A man who threatened a taxi driver with a fake gun before robbing him has been jailed for more than six years.

James Oliver Blockley, 32, of Champion Close in Leicester, carried out the offence in August last year at around 11pm.

He stepped into the road and pointed a gun at the taxi driver, threatened him and took his vehicle. He also threatened two other motorists, one of whom had children in the car.

The taxi had a tracking device fitted and officers were able to trace where Blockley was, which led to his arrest, a short while later.

He was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear, robbery, dangerous driving and breach of a restraining order.

He had previously pleaded guilty to the offences during a hearing in November 2016.

http://bit.ly/2jbR7pA
-----------------------------------------------

Uber’s arrival has led to more taxi jobs, but the transport firm’s model means drivers at traditional cab firms now earn less.

That’s according to a working paper from University of Oxford researchers, which finds no evidence that the rollout of Uber and its ride-hailing app has led to fewer jobs for traditional taxi drivers since it introduced its “sharing economy” model in the US in 2010. But the number of self-employed drivers, including those who work for Uber, has increased almost 50 per cent since the app’s introduction in US cities.

“Employment, if anything, expands,” says Carl Benedikt Frey, one of the paper’s co-authors.
Drawing on statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the paper also finds that traditional taxi drivers in cities where Uber operates have seen their earnings decline. The researchers found that such drivers have seen their hourly income fall by up to 10 per cent on average. Meanwhile, the hourly takings of self-employed drivers have risen by the same amount.

http://bit.ly/2kwepDz
---------------------------------------------------

A tribunal hearing between three taxi drivers and cab company Addison Lee is likely to fuel further calls for clarity in the laws defining employment status.

The Central London Employment Tribunal has opened a case brought by three drivers who were dismissed after joining a protest against the company.

Addison Lee had attempted to delay the start of the tribunal until November, by which point other similar cases would have been heard, but the tribunal set a date for 4 July.

Gary Pearce, regional officer at union GMB, of which the drivers are members, said: ‘Everything points to the drivers being employees and no doubt will result in yet another decision exposing bogus self-employment practices by employers in the private hire industry.’

The drivers’ contracts were terminated hours after a GMB-organised protest in central London in May last year. Members were protesting against an increase in commission levels from Addison Lee and changes to terms and conditions for drivers.

Pearce added: ‘Any attempt to classify the drivers as self-employed will simply not wash with the employment tribunal. GMB will not allow Addison Lee to go unpunished for dismissing drivers whose only crime was to legitimately bring their plight to the attention of the public and the parent company of Addison Lee, The Carlyle Group.’

Earlier this year, the Law Society said people working in sectors including private hire taxi companies, known as the 'gig economy', should be considered to have 'employed' status.

The Society was responding to a call for evidence by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee on how employment rights apply within a changing work environment.

GMB had previously raised concerns with Addison Lee including increased commission, fixed rate insurance and reduced fares.

An Addison Lee spokesperson said the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.

http://bit.ly/2jkPuBc

SINGAPORE — Taxi drivers will now be able to rent taxis on a pay-per-drive basis, as SMRT Taxis on Thursday (Jan 26) rolled out its taxi-sharing scheme aimed at making better use of its fleet - more than a hundred of which are sitting idle - as well as providing drivers with greater work flexibility.

Under the SMRT Taxi Share scheme, those with a valid Taxi Driver Vocational Licence can rent these taxis on an hourly basis, for a minimum of three hours.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/smrt-taxi-rolls-out-taxi-sharing-scheme