LIVERPOOL COMCAB

A new taxi provider for Isle of Man patients travelling to north-west England for medical treatment has been announced.

A government spokesman said Liverpool-based ComCab had been chosen to take over from Bridgewater following a "competitive tendering process."

Nearly 2,000 people signed a petition to keep Bridgewater which held the contract for more than a decade.

The firm will be used to take patients from ports to hospitals.

Minister for Health and Social Care, Kate Beecroft MHK, said: "I am aware of the strength of feeling by some in our community about this issue and the high regard they have for the current provider Bridgewater.

"I would like to place on record the department's thanks for their exemplary service."

Bridgewater also had an appeal turned down.
Health chiefs said "those who travel regularly should not see any change in service, which will include full assistance and door-to-door collection and drop-off as standard".

ComCab has 15 years' experience of transferring patients for the North West Ambulance Service and already delivers more than 900 transfers a week.

General manager Karen Long said: "I believe our record and reputation demonstrate our ability to deliver a first-class service for Isle of Man patients and their escorts."

The new firm will take over the contract on 27 March.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-39302537
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WEST MIDLANDS

Taxi drivers in Sandwell will have to pass a tougher test proving knowledge of the area, good English – and will also have a dress code.
The rules on clothing, footwear and personal hygiene has been branded ‘ridiculous’ by taxi chiefs.

They will also be required to undertake training on issues around child sexual exploitation and disability as part of the new Sandwell Council rules.

There will also be ban on tinted windows and the council says it will no longer be accepting driving experience in other countries.

Prospective cabbies must have held a full UK licence for two years and will have to pay for the suitability test.

Existing drivers with serious criminal offences are to have their licences reviewed by the council’s licensing committee.

Shaz Saleem, of the West Midlands Taxi Drivers Association, said: “Some of the ideas in these new policies are ridiculous.

"Having a dress code is ridiculous. That has nothing to do with customers’ safety. That is not going to make any difference.”

Mr Saleem welcomed improvements to the knowledge test, but said drivers should not have to pay extra as it should be part of the licence.
Councillor Preet Gill, cabinet member for public health and protection, said: “The public’s safety is at the top of our priorities.

"Something which I think is really important is that they will now have to go through CSE training.

"We have started rolling it out gradually but it will now be something they all have to do.”
The current verbal knowledge test requires the applicant for a drivers licence to answer 10 questions based on the law and conditions attached to the licence.

Any applicants must answer eight questions correctly in order to pass the test, and must do so within three attempts.
http://bit.ly/2mFTdeQ 
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STOKE

Man, 37, smashed taxi's window with his walking stick - in a row over the fare

'Frustrated' Gary Humphage broke a taxi window with his walking stick during a row over his fare.

The 37-year-old, who suffers from mobility problems, also verbally abused cabbie Waheed Karim during the incident.

Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard Humphage had made his regular journey from Bentilee to Tunstall – with a stop at Festival Park to collect his wife from work – for which he normally paid around £7.

However, on this occasion he was told the fare would be £10.

Prosecutor Steve Knowles said: "The injured party confirms Mr Humphage got out of the vehicle, made a racial comment to Mr Karim, then used his walking stick to smash the back window of the vehicle.

"When he was interviewed by police he said he thought the taxi driver was going to drive off while his wife was still getting out, so he tapped the window with his stick."

http://bit.ly/2mdsc6m
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UBERK BLAME GOOGLE MAPS FOR USELESS DRIVERS

Uber has been weathering quite a storm lately, but the ride hailing company wants to remind you: It also builds technology, and not just serious sexism scandals.

On Wednesday, Travis Kalanick's beleaguered startup officially launched a new navigation system for its drivers. Features include lane guidance, next turn previews and real-time traffic information. It's also introduced a night-time look to make the app easier on the eyes in the dark.

Rolling out on both iOS and Android, the tool will give Android users access to in-app navigation for the first time. Previously, the latter would have to switch out of Uber's app into Google Maps or Waze to plan their route. On iOS, the update has begun in some cities, but its launch on Android is still in its early stages.

According to Maya Choksi, a senior product manager at Uber, the aim is to provide drivers with an optimal navigation experience.

One of the main complaints from drivers on Uber's iOS app was small font size, she said, but in the past, Uber had little say in how street labels appeared. That was because the company used a number of different mapping APIs "to kind of cobble together" in-app navigation. 

"There were a number of things that were really suboptimal about this," she explained. "We had no control over the size of [street] labels or which labels show or don't show. We couldn't control necessarily the name of the street where the driver is supposed to make a right turn."

Now the team controls more of the mapping stack, and they're able to customise it specifically for the needs of Uber, UberX, UberPool and UberEats drivers — a far more complicated set of directions than your average commuter trip. If drivers want, they're still free to use the mapping app of their choice.

Manik Gupta, head of products in Uber's Maps team and a Google Maps veteran, said the new stack used mapping providers including TomTom to "mix and match" with Uber's own proprietary data. The new driver navigation will not involve increased tracking of driver data, he added, although route data information always been collected. 

"From a Maps perspective, you really want to model the real world as closely as possible. So the more data and the more detail you get about that, the better off you are," Gupta said.

http://on.mash.to/2mFRmH2
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