean greater demand for taxis with no responsibility for the drivers’ ability to afford to provide it.

The only organisation with a legal responsibility to take this into account is the setters of taxi fares, Adur District Council.

Adur, however, against the advice of their officers, can see no votes for increasing taxi fares and adamantly refuses to do so.

They do see the additional revenue from nearly two hundred vehicle licences and many more drivers licences.

Before 1976 there was approximately only 20 taxis in Adur.

You might ask where does all the extra work come from for these extra taxis? The truth is, Brighton and Hove. This is the result of the Brighton taxi circuits and cross border hiring. You are possibly aware that Uber and its like has caused distress for drivers around the world.

I cannot close without reference to a certain Adur taxi driver well known for getting his name in the paper on this matter. If you take into consideration his connection and financial interest in one of the largest of the Brighton taxi companies you do not need to go any further to work out his motivation.

The sad consequences of this policy of demonising the taxi drivers serves no purpose other than forcing legally responsible and hard working drivers out of the trade.

http://goo.gl/pMpYL7
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SOUTH WALES Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael has appealed to taxi drivers in Cardiff to call off a strike planned for two weekends in April.

Mr Michael describing it as “a big mistake” which would put the public at risk and damage the reputation of the city and its taxi drivers.

Hundreds of members of Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association are due to strike on Friday, April 15, and Saturday, April 16, and the following weekend, Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23.

They accused Cardiff council of "unfair victimisation". The council has suspended a number of drivers for refusing short distance fares.

Mr Michael said: “When I called a summit to look at the safety of the public in Cardiff at night a few months ago, the biggest concern from all sides was that some taxi drivers pick and choose between potential fares, rejecting short journeys and often putting young women at risk.

"It’s actually a break of the regulations under which they operate, so it’s unacceptable on a number of levels.

“In general taxi drivers are responsible people and we believed that this was being done just by a rogue few ‘bad eggs’ who were being cavalier about both the rules of their licence and the safety of the public.

"Proposing a strike in defence of this behaviour suggests a wish to legitimise the practice, and that is both dangerous and unacceptable.”

Cardiff hackney association’s chairman, Mathab Khan, has called for the removal of Councillor Jacqueline Parry, who chairs the licensing committee, and Dave Holland, the official in charge of taxi regulation, from their positions.

Mr Michael said the calls to remove Coun Parry and Mr Holland amounted to “intimidation and an interference in the democratic and legitimate processes that govern the taxi trade”.

He said: “Cardiff is an extremely safe city in which to enjoy a good night out, and all the statistics show that to be the case.

"I have been very pleased with the co-operation we have had between the police and the council and all the groups who are part of the night-time economy, including the licensing trade and organisations like the WRU. We’ve made progress year after year in improving safety in Cardiff and the city’s reputation as a safe place.

“But something like this carries the risk of undermining all that good work, and my plea is for taxi drivers to reject the idea of a strike and to support the council in ensuring that all drivers stick closely to the regulations and the requirements of their licence.”

http://goo.gl/LZps9j
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 TADCASTER

Incredible pictures show how a taxi driver miraculously survived a crash which sent a wooden pole ramming through his windscreen, only narrowly avoiding his head.

The taxi driver lost control of his Vauxhall Insignia on the A659 in Tadcaster on Sunday, April 10, before crashing into a fence.


However, the force of the crash sent a large wooden pole careering through the windscreen on the driver's side, shattering the glass and lodging in the screen.


Despite it smashing through the glass at head height, the pole incredibly managed to avoid the driver's head and instead hit his shoulder.


Police arrived on the scene at around 2am to release the driver who had become stuck in the car.

Pictures released on Traffic Sergeant Paul Cording's Twitter account showed just how close the pole had come to hitting the driver's head.

Police said the driver, from the Leeds area, was 'incredibly lucky' as he walked away from the crash with minor shoulder injuries and shock.

It is not believed there were any passengers in the taxi's car when the crash happened.

http://goo.gl/waluE8
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 AUSTRALIA

 Ride-sharing services like UberX have been given the green light to begin operating in South Australia from July 1, the State Government has announced.


As part of the reforms, the Government will offer an assistance package to offset any impacts the new changes will have on those already operating in the industry.

The offer includes a $30,000 payment per taxi licence, $50 a week in compensation for a maximum of 11 months for licence lessees, and a freeze on new taxi licences for at least five years.

The compensation package will cost $31 million, while the halt on plate sales is estimated at $24 million and other measures are worth about $10 million.

The assistance package is to be funded by a $1 levy on all metropolitan trips.

Taxi Council SA president Jim Triantafyllou said the industry was disappointed by the introduction of ridesharers and that taxi plates had lost value.

"We asked for a level playing field and the level playing field has been diminished by allowing Uber types or ridesharers to be able to come into Adelaide for an $85 annual licence fee," he said.

"Currently taxi licence fees are in excess of $300,000 when we buy the licence."

He said the Government had sold plates by tenders about eight months ago for $325,000 but they were not worth that anymore.

Mr Triantafyllou described the $30,000 payment as "transitional assistance" and not compensation.

Premier Jay Weatherill earlier said the Government had "worked hard to negotiate a balance" between existing services and new industry entrants.

"Our reforms deliver a genuine level playing field between taxis, chauffeur vehicles and new entrants like Uber," he said.

"Some people have called for the total deregulation of this sector. We reject that."

http://goo.gl/Wajmge
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 GOA

 Taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers in Goa on Monday extended their strike by two more days, as thousands of tourists and locals were stranded at airports, railway stations and major bus stations across the state.

Vinayak Nanoskar of the North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association told IANS that in view of the Goa government not heeding to their demand for scrapping of self-driven cars and bikes, the strike would continue until Wednesday.

"We are extending the strike by two more days. No one from the government met us today (Monday). Our demands stand unresolved. Unless they agree to our demands, the main one being scrapping of licences for self-driven cars and bikes, we will not withdraw the strike," Nanoskar said.

Around 15,000 tourist taxis and auto-rickshaws in the state stayed off roads on Monday, causing hardship to tourists as well as locals.

"We have been waiting at the airport for four hours for some sort of transport," said 35-year-old Akash Banerjee, who landed in Goa on Monday afternoon from Mumbai for a short holiday.

Commuters and tourists were also stranded at major bus stations as well as railway stations, and most people had to board public transport buses which were already crammed to capacity.

The invocation of the Essential Services Management Act did not appear to deter the striking taxi drivers, who also organised a public meeting in Panaji, where they resolved to extend their strike by two more days.

Meanwhile, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation in coordination with the state government-run public bus transportation service, the Kadamba Transport Corporation, pressed into service 45 buses between major railway stations and the airport, to ensure that tourists are ferried to and from the entry points and their hotels.

http://goo.gl/jRTs4g