Carlyle Group, the private equity company that bought a majority stake in Addison Lee for £300 million last year, is planning to sell the private hire giant on after just 18 months after receiving “unsolicited offers” for the business.

The sale is expected through an auction, with the highest bidder expected to pay up to £800m for the minicab firm, which operates around 4,000 cars in London. This would provide a major return for Carlyle, as well as a further windfall for the Griffin family, which founded the company nearly 40 years ago.

Carlyle is believed to have invited other private equity firms, including BC Partners, CVC Capital and Charterhouse to bid. Carlyle has not confirmed the move, and analysts are surprised by the speed at which the private equity company has moved to sell the business on – normally, investments are retained for around four or five years.

But recent strong financial results from Addison Lee may have forced the decision – Addison Lee announced trebled net profits to £16m in its latest financial year, with turnover rising to £172m.

The business was founded by former taxi driver John Griffin with a single car in 1975, and now carries more than 10m passengers a year in London. Addison Lee has launched services in Paris and New York and plans to launch in other cities. John Griffin recently stood down as chairman of the company, though son Liam remains as CEO.

http://www.prodrivermags.com/news/389-carlyle-group-plans-to-auction-addison-lee-for-800-million
-------------------------------------
 NEW DELHI

 The Supreme Court’s decision to not extend its deadline for banning all diesel and petrol-run taxis in Delhi-NCR is a step in the right direction as far as cleaning up its air is concerned. However, the authorities need to address the concerns of taxi drivers and inconvenienced commuters for the measure to be successful.
The judicial move led to protests by taxi drivers, causing a massive traffic jam on NH-8 at the Gurugram-Delhi border and a number of other arterial roads on a particularly hot Monday. The situation was further worsened by a shortage of taxis caused due to nearly 40,000 vehicles being taken off the roads. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has already promised taxi unions that he will request the court for another extension on the ban.
Justifying the tough stand taken by the judiciary, Supreme Court lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan said, “The apex court kept extending the deadline on their request, and finally lost patience. More than six months were given when they asked for more time to convert their engines to CNG. Suddenly, they brought forward an argument the day before yesterday that there was no technology for making the conversion.”
“Eighteen years is not a short period for taxis to convert from diesel to CNG,” he added, pointing out that the first decision on the matter was taken in 1998.
The court decision came on the back of several steps taken by the Delhi government to curb pollution levels in the Capital, including the adoption of a revolutionary traffic formula where odd and even-numbered vehicles were allowed to ply only on alternate days. Reports that pollution levels in Delhi were on the verge of crossing that of Beijing – the world’s poster-child of bad air quality – had set alarm bells ringing among environmentalists and city officials alike.
However, the apex court must take into account the practical implications that could prevent the smooth implementation of its direction. Commuters who relied on taxis during the second phase of the Delhi government’s odd-even scheme will have to find other alternatives if it is rolled out again. Cab owners, on the other hand, complain that the cost of converting their vehicles to CNG will burn a sizeable hole in their pockets.
Here are some interim measures that the judiciary as well as the government could consider to make the implementation process smoother. For one, diesel taxi owners can be permitted to retrofit catalytic converters to their vehicles, reducing the emission of pollutants. Alternatively, the government could ease the financial burden on taxi drivers by subsidising the cost of PNG conversion through funds from the clean environment cess introduced in Union Budget 2016-17.
To address the larger problem faced by the environment, the Centre should ease subsidies on dirtier fuels like diesel, making them more expensive. It could also reduce duties on hybrid and electric cars – providing consumers with a financial incentive to invest in cleaner technology.
It must be acknowledged that air quality degradation is a complex issue with more than just one cause. The government should identify every source of pollution, and with the knowledge gained, put in place a comprehensive plan that addresses the needs of the environment without hurting anybody’s livelihood.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/battle-against-pollution-delhi-s-diesel-taxi-ban-is-not-enough/story-mRUSSXluQKVKuIeL783ToM.html?
----------------------------------------------

 Drivers from Stockholm’s biggest taxi firm are suspected of helping fuel the sex trade despite the purchase of sex being illegal in Sweden, a TV4 report shows.


Ten out of 14 drivers were happy to help a reporter with a hidden camera who claimed to want to find a prostitute.

The drivers gave the reporter tips on how to find prostitutes, how much to pay, and how to avoid detection by the police.

“This is pure illegal activity, and they are consciously engaging in it,” said Simon Häggström, the head of a police unit that combats prostitution in the Swedish capital.

The report also shows a taxi driver picking up a prostitute and taking her to a secluded car park. When the driver notices the camera he and the woman both exit the car through the rear doors.

The driver denied paying for sex when confronted by the reporter, but police say they have arrested several taxi drivers in the area around Malmskillnadsgatan, the street in Stockholm most closely associated with the sex trade.

“This is the profession we have arrested most often for sex purchases,” Simon Häggström told TV4.

Taxi Stockholm said it was not aware that its drivers were helping clients find prostitutes and described the ones that did as just “a few rotten eggs in the basket”.

“What you have found shows that there may be individuals who are facilitating this. It is unacceptable and deeply unfortunate,” Taxi Stockholm’s CEO Johan Lagerhäl told TV4.

Taxi Stockholm, which has 4,500 drivers spread across the city, said it would review its screening procedures in light of the news investigation.

The report will be broadcast on Tuesday evening as part of TV4’s investigative news programme Kalla Fakta.

http://www.thelocal.se/20160503/stockholm-taxi-drivers-help-clients-find-prostitutes
---------------------------------------------

 Hungary moved closer to winding down Uber Technologies Inc.’s local car service in the eastern European country after the government submitted a bill that would allow authorities to block access to the mobile application and fine media promoting it.

Taxi drivers have blocked traffic in the capital several times this year, including Tuesday, in protest against the company which they say breaks domestic regulations on carrying passengers.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s cabinet has sided with traditional drivers, whose business model has been disrupted by the ride-sharing firm across the globe. Taxi drivers in Budapest are obliged to follow strict rules on their services, including regulated pricing and limits on the age and make of cars they can use.

Uber said its more than 1,200 Hungarian drivers are "licensed and tax compliant."
"It is likely that the government’s plan is unconstitutional and violates EU law," Zoltan Fekete, Uber’s general manager in Budapest, said in a statement before the draft bill was submitted. "In the meantime Uber will continue operating in Budapest and fully supporting drivers using the platform.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/hungary-to-tighten-taxi-rules-as-anti-uber-protests-persist
------------------------------------
SOUTH RIBBLE

 A horrified mother has spoken of her disgust after the taxi driver she accused of abusing her five-year-old daughter was allowed to remain behind the wheel for 13 MONTHS while on police bail.

The 41-year-old says she warned police and council bosses of her daughter’s claims, but the driver was allowed to keep his licence for over a year.

The shocking claim of the sex assault led to a child exploitation scandal which hit South Ribble Council in Lancashire last month.

The mother said: “I’m stunned and angry. It has been a disaster since day one. Days after giving statements to the police, I was walking with my daughter to school when this man passed by us driving a taxi.

“He slowed down as he went past us and my daughter totally freaked and had a full-blown panic attack.

"I couldn’t believe he was still behind the wheel.

“For the next few moments he tortured us, driving slowly past us as we walked to school, until police told him to change his route.

“The police told me he was school runs. I felt utter revulsion. I thought he’d be taken off the road as soon as he was put on bail.”

The mother says she is furious the Crown Prosecution Service decided her daughter was too young to give evidence, despite the report revealing police “consider the driver did commit the offence”.

The shocking report, which bears a horrifying similarities to the Rotherham sex abuse scandal, was said to have found children in South Ribble, Lancashire, were put at risk after the local authorities failed to carry out proper checks on at least 44 drivers working on council-funded school runs.

The report detailed a number of shocking cases, including a five-year-old girl who was left “totally traumatised” after allegedly being touched inappropriately by a taxi driver. In another incident a 16-year-old says she feared she would be raped.

It is understood that a full report, due to be released next month, will detail another five cases of children being exploited by taxi drivers in the area.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/666635/South-Ribble-council-taxi-driver-sex-abuse-scandal-school-run
------------------------------------------
 MIDDLESBORO

 Police are appealing for information after a 12-year-old boy was punched twice in the face by a taxi driver.

The boy was assaulted on Broadwell Road in Middlesbrough, near to Beechwood and Easterside Social Club, at 7.40am on April 26.

Police say a snowball 'accidentally hit a taxi' and an argument began between the driver and three young boys.

The victim was left with minor facial injuries but did not receive medical treatment.

The driver is described as an Asian male, around 5ft 6” tall, aged between 20 and 30 years old with short, black hair which was spikey on top. He was wearing a black hooded top and was driving a red Skoda Octavia taxi.
Last updated Tue 3 May 2016

http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/update/2016-05-03/boy-12-punched-twice-by-taxi-driver/
--------------------------------------------
 ROTHERHAM

 All taxis drivers in Rotherham will be required to have CCTV cameras installed in their cars from July, in an attempt to prevent child sexual exploitation.

Drivers will also have to activate an audio recording device whenever they transport an unaccompanied child or vulnerable adult , under a series of measures introduced by the council to rebuild trust in the taxi industry.


The measures are a grim reminder of the past failures of Rotherham borough council but also a testament to the determination of some of the town’s abuse survivors to ensure no other girls suffer the horrors they did.

The council took action following a campaign by some of the survivors and whistleblowers, who have formed a steering group that aims to educate authorities on how to detect child sexual exploitation.

Last month it emerged that more than 50 Rotherham taxi drivers had been stripped of their licences under regulations introduced after the town’s sex-grooming scandal.

One Rotherham survivor, known as Elizabeth, told the Guardian that if there had been CCTV in taxis when she was being abused, her complaints would have been heeded by police.

“I had a child protection officer, a social worker and the police were frequently involved, but they just never took any notice, They just put me down as a naughty little girl,” she said.

“If there had have been CCTV, there would have been evidence that I was telling the truth. I would have had justice, there would have been charges and people would have known what was going on.”

On Tuesday the steering group urged all UK councils to follow Rotherham’s lead. “This isn’t just about child sexual exploitation. It will reduce all crime and will protect both the driver and the passenger,” said Jessica, a survivor who is spearheading the campaign.

In February Jessica’s abuser Arshid Hussan, two of his brothers and two other associates were found guilty of 55 serious offences, some of which dated back almost 20 years.

Some of the abuse took place in taxis, and cars were also used to traffic girls to various locations around the town.

The steering group wants other measures to be introduced, including installation of shield glass separating the driver from passengers in minicabs, a ban on under-16s sitting in the front seat, and enhanced disclosure and barring (DBS) checks on drivers.

Taxi drivers in other parts of the country say it could prove a costly and lengthy battle to get CCTV accepted, with cameras costing more than £500 to install and data protection a potential legal obstacle.

Dennis Conyan, a director of the National Taxi Association, said anything that enhanced safety was good, but the arguments for CCTV had been rehearsed before.

“All local authorities have their own policies. And there are arguments about data protection – who would be given access to the footage? We would need to ensure it was only police and licensing enforcement officers,” he said.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents around half of the 11,000 black cabs in London, said that if Transport for London decided CCTV was necessary and was “willing to provide drivers a cost-neutral way of installing”, it would be “100% behind” the initiative.

Black cabs already have glass separators and no front seat. McNamara said he wanted to see minicab firms “up their game in guaranteeing passenger safety”.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/03/rotherham-abuse-survivors-stricter-taxi-safety-measures
---------------------------------------
 DONCASTER

 A taxi driver who sped off from a taxi rank with his cab door still open - causing a passenger to fall out - has been banned from driving for two years.

Asif Ahmed, aged 24, picked up a group of six people from outside Doncaster railway station in July last year.

When the group started singing as Ahmed started the cab, he demanded they stop. When the passengers started to sing for a second time, Ahmed lost his temper, reversed at speed back into the taxi rank and ordered them to leave his cab, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

But as the group attempted to get out, Ahmed pulled away at speed with the door open, causing one of the passengers to fall out.

The court heard that while the others screamed at the taxi driver to stop he drove erratically around the station car park until he collided a stationary car - ripping off his cab door.

He then drove into the nearby bus station, where the cab’s wheelchair ramp, which had come loose and was hanging out of the vehicle, hit a metal pole.

Ahmed, of Elmfield Road, Hyde Park, Doncaster, then drove his passengers to a police station.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “The court heard how the four passengers repeatedly screamed at Ahmed to stop the car as they were thrown around in the back of the vehicle, desperately attempting not to fall out of the side of the car.

“On leaving the bus station, Ahmed continued to drive his passengers in a dangerous manner to a police station, calling his father on the way to tell him he feared he would be attacked by his passengers.

“In police interview, Ahmed claimed he had done nothing wrong and only drove in such a reckless manner because he was in fear of his life as he believed one of the group would beat him up.”

But a dashboard camera recorded audio and visual evidence of the terrifying incident and was presented in court, where Ahmed pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

He was banned from driving for two years, given a 12 month community order and ordered to pay £2,800 in prosecution costs.

He must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

DC Ian Grice, of British Transport Police, said: “Ahmed’s actions that evening were incredibly dangerous as reflected in the driving ban and substantial fine he has been ordered to pay.

“The incident could have been far worse but all six of his passengers were left bruised, battered, badly shaken and shocked by what happened and were lucky not to have been seriously injured.”

http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/taxi-driver-banned-after-passenger-fell-out-of-cab-in-terrifying-ordeal-in-doncaster-1-7889873
---------------------------------------