Airbus plans to test a prototype for a self-piloted flying car as a way of avoiding gridlock on city roads by the end of the year, the aerospace group's chief executive has revealed.
Airbus, which has a major base at Filton, last year formed a division called Urban Air Mobility, which is exploring future concepts such as a vehicle to transport individuals or a helicopter-style vehicle that can carry multiple riders.
The model of the proposed service would be for people to book the vehicle using an app, similar to car-sharing schemes such as Uber.
Read more: Airbus sees deliveries up in 2016, despite suffering slump in new orders
"One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground, now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground," Airbus CEO Tom Enders told the DLD digital tech conference in Munich.
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A new livery for all Hackney carriage taxis in the East Riding has been approved.
It will be carried out in two phases with new and replacement vehicles taking effect from 1 May 2017 and all existing licensed vehicles gradually becoming part of the livery by December 2020.
It's been agreed by the cabinet at the county council.
A report says:
"The implementation of a livery is an important feature of supporting the public safety and safeguarding standards we require under our licensing policy to protect those at risk and these form the framework by which we undertake our statutory responsibilities in respect of taxi vehicle licensing. These considerations are particularly important in light of the findings of the report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and other similar Inquiries in which licensing protections was a key area of concern.
A livery will also create an East Riding brand, allowing customers to differentiate between taxis licensed in different areas and support the high professionalism of the local trade."
The colour scheme is a white base with pantone green markings. This colour scheme will closely identify and link the East Riding of Yorkshire taxi livery with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
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Where was the first taxi rank in London?
The answer is: on the Strand near Somerset House.
Horse-drawn vehicles for private hire had been around in one form or another since medieval times. But no one had attempted to operate from a designated waiting place, or rank, until the 17th century. The pioneer was a Captain John Baily, a veteran of one of Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions.
From 1634, he managed a rank of four horse-drawn carriages, available for hire from the Strand. Baily's cabmen wore a distinctive livery, and charged customers a fixed tariff depending on distance.
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Licensed taxi drivers across the region have been ordered by Scottish Borders Council to provide proof they have the right to work in the UK.
The demand, which applies to all new and renewal applications for the one-year permits, comes from Scottish Borders Council, which currently licenses 356 drivers and 103 operators.
Last week these operators and 31 private hire car operators received an email from Mike Wynne, SBC’s licensing standards and enforcement officer, instructing them that drivers’ “additional documents” must be submitted and witnessed with all licence applications.
Mr Wynne cited the recently enacted Immigration Act 2016 under which people who do not have permission to be in the UK face sanctions, including having their bank accounts frozen and driving licences seized.
“Under the provisions of the Act which came into force on December 1, 2016, SBC will not be able to issue a taxi or private hire car driver licence to any person unless a check has first been made to confirm the person is not disqualified by reason of his or her immigration status from driving a taxi or private hire car,” stated Mr Wynne.
“This means all applicants for taxi or private hire car driver licences, including UK passport holders, will need to attend their nearest SBC contact centre or the licensing office at Newtown St Boswells in person with original documents demonstrating they have the right to work in the UK.
“Council staff will require to check the validity of these original documents in the presence of the applicant before the licence can be issued and the council is required to retain copies.”
If drivers are British citizens they must provide a current passport or birth certificate along with a National Insurance card or an up-to-date P60/P45 containing a National Insurance number. If the driver is an EU national, a passport or national identify card is required. And if the driver is neither a British citizen nor an EU national, he or she must provide a passport and “residence permit confirming your immigration status”.
One Galashiels taxi operator described the move as “politically-driven bureaucracy”, adding: “I’ve no idea why taxi drivers have been targeted.
“To get a licence to drive a taxi you already need to prove your date of birth, have a driving licence and undergo a police national computer check.
“In other words, the current vetting system works well in the Borders.”
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MERSEYSIDE
Online taxi service Cabfind has named a new managing director.
Lee Wasnidge has been appointed by global transport company Transdev to strengthen Cabfind’s mobility solutions.
He joined originally joined Transdev as strategy director after more than seven years at Northern Rail as regional director for the north-west and then transition director.
Merseyside-based Cabfind combines online booking services with value-added innovation and operational efficiencies, using a nationwide network of private hire and executive vehicles,
Its client base includes travel management companies, businesses, SMEs and individual users. Cabfind has specialist expertise in the rail, media and logistics sectors.
Wasnidge said: “The transport sector is going through a massive period of change thanks to technology-driven applications which offer exceptional opportunities to broaden our appeal and application.
“I will be looking to strengthen Cabfind’s ground-breaking services, work closely with our supply chain and deliver outstanding service to our customers.”
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LOST IN LONDON..THE MOVIE
For taxi driver Les Dartnell, the punter who flagged him down in Piccadilly in the early hours was just another welcome fare on a slow night back in June 2002.
Welcome, that is, until he started behaving weirdly and demanding to be let out of the cab, barely minutes into the journey.
‘I said “That’s fine mate, but we’re in the middle of a road with four lanes of traffic so let me pull over first”,’ Mr Dartnell recalled.
‘I didn’t have a clue then who this bloke was, but I was happy for him to get out because he was acting very strangely.’
What happened next is the subject of a film, Lost In London, starring Hollywood A-listers Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, and country singer Willie Nelson, to be shot on the streets of the capital from 2am tomorrow and streamed live to more than 500 cinemas in the U.S. (and just one here — the Picturehouse Central in London).
Mr Dartnell’s passenger was Harrelson — then a 40-year-old actor whose career was in a slump, following his celebrated turn in the TV series Cheers and the controversial film Natural Born Killers.
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TUNBRIDGE WELLS
A taxi driver is facing a prison sentence after admitting taking more than 250 videos up the skirts of young women and schoolgirls as they shopped.
Grandfather Mark Durden, 60, preyed on shoppers using an iPhone at the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent because he had a schoolgirl fetish.
Durden, of Lamberhurst, Kent, pleaded guilty at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court to committing an act of outraging public decency by taking images up the skirts of women, without their knowledge, over the course of three years.
David Holman, prosecuting, said: 'He was found out by the police following a report from Topshop.
'A team leader at the Tunbridge Wells store in Royal Victoria Place gave a statement saying they had noticed the same person was coming in regularly from 3.30pm onwards.'
Mr Holman read out the statement from the Topshop employee, which said: 'My attention was caught as he was clearly not in the shop to purchase anything.
'He was looking at young girls, mainly in school uniform, and following them around the shop.
'It was creepy and made me feel uncomfortable.'
CCTV footage was obtained of Durden and he was arrested on June 10 last year.
Mr Holman said: 'During the arrest he was recorded having a conversation with his wife in which he said he had been taking pictures up young girls' skirts, using a 'thing' in a bag in Tunbridge Wells.
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