A hike in taxi fares across Nuneaton and Bedworth this summer will make them among the highest in the country.

Should no objections be raised, people will have to pay even more to hop into a private hire or Hackney cab as of Friday, August 12.

It is no secret that taxi charges across the borough are currently higher than the neighbouring cities of Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester - and even cost more than the national average.

Under the planned increase, the fare for the first half a mile of a journey will rise by 25p to £3.50 at tariff one, which covers normal hours of the day; by 50p to £4.75 at tariff two, which is applied each day at midnight until 6am and on Bank Holidays, and by 75p to £6.20 at tariff three, which is used on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Licensing chiefs say that the subsequent yardage will be reduced from 220 to 202 yards but the current charge for each tariff will remain the same.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/taxi-fare-rise-nuneaton-bedworth-11664714

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LEICESTER

A taxi driver who refused to take a blind passenger to hospital with her guide dog has lost an appeal to have his licence revoked.

Ashish Madhubhai Mistry (41), of Falmouth Road, Evington, appeared at Loughborough Magistrates' Court yesterday, to challenge a decision by Leicester City Council to take away his taxi licence.

However, his appeal was unsuccessful and Mistry was ordered to £100 in court costs to the authority.

http://goo.gl/ERqyHF

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PLYMOUTH

A WOMAN gave birth to her first baby boy - in the back of a taxi.

Emma Lowther, 29, was on the way to hospital after she started feeling contractions.

But she was too late and she welcomed third baby Tristan into the world in the backseat of a cab at 5am on July 20.

Husband Orion, 32, of Plymouth, Devon, said: "It was a bit weird for the taxi driver I think. It was his first job of the day.

"He was shocked. He was very good about it though and waived the £50 extra charge."

http://goo.gl/YHBz97

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INDIA

The auto and taxi strike in Delhi ended on Thursday evening, with the unions deciding to withdraw their protest against app-based cab aggregators after a meeting with the government.

The auto and taxi unions had gone on an indefinite strike on Tuesday.

Government officials said a section of the auto rickshaw unions withdrew their strike on Wednesday and the rest decided to ply after the meeting.

Sources said the government assured the unions that auto and taxis registered in other states will not be allowed to operate in the city.

“Vehicles with registration series DL 1RT will operate as per fare meter. The government has also decided to do away the mandatory training session to get a light motor vehicle licence renewed,” an official said.

People had a tough time commuting in the city as autos and taxis stayed off the road and app-based cabs overcharged. Some auto drivers who tried to ply were stopped by the union members.

On Thursday, the unions disrupted traffic in Rohini Sector-22, Gurgaon Expressway and Kapashera.

“We stopped autos registered with Ola, Uber or PoochhO on Thursday. We do not want to cause any inconvenience to people but we want the government to have a dialogue with us,” said Rajender Soni, general secretary, Delhi auto rickshaw Sangh.

http://goo.gl/6FuzVi


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Merseyside cabbies celebrated 31 years of treating disadvantaged kids to a great day yesterday at their annual summer outing.

The colourful convoy left Liverpool yesterday morning, along with police motorcycle outriders, to take more than 100 children in care and their carers to a day out at Southport’s Pleasureland.

Pleasureland has hosted the event for the last three years, and the team there say it's always looked forward to both by themselves and the charity members.

Southport Pleasureland boss Norman Wallis said: "Yesterday was no exception when around 250 descended onto Pleasureland, most arriving by beautifully decorated black cabs.

"The taxi drivers take great care in making their cabs resplendent and indeed there is a healthy competition for the best dressed cab!"

http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/news/southport-west-lancs/taxi-drivers-celebrate-31-years-11674429

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BOURNEMOUTH

TAXI drivers could see their licences suspended if they fail to complete mandatory sex crime training.

Late last year Bournemouth council announced it would require cabbies to complete the free course on spotting signs of child sexual exploitation (CSE), taking place over several sessions from January to March this year.

While 840 drivers in the borough have completed the training, the authority said there are 50 who have not, who could see their licences suspended, revoked or not renewed. 

http://goo.gl/UnWCmy

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China has laid out new rules that will legalize ride-hailing apps in a move welcomed by the country's two largest players, Didi Chuxing and Uber.

Some of the key points outlined by the Chinese government are:

    Drivers must have a full license and three years' driving experience as well as no violent criminal record or driving offences
    Data protection for users
    User data must be stored and used on mainland China and should be kept for a minimum of two years
    Drivers must sign a "labor contract" with the ride-hailing services which gives them "rights and obligations"
    Cars used for rides cannot be more than eight years old or have done over 600,000 kilometers

The rules leave some room for local authorities to set terms such as prices

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/28/uber-didi-hail-chinas-new-taxi-app-rules.html