MANCHESTER.

The Manchester Compliance Team have had a very good season, so far.

The first six months results have been released.

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EIRE

Motor insurance has increased by more than 35% in the past year according to the CSO - but taxi drivers, who face losing their livlihood, say they are faring even worse than that.

Tower Cabs in Limerick own a fleet of eight taxis and paid €7,000 for insurance in 2013 and €16000 in 2014.

"Last year I got a renewal €56,000, I thought it was a misprint so I rang them,” Owner Tom Hannon explained.

“They said no, that's the way things are gone. From €16,000 the previous year. And no satisfaction, just, if you’re not happy, move on."

Tom ended up paying €31,000 to a different insurer for his eight taxis last year, but this year can't even get a quote.

"I have eight drivers losing their jobs now in August over this situation. It'll be a devastating blow to receive."

Jude Williams of Treaty and Expert Taxis in Limerick said "There's an increase in the taxi insurance of 200-300%.

“Going from €1100 up to maybe €4,500 in Limerick and even in Dublin they're getting quotes of €16,000 and these are taxi drivers with full no claims bonus. There's no explanation as to why it's increased so much, the only thing we can figure out is a lack of competition."

The insurance industry say claims volatility is to blame for rising premiums.

"We have called for our level of awards to be benchmarked against other jurisdictions,” Kevin Thompson of Insurance Ireland says.

“Because as a society we need to decide whether we can afford a level of awards or not, so we are urging the government to take action and we are urging other stake holders as well to engage in this process so we can bring affordability back in to the market."

Any measures to drive down the costs of insurance are unlikely to arrive on time for taxi drivers like Tom.

http://utv.ie/News/2016/06/10/Taxi-drivers-lose-jobs-over-soaring-insurance-costs-60239?

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EVOLUTION

1980s: hailed or booked a taxi (from my home phone or a callbox), went where I wanted to go, kept an eye on the meter, and paid with cash.

1990s: same except that I paid by check.

Early 2000s:  same except that taxi drivers had stopped taking checks because they bounced too often, so I was back with cash.

Late 2000s: found that some tax drivers would take credit cards. Of course they expected a bigger tip to cover their 3% processing fee. And they used a manual card reader, which was obviously not connected to any network, and then processed the credit card slips through their bank. I usually paid with cash.

Early 2010s: taxi drivers started to use Square (or similar) to process their credit cards. This made it really easy for me to give a big tip (and made me feel a bit mean for “only” doing 15%). It was also network connected so my balance was checked before payment completed. And I got my receipt emailed to me. Progress!

Mid 2010s: along came Uber, Lyft, etc. Suddenly, I didn’t really have to think about how I was going to pay, or whether I had the right cash, check or credit card with me. Instead, payment was an integral part of the transaction. Now, the mobile app that allowed me to see how close the nearest driver is, enter the destination, get an estimate of cost, track the driver’s progress to me, also automatically hit my credit card and allowed me to add a tip (or not) and rate the driver.

https://goo.gl/9h3wFU

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A motorcyclist in his 20s has been involved in a serious collision with a taxi in Grimsby.

The incident occurred at around 10pm at the junction of Yarborough Road and Cross Coates Road.

Relatives of the male motorcyclist on the scene say they believe he has suffered broken legs after colliding into a wall and another parked vehicle. He was laid down on the floor and covered in blankets while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

An ambulance arrived on the scene shortly after 11pm.

The collision is between a private hire Citreon C5 taxi and a 125 Aprilia bike.

One police car was on the scene and traffic was being diverted around the where the collision happened.

One eyewitness on the scene said: "I am disgusted with the amount of time the poor lad has been on the floor - he could have died."

http://goo.gl/wqGS8Z