The European Commission is preparing to challenge a French law on taxi services and chauffeured cars, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, following a complaint from online ride-hailing service operator Uber Technologies.

France’s Thevenoud law, introduced in October 2014, requires chauffeured cars to return to a base between fares, restricts their use of software to find customers in the street and banned unlicensed services, among other measures.

California-based Uber, which has run into fierce opposition from established taxi services since it launched in Europe five years ago, has filed a complaint with the European Commission against the French law, arguing it favoured regular taxis over Uber’s internet-managed ride-sharing service and that France should have notified Brussels of the new measure.

The Commission is preparing to issue a so-called letter of formal notice, the people said, which represents the first stage of an infringement procedure where Brussels suspects that a national measure breaches the EU treaties.

Uber allows would-be passengers to summon rides via a smartphone app and has seen exponential growth in Europe as well as numerous court challenges which have resulted in the banning of its unlicensed taxi service, UberPOP.

Ultimately the Commission could take France to court if the two do not come to an agreement.

The challenge could come in late May, the people said, although no final decision has been taken yet.

A spokesman for the Commission said it was looking at how it could “encourage the development of new and innovative services and the temporary use of assets, without favouring one business model over another.”

“In mid-2016 we will provide guidance on how existing EU law applies to the collaborative economy,” Jakub Adamowicz said.

Last month a French court ruled that banning chauffeured cars’ use of geolocational technology to help passengers find available cars was illegal and said France should have notified the measure to Brussels.

The Commission is adjusting its challenge to take the French ruling into account, the people said, which goes some way towards alleviating its concerns with the law.

However other substantive problems with the law remain, including the requirement that chauffeured cars return to a base between fares.

http://goo.gl/k86dBO

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PENDLE

TAXI firms who fail to maintain their vehicles could soon be named and shamed under new plans put forward by Pendle Council bosses.

It comes as the council extended the maximum age of hackney and private hire vehicles from nine to 11 years, and 12 for those manufactured or adopted to allow wheelchair accessibility. The maximum age all vehicles can be when they are first licensed remains seven years.

Pendle Council leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal denied that the change would lead to a reduction in safety and said that the new rating system would give the public more insight in to the safety record of individuals and private hire companies.

Cllr Iqbal said: "If you look at how things currently stand there are a lot of boroughs in Lancashire which have no vehicle age limitations.

"We have had ours for a number of years.

"The age of the vehicle isn't the issue as far as I am concerned because it is highlighted by our testing procedure that cars which are only three-years-old fail the safety checks.

"The issue for me is that at the moment there is no way for the public to know how safe a vehicle is when they ring up for a taxi.

"That is why I have asked the taxi licensing committee to work on a scheme hat would publicise good taxi operators but also highlight the poor ones regarding maintenance and safety of their vehicles. It would be something similar to the star rating system that we have for takeaways and restaurants.

"I want the public to be given the opportunity to vote with their feet because I think that is the only way we will address this problem."

Cllr Iqbal said the Taxi Licensing Committee will next meet on June 16 and he was hopeful the new safety rating system would be brought in soon after.

Concerns over taxi licensing had been raised by a number of councillors, who invoked the council's call-in procedure.

Giving the reasons for invoking the procedure a report said: “We believe the introduction of an 11-year-age limit for all licensed vehicles will put public safety at risk. Pendle currently has a very poor failure rate for spot checks; some 61 per cent of vehicles failed their checks in 2015. Extending the current age limit by a further two years doesn’t provide any encouragement for the trade to keep their vehicles in good condition.”

Vehicles will also have to pass an MOT test every four months or have their taxi license revoked.

http://goo.gl/I48tH7

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BRADFORD

A TAXI driver sexually assaulted a distressed woman passenger after she had argued with her partner on a night out, a jury at Bradford Crown Court heard.

Father-of-four Farooq Ahmed denies making indecent suggestions on the ten minute cab journey from Hall Ings in Bradford city centre to her home and then touching her bare knee.

The court heard yesterday that Ahmed, 38, of Birch Lane, West Bowling, Bradford, agreed to take the woman to her house for £4 after she told him she did not have the full fare.

Prosecutor Michael Smith said she twice rang the police in the early hours asking for help to get home because she had fallen out with her partner. She was advised to find a taxi driver who would take her for £4 and Ahmed, who was parked in a taxi rank on Hall Ings, agreed to help.

Mr Smith said that 25 minutes later, the woman rang the police for a third time.

“She was upset and frightened and said the taxi driver had touched her leg,” Mr Smith said.

She also alleged Ahmed had told her his sexual fantasies while driving her home and made indecent suggestions.

It is alleged that he at first stopped her getting out of the taxi outside her home and then said he wanted to come in.

Ahmed, who pleads not guilty to sexual assault on April 6 last year, said the woman was crying and on the phone to the police when she got into his taxi at about 3.45am.

They barely spoke on the journey except that he asked if she was all right.

Ahmed said she complained of being harassed or assaulted by her partner and was extremely drunk.

Ahmed said he thought she had gone into her home to fetch him the balance of the taxi fare for a journey that would have cost between £7 and £8.

He waited outside for her to bring him the money and when she did not reappear, he drove off.

He told the police he had “a beautiful wife at home and four kids” and had no reason to make approaches to the woman. It would, anyway, have been stupid to do so outside her house.

“I think she just wanted to make allegations to get compensation. It is all just a lie,” he said.

The trial continues.

http://goo.gl/ZuCP8I

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UTTLESFORD (wherever that is ?)

A taxi boss who lied about his business's base in Uttlesford has been stripped of his licence by Uttlesford District Council.

Ismail Emin, a Chelmsford resident, was granted permits for West End Cars in October last year. He listed the business address as a unit in Ongar Road, Great Dunmow, and provided a letter from the landlord confirming he was a tenant at the address.

However, the council received complaints that West End Cars vehicles were driving around Chelmsford with a Chelmsford telephone number on them.

A member of the council's enforcement team twice visited the Dunmow address to check the record of bookings, but found no signage or any indication of the firm's presence. Neighbours had no knowledge of a taxi business operating from that address.

http://goo.gl/58p2uH