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.

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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

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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?