Wednesday 31 August 2016

Government Plans to Deregulate Private Hire have been announced to the Country, via, the Tourism Board.



Does it matter to us, Manchester's Finest ?

Yes it does ! Hotels will no longer need the Rank outside the door (Raddison, Midland, Malmaison et al.)

The main brunt of this announcement will, of course, fall on MCR's Private Hire companies. Street Cars Grand a month backhander will not be enough to capture the Airport work any longer. 

Why put your V.I.P customers in a battered Skoda, with an even more battered driver, when you can allow any member of Staff to drive your V.I P's around in a Hotel Livered Merc.

However do not rejoice to much, over the continuing assault on PH Companies, there are plans for us, in the Forthcoming 'Modern Transport Bill' listed for this Parliament.

You could, of course take the view that "I've heard it all before".

Ponder on this as you queue on Piccadilly, whilst watching YOUR customers, waving a Mobile phone, around waiting for a UBERK from Huddersfield to TRY to find Spring Gardens for 30 bob.

http://goo.gl/bcsNAd

Friday 26 August 2016


A 50-year-old Margate taxi driver has been jailed for seven years for the rape of a teenager.

Martin Miah, of Grosvenor Gardens had denied the offence but was convicted by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court.

Prosecutor Edmund Fowler told how the attack happened in 2015 when Miah was drunk.

Miah was a taxi driver. Stock image.

Miah claimed the victim was “probably having a little dream or something” and said no sex had taken place.


He said he was “really drunk” and had fallen asleep fully clothed and was “shocked” when he was later accused of the rape.

But the jury rejected his account and found him guilty of the attack.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register.

http://goo.gl/gN27B9

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CIRENCESTER

 TAXI drivers claim to have been left ‘scrambling to make ends meet’ with the Market Place revamp having swallowed up most of their spaces.

Beginning in February, the work to improve the centre of Cirencester for pedestrians has meant there are now only two allocated spaces in the Market Place with around 20 taxis regularly vying to use them and 82 registered across the district.

In February, the town council told the Standard that despite the cuts to the rank in the centre, taxi spaces had been provided in South Way, while there is also a rank near the library in The Waterloo. 

 However, Mark Boulton, owner of Centurion Taxis, said buses often take up the spaces allocated in South Way while the spaces in The Waterloo are “just too far away” for elderly and disabled shoppers who make up much of their trade.

“A lot of the cabbies are just scrambling to make ends meet at the moment,” he said.

“We buy our licences from Cotswold District Council, which entitles us to have a taxi rank, which we don’t really have.”

Adrian Chapman, another driver, said: “I’ve done it 30 years, you’re still getting the same customers you had years ago.

“They like to do their shopping, wander up to the Market Place and get a taxi.”

Many drivers are also frustrated by the lack of signage, indicating where the spaces are, which has been made even less obvious by the construction work.

Mark, who has been driving a taxi in Cirencester for more than 25 years, said: “They took down the sign [for the Market Place rank] eight years ago, along with the telephone, and never replaced it.

“Nowhere else in the country would you find a town without a sign saying: ‘Taxi Rank’”.

To try and improve the situation, some cabbies recently coned out a temporary rank outside the parish church.

Craig Lucas, owner of Phoenix Cabs, said: “What me and a few other taxi drivers did was when they put the cones out [for the diverted route through the Market Place], we angled them a bit so you could fit three or four taxis back here.” 

http://goo.gl/aqnvU7

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 CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a taxi booking office opposite Burnley bus station have been accepted.

It was decided at a recent Burnley Council planning meeting that the former takeaway premises near the corner of Croft Street and Red Lion Street would be used as a taxi base. 

 The premises include would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and bank holidays.

The plans would generate six full-time drivers, six part-time drivers and two full-time operators. 

 The taxi office received mixed opinions after a petition of 27 hackney driver signatures was received by the council opposing the plans.

Reasons for objection included a private hire booking office already situated on Croft Street and the lack of 24 hour CCTV coverage on site.

In a letter to the council, a Hackney Drivers Association Ltd spokesman said: “We objected to the proposal on the basis that the application site is near a junction and there is regular traffic of buses, hackney vehicles, taxis and other private vehicle users.

“Therefore taking account of busy traffic flow throughout the day this will have impact on public safety.”

There was also concerns about picking up fares from outside the office on double yellow lines.

However the council received a petition of 74 signatures from residents and a petition of 24 bus driver signatures in support of the taxi office.

Reasons in support of plans include making use of land that has been vacant for a decade.

Councillor Shah Hussain, who represents the area on the borough council, said: “I appreciate that the space does need to be used and it shouldn’t be left empty, but is there a need for more cab drivers?

“I made my feelings clear to the council that it would have an affect on the taxi drivers nearby.

“The needs of the market are already being met and I believe that an influx in drivers could have an affect on those already in the business.” 

http://goo.gl/jQ2oxg


Thursday 25 August 2016

LONDON

The GMB union has launched legal action against London private car hire company Addison Lee over the dismissal of three drivers.

The challenge – which relates to contracts that were terminated earlier this year – is understood to be a test case for the union which could lead to action against hundreds of former drivers.

The drivers were dismissed following protests held in May over new contracts and changes to working hours.

Lawyers working on behalf of GMB claim the three drivers were treated unlawfully and are pursuing claims over failure to pay the national minimum wage, failure to pay holiday wages, and wrongful dismissal.

The new contract – which is meant to incentivise drivers to work at peak times – has resulted in a seven per cent boost to driver earnings, according to Addison Lee.

In May over 100 Addison Lee drivers blocked the road outside the office of Carlyle Group.

The union claimed at the time that Addison Lee, the UK’s largest minicab operator, cut drivers’ pay to compete with ride hailing app Uber in the capital.

A statement from the company read:

    Addison Lee drivers are engaged as independent contractors which means they are all self-employed. This gives them the freedom to offer their services as they wish. This flexibility means they can undertake other pursuits as well as drive for Addison Lee.

    Addison Lee prides itself on delivering the highest quality service in the industry. It maintains this by setting high standards for its drivers, particularly in relation to how they conduct themselves in public. In the interests of both customers and drivers, any drivers that fall below these standards can expect to have their contract terminated.

    In May, Addison Lee introduced a new and improved driver deal. The new deal has been welcomed with all of the company's 5,000 drivers signing up.


http://www.cityam.com/248283/drivers-union-gmb-goes-war-addison-lee-over-driver

-------------------------------------

 UBERK is experimenting with new pricing that lets passengers prepurchase rides in its cars at a flat, preset price.

The way Uber's pricing works now depends on time and distance traveled plus surge pricing, a multiple added to the ride during high-demand. It's a system that's detested because a $5 ride can easily become a $25 trip if you're not careful.

Starting in September, Uber is saying good-bye to surge pricing by quietly letting a small group of riders pay a different way by charging only a flat fee per ride.

"We're always thinking about ways to make Uber an affordable, everyday option, and this is a small beta we're running as part of that effort," an Uber representative told Business Insider. 

Business Insider stumbled across the test after only getting an email to try out the beta in San Francisco. 

 According to the invite, in San Francisco I can choose from a package of 20 trips for $20 or 40 trips for $30 for September.

After I pay for the package, I have either 20 or 30 rides to use at a flat-fare price. If I go above the number of prequalified rides — or above the $20 ride limit — then I start paying out of pocket.

In San Francisco, the flat fare is $2 for an UberPool ride, its shared-ride option, or $7 for an UberX, a private car to myself. 

 If someone takes all 20 rides on UberPool, then they'll be paying a total of $60 for 20 rides, or only $3 a piece. In San Francisco, that's only $0.75 more than the bus and way less than the $5 to $8 I typically pay for an UberPool ride.

While Uber hasn't publicly commented on the success of other experiments like this one, the fact that it's repeating it in larger markets could signal that it could become more widespread.

In July, Uber tested a similar $0.01 "Pool Pass" in Boston that had the same upfront cost structure and one-penny rides after that. While it was limited to one month in one location, the September tests are spread across six metros, including Miami, San Diego, Boston, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

In DC, for example, UberPool flat-fare rides will be as cheap as $1. Other cities will be as high as $3. For solo UberX, the testing ranges in the six locations are between $5 and $9. 

http://uk.businessinsider.com/uber-is-quietly-testing-flat-pricing-2016-8?r=US&IR=T


-------------------------------------------------

UBERK is losing money faster than any technology company ever, and it’s largely because of an essential component to the company’s operations: the drivers.

Bloomberg reports Uber lost $1.27 billion in the first half of this year, which is unprecedented, even for a tech company. By comparison, Amazon reported losses of $1.4 billion in 2000 during its biggest loss ever. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos fired 15 percent of his workforce as a result.

Uber is clearly playing by the same “grow first, make money later” edict of Silicon Valley, so it should be no surprise the company’s costs have increased as its operations expand into new cities. What is surprising, however, is that the biggest cost to the company is the fee it pays out to drivers. According to the Bloomberg report, driver subsidies account for a majority of losses in the first half of 2016.

That’s the same fact shown in leaked documents published by The Information earlier this year. The leaked documents showed Uber paying out $2.72 billion to drivers in the first half of 2015. By comparison, Uber lost only $72 million to promotions and price cuts during the same period.

Uber has been desperately (and quietly) trying to mitigate its losses to drivers. After lowering fares across North America to attract new customers, Uber began taking a greater percentage of driver’s fares (up to 30 percent now). Uber has instituted temporary hourly wage guarantees in some cities, but as Buzzfeed recently reported, Uber is still taking about one-third of their driver’s meager wages in cities across the country.

A recent Forbes report notes that gross bookings (fares charged to the app before drivers and customers get their cut) were way up in 2015. This fact is being touted as one of the biggest indicators that Uber’s business is doing well. So how can Uber make money if its always losing so much to its drivers?

Eventually, Uber will get rid of the drivers and turn a huge profit. Earlier this month, Uber announced it would begin allowing customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, indicating at least part of the company’s long-term business plan. Uber also acquired self-driving car company Otto for $300 million, showing its eagerness to advance its driverless car technology.

“It’s the case of business 101,” said Uber in a statement to Business Insider last year after its private finances were leaked. “You raise money, you invest money, you grow (hopefully), you make a profit and that generates a return for investors.”

The critical part that Uber omits is how it will earn a profit if it continues to lose most of its money to drivers. The answer is seems pretty obvious to me: just get rid of them.


http://goo.gl/0q7Jhf

---------------------------------------------------

UBERK users in London will soon be able to request a car up to 30 days in advance of their journey, the taxi app company has announced.

Passengers have previously only been able to book a vehicle once they are ready to leave.

Uber's business customers will have access to advanced bookings from 4pm on Thursday, with the option being made available to all of its two million London users over the next fortnight.

The capital is the first city in Europe to have the feature introduced on the Uber app.

Uber's general manager for London, Tom Elvidge, said: 'Instead of tapping a button a few minutes before you need your ride, you can now tell us hours or days in advance when you need a car and we'll do it for you.

'Many of our riders, especially business customers, have asked us to introduce this feature and we're really excited to bring it to Londoners from today.


http://goo.gl/cB4B2G

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DERRY

Taxi customers are being urged to brace themselves for what appears to be a sharp surge in fares.

One taxi driver said the public are in for a shock when they hear the new price structure.

Kieran (last name withheld), who works as an independent taxi driver, said the new regulations will mean that instead of a standard fare of £3 the fares will be charged from door to door with extra costs for waiting time and traffic congestion.

This could mean some fares soar, especially when taxis have to wait for considerable periods of time.

The new structure is also a concern for many drivers who feel that it is too much money.

Kieran said: “Some think it will cost people too much and they will be reluctant to take a taxi.”

He added that all taxi drivers will have to buy their own meter and pay £35 to have it sealed so the meters can’t be tampered with.

There will be four new rates of fare depending on the time of day or time of year.

Rate One refers to Monday to Friday from 6am to 8pm. The minimum fare will be £3 going up to £3.80 for the first mile and £1.60 a mile after that,

Rate Two deals with Monday to Thursday from 8pm to 6am. A mimimum charge will be levied at £3.40 reaching £4.20 for the first mile and £1.60 per mile after that.

Rate Three is Friday from 8pm to Monday at 6am and all bank holidays. There will be a minimum charge of £4.20 which will reach £5 after the first mile and £2.80 a mile after that.

Rate Four refers to Christmas and New Year from 2am on Christmas Eve to 6am on December 27 and for 24 hours starting at 8pm on New Year’s Eve. There will be a a charge of 20 pence for 54 seconds waiting time going up to £1 for four minutes and 30 seconds.

Kieran said there was mixed emotion about the new fare structure among taxi companies with some welcoming the move and others concerned that it could be bad for business.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/taxi-fares-are-set-to-soar-1-7543653






Dear All - 

Could you please circulate this e-mail with attachment as a matter of urgency.

Please find map attached outlining the provision for Manchester Hackney Carriages around the Pride Event site over the weekend.

The locations that Hackney Carriages are permitted to rank are marked out in blue.



1.  Along Princess St, one Hackney Carriage vehicle will be permitted outside the New Union and then vehicles are to rank back along 
Princess St (including where we already have ranking provision) but must not rank in
the bus stops or cause traffic obstructions.

Compliance officers will be moving taxis ranking in the stops. 

Please note we will also tolerate ranking/waiting on Portland St as long as it doesn't causes issues/obstructions.

Cones will be placed along the kerbside of these temporary ranking areas and Taxi Marshalls will be at the
Princess St, Major St and Whitworth St points.

Licensing compliance officers will also be around these locations frequently throughout the whole weekend, including the Bank Holiday.

Wednesday 24 August 2016

AUSTIN USA

Uber and Lyft are battling cities over fingerprinting drivers, saying it does nothing to improve safety and is an unnecessary burden — however, new data that came out Tuesday from Austin, Texas, a city both services quit over the issue, might undermine their case.

Austin's new fingerprint-based background checks, which went partially into effect on Aug. 1, barred 86 people with criminal records from driving for ride-hailing services, according to the Austin Transportation Department. Disqualifying offenses may include violent crimes, drug dealing, DUI, prostitution, fraud, resisting arrest, reckless driving, arson and theft.

There is no way of knowing if Uber and Lyft's own background checks — administered by Checkr and Sterling Backcheck — would have flagged these individuals. Uber and Lyft have said that the laws governing traditional taxi and limousine drivers should not be applied to their drivers, many of whom work part time.

Both Uber and Lyft closed up their Austin businesses in May when the city voted to require drivers to be fingerprinted. Both companies are fighting similar regulatory demands in cities such as Houston and Chicago.

http://goo.gl/BkGKLr

----------------------------------------------------

SINGAPORE

The world’s first “self-driving” taxi service has been launched in Singapore – albeit with a human backup driver and co-pilot on board for the time being.

Members of the public selected to take part in the trial would be able to hail a free ride through their smartphones, said nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup.


Steve Wozniak: The status quo doesn't have to exist. We can come up with solutions
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While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, nuTonomy said it would be the first to offer rides to the public, beating Uber, which plans to offer rides in autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, by a few weeks.

The cars – modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV electrics – had a driver in the front prepared to take back the wheel and a researcher in the back watching the car’s computers, the company said. Each was fitted with Lidar, a laser-based detection system like radar.

An Associated Press reporter taking a ride on Wednesday observed that the safety driver had to step on the brakes once, when a car was obstructing the test car’s lane and another vehicle, which appeared to be parked, suddenly began moving in the oncoming lane.

The service would start with six cars, growing to a dozen by the end of the year, said nuTonomy, adding that it aimed to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018.

http://goo.gl/sKWnCO

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TENERIFE

Road rage! Taxi drivers filmed punching and wrestling each other as they argue over who will take a passenger to the airport for £79 fare

This is the moment two taxi drivers got locked in a brutal fistfight over who would get to drive a customer - and collect the hefty £79 fare.

The men grappled violently at a taxi stand in the southern tourist resort Adeje in Tenerife after a passenger asked for a ride to Los Rodeos Airport 54 miles away.

They fell to the ground and wrestled in the middle of the street over who would make the long journey to the other side of the Spanish island.

The argument between the two unidentified taxi drivers then escalated into a full-on fistfight.

Footage shot by a witness inside a car shows the two men exchanging punches before they clinch and wrestle each other to the ground in a stalemate.

One viewer wrote: 'The council should take away the licences of both these drivers who have ruined the image for everybody else. 

'Surely taking away the licences of people like this will mean there are less maniac taxi drivers going 100 mph down the motorway to get to the airport for another run.'

Another commented: 'This is what happens when money comes before human dignity.'

It is unclear whether the police got involved and neither driver has been named in reports. 

http://goo.gl/lKVAO5

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Voyager Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV), a leading UK-based specialist vehicle converter, has ordered 50 Vauxhall Vivaro Combi models to be converted for use as taxis.


The firm has regularly converted Vauxhalls in the past and the latest order means that the company’s conversions are predominantly Vauxhall models.

Voyager MPV ordered the Vivaro Combis in bespoke specifications and convert all 50 nine-seater vehicles into dedicated wheelchair accessible taxis at its facility in Crewe.

“Our dedicated team at Voyager MPV are looking forward to working in partnership with Vauxhall,” said Vin O’Leary from Voyager. “We have built an all new nine-seat wheelchair accessible taxi, approved to EC whole vehicle type approval, with innovative technology and design, ensuring the Vauxhall Vivaro VX8 Taxi will remain at the forefront of the taxi market for years to come. Building on the Luton-built combi, ensures that we can offer a product into the taxi/private hire trade that is truly Built in Britain.”

Richard Collier, Vauxhall’s national commercial vehicle and B2B sales manager, added: “We have been working with the team at Voyager for a while now and  they certainly appreciate the value and versatility of the Vivaro Combi. It’s always interesting to see what our customers do with our product and it looks like Voyager have done a great job with these Luton-built combis.”

http://goo.gl/BTGriw

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NEW YORK

A bankruptcy judge blocked New York taxi mogul Evgeny “Gene” Freidman from abandoning 46 taxis outside the Citigroup tower in Queens after he threatened a very public surrender to the lender he has battled since 2014.

Bankruptcy Judge Carla Craig on Wednesday told Mr. Freidman and his lawyers, who agreed to surrender the vehicles and their medallions in a dispute over a $34 million unpaid loan, to keep them securely in his possession until further notice.

Earlier this week, Mr. Freidman said he couldn’t refinance his debt to Citibank NA and told the judge he would surrender the medallions, which give drivers of each vehicle the right to pick up street hails in Manhattan’s lucrative central business district.

The surrender marks a turning point for Mr. Freidman, who put dozens of his taxi companies in bankruptcy protection on July 22, 2015, to keep Citibank officials from taking possession of the 46 taxi medallions issued by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission and owed by his companies.

Mr. Freidman and his lawyers didn’t respond to emails requesting comment.

Citibank officials said Mr. Freidman’s companies missed a monthly loan payment on Dec. 1, 2014. Mr. Freidman’s lawyers said in earlier court papers that the failure to pay was a bank error and said that Citibank officials betrayed him to try to win business from Uber Technologies Inc., the car-hailing service that has taken some business from taxi drivers. Citibank has denied there was a bank error and Mr. Friedman’s other allegations.

http://goo.gl/XZeABG

-------------------------------------
NUNEATON

 Proposed increase which would make town one of most expensive places in country to hire a cab could be reconsidered

Concerns that Nuneaton will become one of the most expensive places to get a taxi have put the brakes on a proposed fare increase.

A plan to allow taxi drivers to increase their fares in Nuneaton and Bedworth could be reconsidered after residents objected to the proposal.

The introduction of higher prices for taxi journeys across the borough was set to come into place on August 12, but has been delayed to allow the council to review the arguments of those challenging the proposal.

A recurring reason for objection is that the proposed taxi fares would be much higher than those in surrounding areas.

One objector wrote: “Our rates are already one of the highest in the country. The town is already suffering from shops closing.

"If fares were lower more people might be encouraged to use taxis especially in the evenings when there aren’t any buses, which in turn could encourage more use of town centre facilites. We need investment and footfall. Raising taxi fares will not help this at all.”

Another wrote: “How on earth can it be right that Nuneaton and Bedworth has higher taxi rates than Birmingham, Coventry, Hinckley, Newcastle and even London?”

Members of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Taxi Association requested the new rates, saying they need the increase to keep up with the minimum wage, vehicle insurance, statutory pension provision and National Insurance for staff after four years without a rate rise.

http://goo.gl/Clloaw



Tuesday 23 August 2016

GLASGOW

Council bosses are scrapping free bus passes for primary children - and sending them to school by taxi instead.

The move, dubbed "bizarre" by one parent, comes a year after officials were forced into a u-turn over a decision to remove free bus passes from around 1500 Glasgow school pupils.

Youngsters who live more than 1.2miles from their school are entitled to a free bus pass.

Last year, councillors moved to change this to two miles in a bid to save money on school transport.

Read more: Harvey the hospice heart bows out as search for Evening Times community champions goes on

Now, a number of primary age children have had their bus pass removed and will instead be taken to school by taxi with no consultation with parents.

One dad, who asked not to be named, said: "Last Saturday, the Saturday before school re-started for the new year, we received a letter stating that pupils would again no longer receive bus passes - but would instead be picked up by taxi every morning and returned home from school every afternoon by taxi also.

"I actually walk to school with my daughter so I have asked them not to send a taxi as we just used the bus pass when it was raining."

As well as pointing out the additional cost of travelling by taxi, the father added: "The city council is signed up to various environmental and air-pollution related targets and agreements: employing taxis will not help that.

http://goo.gl/oKbLnM

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HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish police are cracking down on Uber drivers caught operating without a taxi driver's licence by issuing fines and confiscating earnings via the courts.

Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc, valued at over $60 billion, has faced bans and protests from established taxi operators around the world, but is legal in Finland - provided drivers hold the proper licence.

Helsinki police have so far given small fines to about 50 drivers, but recently they have started to make preliminary investigations into all cases.

"This way, we can investigate the scope of (a driver's) business and gains from it," Inspector Pekka Seppala said on Tuesday.

He said the police currently had around 60 cases under investigation which could lead to criminal prosecutions.

Local courts in April ordered two Uber drivers to give up their earnings - 12,250 euros ($13,880) and 3,000 euros respectively, to the state. Both have appealed against the verdicts.

The government has said it plans to introduce legislation to make the taxi market easier for newer entrants, but the bill is yet to be shaped amid disagreements in the ruling coalition.

"It's disappointing that there's a return to enforcement just when modern ride-sharing regulation is being prepared," an Uber spokesman said, adding more than 100,000 Finns had downloaded the Uber app.

One Uber driver, who declined to be named, said it took too long to get a taxi permit in Finland and he planned to continue driving without one.

"I pay my taxes and take care of my accounting. But I don't have a taxi licence so I've been fined twice," he said.

http://goo.gl/f6SD8y

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LIMERICK

TAXI drivers are vowing to fight proposals by Uber to introduce a ride-share scheme in Limerick city.

One driver, Joe McNamara, says he was 'shocked' when he read about the proposals in the Limerick Leader.

Uber, which opened a centre of excellence at Thomas Street earlier this year, has been in discussions with Limerick City and County Council, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Department of Transport for several months about introducing a pilot scheme.

“Every sort of city is looking at trying to ease congestion, lower carbon emissions these are all things that cities are really having to start to think about more and more. We think we have got a really good solution,” said Kieran Harte, head of Uber in Ireland.

However Joe McNamara, who has been a taxi driver for 26 years, says any ride-sharing scheme will decimate the taxi industry locally.

“If it does come into Limerick, nearly 50% of the taxi drivers in the city are going to go out of business,” he warned.

“Uber goes into a city, every Tom Dick and Harry comes along and presses his button and then they’re gone off and legitimate taxi drivers, who are providing a service for people week-in week-out, are left sitting around doing nothing,” he added.

Joe has also criticised Limerick City and County Council for indicating its support for the concept subject to “government and regulatory approval”.

“I’m very concerned about it and I will be getting onto my local councillors about it and we’ll see how things go,” said Joe.

http://goo.gl/lLJTu5

-------------------------------------------------
BRIGHTON

A TAXI passenger got the ride of his life when his driver interrupted the journey to help a police officer chase a suspected drug dealer.

The driver spotted the officer chasing a man and helped by giving him a lift through the streets of Hove.

With the passenger on board, he drove the officer to Rutland Road, Hove, where the officer caught the suspect.

He and his passenger then checked the officer was ok, before continuing their journey.

It started on July 29 after officers stopped a car in Cowper Street at around 11.30pm - about one-third of a mile from Rusper Road.

Officers believed the car was carrying drugs - and they subsequently found huge amounts of cocaine inside.

One man was detained in the car by an officer, but a second man ran away and was chased by sergeant Andy Newman.

Sgt Newman now wants to find the driver so he can thank him.

He said: "I was on my own with a suspect so I was gutted that I didn't get a chance to get the details of those who assisted me as I would like to thank them for their actions.

"It is fantastic to know that we have support from the public."

A 31-year-old man from Hove has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cocaine, supplying cocaine, possession of criminal property and being carried in a motor vehicle without the owner's consent.

A 62-year-old Portslade man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and possession with intent to supply cocaine.

They have been released on bail until October 11.

The taxi driver or passenger is asked to contact police via 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or ring 101 quoting serial 1709 of 29/07.

http://goo.gl/UskK9N

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Taxi drivers in Wrexham have been issued with detector pens to help avoid counterfeit cash which was found circulating in the town.

Licensing officers at Wrexham Council and North Wales Police launched a campaign last week to help taxi and private hire drivers tackle the problem of counterfeit notes.

The campaign comes after police officers working in Wrexham found counterfeit £20 and £50 notes in circulation in the town centre, and advised businesses in the area to be vigilant.

Taxi and private hire drivers were given detector pens by licensing officers, along with advice on how to avoid illegal notes.

The pens, which were given out for free by licensing officers, contain a special ink which writes in yellow and then dries invisible on genuine banknotes – but leaves a permanent mark on counterfeit bills.

Police and licensing officers have advised drivers to always exercise extra attention when given large-value notes, and always check for watermarks and metallic threads.

Councillor David Kelly, Lead Member for Planning and Public Protection said “Counterfeit notes have a very detrimental effect on the local economy, and we want to help where we can to prevent their circulation.

“Also, the majority of Taxi and Private Hire Drivers are self-employed or work for small businesses, so it’s important that they not become the victims of people using counterfeit notes – it’s effectively a loss of income for them.

“So I’m very pleased that we can work in partnership with North Wales Police to help drivers combat this illegal activity.”

Sgt Steve Owens added: “North Wales Police believes joint working with Wrexham Council and a zero-tolerance approach to this type of criminality is the way forward, so we are glad to be supporting this latest initiative.”

The pens are paid for by a joint campaign between North Wales Police and Wrexham County Borough Council, and are available for free by contacting the Licensing Service on 01978 315786, or by e-mailing licensingservice@wrexham.gov.uk.

http://www.wrexham.com/news/wrexham-taxi-drivers-issued-with-detector-pens-to-avoid-counterfeit-cash-118094.html?




KENT

The A2 has been closed after armed police surrounded a taxi.

Eye witnesses report at least half a dozen armed officers surrounded the car after four police vehicles brought it to a stop near the Ebbsfleet turnoff.

The road was closed as the drama unfolded on the London bound carriageway just after 6pm.

Drivers have been told to expect delays of at least half an hour. 

More follows. 


UPDATE : 19:30
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of firearms offences after armed police stopped a taxi in Kent.
The vehicle was stopped on the A2 London-bound, near the junction for Ebbsfleet, shortly after 18:00 BST.
Kent Police said it followed a report that one of the occupants had earlier been seen in possession of a firearm.
Three passengers in the vehicle were taken into custody, while the road was closed to ensure public safety. Two lanes have since reopened.
Officers also searched a vehicle in the nearby Woodlands Park area, which was believed to be linked to the incident.

A spokesman for the force said there was no risk to the wider public.

Thursday 18 August 2016

Taxi service Uber will start transporting passengers with self-driving cars in the next few weeks, the company has said. 

Initially, the Ford Fusion vehicles will be supervised by a driver, who can take control if necessary, and an observer.

The pilot project is set to start in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the next few weeks, where Uber has a self-driving research lab and is working on autonomous technology.

Uber and Volvo also announced a £228m deal for Volvo to provide SUVs to Uber for autonomous vehicle research.

It is not the only firm exploring the use of self-driving vehicles.

Google last month said it was building its first prototype autonomous vehicle, with no steering wheel, acceleration pedal or brake.

The company is not likely to move into mass production of driverless cars, but says it wants to work with others to increase their widespread use.

http://goo.gl/uY9sg3

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MPs say a "legal loophole" is putting young people at risk by allowing taxi drivers to operate in Rotherham without meeting council-imposed standards.

MPs said drivers licensed by other local authorities could operate in the town even if their application for a Rotherham licence had been rejected.

A 2014 report said 1,400 children had been abused in the town and taxi drivers played a "prominent role".

The issue was raised by the Communities and Local Government Committee (CLGC).
It said swift action was needed by ministers.

'Without delay'

The Professor Alexis Jay report found hundreds of children were subjected to sexual abuse in the South Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013.
The committee noted the concerns raised relate to a "very small minority" of drivers in Rotherham but they had undermined public confidence.
It concluded there was a need for government departments to introduce statutory guidance in law over taxi licensing "without delay", adding legislation should be considered if this fails to deliver the high standards needed across the country.

"We believe that local authorities must be able to apply particular measures in relation to taxi licensing in their areas, such as requiring taxis to have CCTV installed, without those measures being undermined by taxis coming in from other areas," it said.

Rotherham, which has an estimated 1,100 drivers, introduced new rules requiring drivers to install CCTV cameras in the wake of Prof Jay's findings.
The CLGC made the recommendation following an inquiry into the government's imposition of commissioners in Rotherham in February 2015 and the London borough of Tower Hamlets in December 2014.

The committee's other conclusions included the need for local authorities to learn from the experiences of Rotherham and Tower Hamlets about the need to "encourage and support" whistleblowers and to take their concerns "seriously".

The MPs also suggested that local authorities subject to government intervention should pick up the costs despite tightened budgets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-so
uth-yorkshire-37124926

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BELFAST

Rural taxi companies are to be given permission to charge customers for periods in which there is no passenger in the car, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

The move, part of the biggest shake-up in the industry in a generation, aims to resolve the problem of taxis having to travel long distances to pick up countryside customers.

Taxi drivers currently have to travel to collect passengers without payment - in some cases driving further than the job itself. But under the new regulations aimed at solving a problem the industry refers to as 'dead miles', passengers will have to agree to an extra fee.

One MLA called the new system a "messy resolution" and said the problem should have been resolved much sooner. But Ulster Unionist Ross Hussey also admitted that a failure to find a solution to the issue could have meant rural areas being left without a taxi service.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard said: "The term 'dead miles' refers to the mileage undertaken by the taxi driver to get to a job and/or return to base from a job. Under the previous proposals, drivers were only allowed to charge when the passenger was in the car."

Mr Hussey added: "Unfortunately, despite the Taxis Act being passed in 2008, the subsequent eight years have been marred with delays and one botched regulation after another. The actions of the DUP and Sinn Fein in particular have meant that progress has been stymied.

"Had the issue of dead miles not been resolved, we could have possibly experienced the unacceptable withdrawal of essential taxi services from swathes of rural Northern Ireland.

"The compromise of both passenger and driver agreeing a slightly increased fare in advance should hopefully get the department out of the hole they found themselves in.

"However, there is no doubt it is a messy resolution, with the likelihood of only causing further confusion and unnecessary administration."

A department spokesman said: "The taxi metering requirements came into force on May 31 this year, including the exemption relating to dead miles.

"But following representations from the taxi industry about the lead-in time for the new requirements, enforcement action will now not commence until October 1."

http://goo.gl/0lR5rG

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GLASGOW

PRIVATE hire drivers who illegally pick up passengers in the street are to be targeted by mystery passengers.

Members of the city council's licensing committee unanimously backed the scheme, which is supported by the police, in a bid to improve public safety.

Under the terms of their licence, private hire cars can only pick up passengers through a pre-arranged booking made through the taxi booking office.

However council bosses say there is substantial evidence that some drivers are picking up people who flag them down creating a "significant risk to public safety."

No record will exist of the journeys meaning drivers invalidate their insurance causing problems for passengers and companies in the event of an accident.

There is also considerable evidence that drivers who pirate for fares overcharge passengers, sometimes four times more than the proper rate.

In the first six months of this year, over half the complaints about private hire drivers which went before the licensing committee related to pirating.

In all cases, this resulted in the drivers having their licences suspended, sometimes for up to six months for repeat offenders.

Frank Docherty, chairman of the licensing committee, said he was concerned the message that pirating is unacceptable was not getting through to drivers.

And he warned the rogue drivers are a scourge and need to be driven off the road.

Mr Docherty added: "Pirate drivers put passenger safety at risk. Like the pirates of old, these drivers are only interested in making a quick buck and to hell with the consequences.

"The council has a very active taxi enforcement team but can't be everywhere at once.

"Unfortunately the drivers who end up in front of the committee may only be the tip of the iceberg.

"Private hire drivers will now be forced to think twice about who they are letting into their car. Do pirate drivers really want to take the chance they are actually taking a trip straight to the licensing committee and months out of work."

Mr Docherty said introducing the mystery passenger scheme would protect both passengers and the legitimate drivers who play by the rules.

Police Scotland told the committee there had been incidents involving unlicensed journeys where passengers had complained about substantial fraud and sexual assault.

Of the 36 complaints against drivers which went before councillors between January and June this year, 21 related to pirate drivers.

A total of 301 complaints were made to the council's taxi enforcement team in that time, a substantial proportion of which related to pirating.

If successful in targeting pirate drivers, the scheme may be extended to deal with issues such as the standard of service for disabled people, identifying drivers who do not use meters to calculate fares and other issues which highlight a failure to comply with licence conditions.

http://goo.gl/eCxSH2

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Taxi drivers in Liverpool are working harder than ever just to make ends meet, a new study reveals.

The research shows Hackney and private hire drivers in the city , including those working for Uber, travel 27,485 miles a year and take an average of 95 fares a week – up 35 fares since similar research carried out in 2013.

The survey of more than 1,000 drivers across the UK, including Liverpool, was commissioned by taxi insurance broker insureTAXI.

Longer hours
More than a third of respondents in Liverpool said they have increased their working hours over the last three years, with 45% citing increased competition as the reason for clocking up more time on the road.

Half of drivers in Liverpool said they’re working longer hours to make ends meet at home.

In an average week, taxi drivers in Liverpool are now working 43 hours and earning £316, making the average hourly rate £7.35 – £0.65 above the current national minimum wage.

On top of this, the research revealed they can expect an average tip of 68p for each fare. Considering the number of fares taxi drivers take on average a week, this means they could earn around £64.60 in tips each week.

Rising costs
But while the research paints a largely positive picture of taxi drivers’ earning potential, there are a number of costs that taxi drivers regularly incur.

On average, taxi drivers in Liverpool spend £100 a week on fuel, £91 a month on general vehicle maintenance and £1,901 a year on their taxi insurance – totalling an average of £8,193 of expenditure each year.

The rising cost of being a taxi driver is a concern for a number of taxi drivers in Liverpool, with 35% stating it’s the biggest threat to their profession.

And 28% think the increase in competition is the biggest threat, while 17% of non-Uber drivers think Uber is the biggest threat.

http://goo.gl/aKxQz9


Tuesday 16 August 2016

London: Uber has launched a legal challenge against new rules in London which could require thousands of its drivers to take an English-language test, the company said. The move comes ahead of measures to be introduced on 1 October by the regional transport authority, Transport for London (TfL), that will tighten regulation of the private hire industry in the British capital.

Uber originally backed the changes but said its opposition arose after more details of the regulations emerged. “This legal action is very much a last resort,” Tom Elvidge, general manager of Uber London said in a statement yesterday.

“We’re particularly disappointed that, after a lengthy consultation process with Transport for London, the goalposts have moved at the last minute and new rules are now being introduced that will be bad for both drivers and tech companies like Uber.”

Despite facing regulatory challenges in numerous countries, Uber has so far expanded to more than 50 countries and is worth an estimated $68 billion. The company’s application for judicial review in London focuses on four of the new TfL rules. They include the requirement that all private hire drivers not from majority English-speaking countries must prove their language skills. While Uber supported an English-speaking and-listening test, it has argued that making drivers provide a certificate showing they have an intermediate level of writing and reading is unnecessary and costly. Uber has more than 30,000 drivers in London and estimates thousands would be affected by the change.

Under the new rules private hire companies will be required to run an operating centre within London, which their passengers are able to call during a ride. Uber’s customer support centre is currently based in Ireland and it is against moving its operations to London. Other rules opposed by Uber relate to drivers’ insurance policies and the requirement that the company inform TfL of any upcoming changes to its app. TfL confirmed it received a letter from Uber warning it of the legal challenge. “We responded to Uber’s letter and will be robustly defending the legal proceedings brought by them in relation to the changes to private hire regulations,” a TfL spokesman said in a statement.

http://goo.gl/nSMr6A

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London's black cab drivers today called for more taxi ranks to be installed outside Underground stations ahead of the launch of the Night Tube.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association said it wants every station stop on the 24-hour service to have a working cab rank outside. 

It urged local authorities across the capital to work together to ensure taxi ranks were installed close to stations to increase the safety of Night Tube passengers.

The Night Tube will launch on the Central and Victoria lines from Friday, with the Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines following in the autumn.

Night Tube could attract 200,000 passengers every weekend, TfL says

TfL said there will be taxi ranks at 12 Central line stations and eight Victoria line stations when it launches this weekend.

Steve McNamara, LTDA general secretary, said: "London is a 24-hour city and it is only right that it has a 24-hour tube service.

"We want everyone enjoying a night out to know they'll be able to get home safe, and so think that every Night Tube station needs to have a working cab rank during Night Tube hours.


"The LTDA is currently speaking with local authorities across the capital to ensure that this is the case".

http://goo.gl/7Dm2PU

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LIVERPOOL

A Delta taxi driver has pleaded not guilty to raping a male passenger.

Khaldon Mohammed is alleged to have attacked the customer in his taxi in Aigburth late last year.

Mohammed, of Gwendoline Street in Toxteth , is alleged to have picked up the victim before attacking him near Sefton Park

The 30-year-old denied two counts of rape at Liverpool Crown Court today and is due to stand trial on January 12.

He was released on bail with conditions not to drive a taxi and not to contact the complainant.

He must also sign on at a police station three times a week.

Bootle-based Delta is one of the biggest taxi companies in the North West and employs more than 2,200 private hire drivers, according to its website.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/delta-taxi-driver-pleads-not-11757139

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Monday 15 August 2016

Comment: Further to my post yesterday, concerning Uberk's support from Business Leaders in London.

It now appears to be a series of Uberk sponsored press stories around the globe.

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USA.

Safety is a common topic when people talk about ridesharing experiences. Most often the focus lies on driver behavior. Uber indicates, however, that drivers are more likely to be abused or assaulted by riders than the reverse, according to The Washington Post.

“The truth is that most of our safety incidents are abusive riders on drivers,” David Plouffe, Uber’s chief adviser. Uber didn’t provide statistics for bad-acting passengers, nor does the firm do so for problems with or complaints about drivers.


http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/uber-drivers-abused-attacked/

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Florida

Pinellas Park, Florida, isn’t the kind of place where you'd expect to gain insight about the future of mass transit. The suburb of Tampa is as car-crazy as your average stretch of Floridian sprawl—the local landmarks include the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum and a drag racing strip—and anyone who can avoid the bus does. But recently the agency responsible for the area’s public transportation began a novel experiment: It stopped running two bus lines and started paying for a portion of Uber rides instead. 
In Uber’s early days, it said it wanted to be “everyone’s private driver.” Now the company and its main U.S. competitor, Lyft, are playing around with the idea of becoming the bus driver, too. Uber has partnered with a handful of local public transportation agencies to strike deals like the one in Pinellas Park, which it expanded earlier this month. Later this month Lyft plans to launch a partnership with Centennial, Colorado, its first deal where a local government will subsidize its rides. The company also said it has helped a dozen transit agencies apply for federal grants that would pay for a portion of Lyft fares in situations where its drivers would effectively become part of the public transportation system. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-15/uber-and-lyft-want-to-replace-public-buses

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CANADA

The city won’t delay making Uber legal, even though taxi plate owners are making a potentially precedent-setting claim that they’re owed millions because of a major change in municipal licensing.

“We’re proceeding full-steam ahead,” Mayor Jim Watson said Monday.

“We think the public certainly want choice when it comes to transportation in the City of Ottawa. The taxi industry has really had a monopoly for decades. I’m very comfortable with where we are legally and procedurally to move forward with alternative forms of transportation, like Uber and other ride-sharing companies, on a go-forward basis.”

Uber and any other alternative ride provider can operate legally in Ottawa starting Sept. 30 as long as they adhere to the new rules for “private transportation companies.”

Cabbies are worried about the impact to the value of their taxi plates. The city is opening up the regulations to more ride providers and the market value of a conventional licence plate is decreasing.

It has led to the $215-million lawsuit against the city filed Friday by Metro Taxi co-owner Marc Andre Way, who has the most taxi plates in the city. He is also the vice-president of Coventry Connections and the president of the Canadian Taxi Association.

http://goo.gl/0BWPlp

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Addison Lee has accused rival Uber of attempting to “water down” new private car hire regulations.

Europe’s largest private hire operator has written an open letter to London mayor Sadiq Khan complaining about Uber’s actions.

The argument centres on Transport for London’s new regulations which were approved in March this year.

Among the new rules required for private hire drivers are: a written English and map reading test, notification of any changes made to apps, pricing or products and all operators to run a call centre in the licensed city London.

Uber said the new rules will “threaten” thousands of driver jobs and result in longer wait times for customers.

Addison Lee said the regulations will ensure that “all licensed drivers have a command of English and knowledge of London’s geography”.

“Addison Lee has 5,000 licensed drivers and is determined to lead the way in driving up industry standards,” the company said in a statement.

“They will also ensure that all licensed vehicles will have fully effective Hire and Reward motor insurance in place.

It added that in May, Uber welcomed the outcome of TFL’s consultation process on regulation, after lobbying hard for changes to the initial proposals.

Andy Boland, CEO of Addison Lee, said: “Having previously backed the proposals it’s hard to understand Uber’s resistance to implementation of these new regulations.

“The whole industry was fully involved in the consultation and there is a strong belief that they will benefit both passengers and drivers,” said Boland.

Uber said it supports Sadiq Khan’s ‘Keep London Open’ campaign and further regulation will threaten this vision.

“Bureaucratic new rules from TFL send the opposite message and threaten the livelihood of thousands of drivers. Fewer drivers will mean longer waiting times or no cars when you need them most,” Uber said.

https://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/1526099-addison-lee-slams-uber-fighting-new-taxi-laws#.V7I0FWu_V5Q.twitter

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Brazil

A German coach has died after a horror high-speed road accident near the Olympic park last week.  

Stefan Henze, a former Olympian and current German kayak women's team coach, died of head injuries, three days after the crash.

Henze, 35, was surrounded by his family, the German team said while announcing his death on Monday afternoon.

He had been left in a critical condition after a cardiac arrest following the crash.

The collision happened as he was returning to the Athletes' Village in a taxi in the early hours of Friday morning. 

Germany will commemorate Henze's death in the Olympic Village on Tuesday, and the country's flag will be flown at half-staff at all Olympic sites in Rio.

The Olympic body 'is mourning the loss of a true Olympian,' IOC President Thomas Bach said.

'Our sympathy is with the family of Stefan Henze, his friends and all of the German Olympic team.' 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3742133/German-Olympic-coach-dies-taxi-hit-high-speed-head-collision-Rio.html

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BRADFORD

Two men have admitted causing a crash which killed the driver and passenger of a taxi.
Mirza Malick, 64, and Paul Hayward, 55, from Bradford, died at the scene of the crash on the Shipley Airedale Road in January.
Ismail Miah, 23, of Springfield Place and Muhammed Sikder, 27, of Sylhet Close, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Bradford Crown Court.
They will be sentenced next month.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-37087263

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Rochdale

Tributes have poured in for a popular taxi driver described as a ‘pillar of the Newhey community’.

Nigel Stott, who was known to customers as ‘Newhey Nigel’ - died suddenly on August 8, aged 64.

Floral tributes have been left at Newhey Taxis on Shaw Road, which he ran for 40 years, and residents have called for a tribute to be put up in the village in his honour.

Friend Karen Gallagher said: “Nigel was a selfless guy who went above and beyond the duty of just a taxi driver.

“He helped everyone - young and old. He shopped for them, made sure they were safely in their homes before driving away, he made sure the younger end made it to school safely and on time and was trusted by the people of Newhey and Milnrow.

“He loved his garden and you would often see him out there at all hours of the day and night.

“He is very much missed in Newhey.”

http://goo.gl/xjsEmJ

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KIDDERMINSTER

Taxi driver 'killed man and then washed car'
A taxi driver who killed a pedestrian after driving over him put the cab through a car wash minutes later, a court heard.

Simon Robinson, who did not notice Jason Westcott lying in the road, initially told police he ‘thought he had hit a badger’ and failed to stop at the scene.

The 43-year-old admitted causing the death of Mr Westcott by careless driving and has been given a suspended jail sentence.

The court heard how Mr Westcott had been out at Tribe nightclub in Kidderminster and left in the early hours of November 15 last year.

After leaving the club at around 4.45am, 22-year-old Mr Westcott had headed towards the town’s A451 Ringway, but had fallen – for reasons unknown– and suffered a head injury.

His body was lying in the carriageway when Robinson approached in his Peugeot taxi and drove over Mr Westcott at 5.03am.

Miss Madhu Rai, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court: “Simon Robinson failed to notice Mr Westcott lying on the road and effectively drove over him and carried on driving.”

Police officers arrived minutes later, Miss Rai said, and they ‘saw the tail lights of the defendant’s taxi in the distance as he was leaving the area’.

She told the court that a police reconstruction had found that Robinson, who was driving at the speed limit of 40mph, would have had around six seconds to spot Mr Westcott and manoeuvre to avoid him.

http://goo.gl/W48a1D