BRISTOL

A crackdown on ‘out of town’ taxi drivers and unlicensed operators has been promised by a Bristol city council chief, just a day after around 100 drivers protested outside the council offices.

Deputy mayor Asher Craig, who is ultimately in charge of taxi driver licences, endorsed a crackdown by colleagues in Birmingham, and said a similar move would be followed in Bristol.

In Birmingham, council chiefs and the police have joined forces to create a new role of a specific police officer whose job is to enforce the rules and regulations involving taxi cabs and private hire vehicles.

The officer is regularly out on patrol on the streets of England’s second city, and tweets pictures of vehicles he has stopped and checked.

One of his most common ‘catches’ are taxis licensed from out of the city who come into the middle of Birmingham and ‘ply’ for trade - by waiting in taxi ranks or drive around the city centre waiting to be hailed.

That offence is one of the biggest complaints made by taxi drivers in Bristol, who have recently mounted a series of protests against the council in recent weeks.

A couple of weeks ago they brought the city centre of Bristol to a standstill by filling the roads around Temple Meads in protest at a cut to the number of taxi ranks at the station.

And on Monday, the drivers gathered at the council’s main office at 100 Temple Street, to air a long list of grievances.

Along with a demand for council chiefs to listen to their concerns more clearly, the issue of business being lost to ‘out-of-town’ taxi drivers, and that not being enforced by Bristol City Council, was high on the taxi drivers’ list.

In response, Cllr Craig retweeted one of the tweets from Birmingham’s designated taxi enforcement officer, and said such an initiative would soon be coming to Bristol.

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UBERK FLORIDA

An Uber driver who also worked at a foster-care home in Florida has been arrested after allegedly kidnapping and raping his female passenger, authorities said Monday.

Gary Kitchings, 57, picked up three women from the SunFest music festival just after midnight Sunday, according to the Jupiter Police Department.

He dropped off two of the women and began flirting with the remaining passenger, she told police.

In an attempt to escape, the woman says she tried to open the door and jump out of the car but the doors were locked.

Kitchings “told her that he had a gun under the seat and if she didn’t do what he wanted, he would kill her,” according to a police report.

The victim was sexually assaulted in the car and when they reached her apartment, she thought he would drive away, she told police.

Instead, he forced his way inside her home, she said.

Kitchings allegedly made the woman perform oral sex “against her will” and raped her inside her house.

He reportedly told her he would “kill her and her dogs if she didn’t shut up.”

The victim, who said she took a picture of Kitchings’ license plate, was able to call 911 for help around 2 a.m.

Kitchings was arrested for kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary after cops conducted an investigation.

The Florida Department of Children and Families has opened an investigation to ensure no children were harmed at Place of Hope, the foster-care home where Kitchings worked, “as a result of this individual’s alleged illegal actions,” agency spokeswoman Jessica Sims told the Sun Sentinel.

“This is a deeply disturbing incident,” Sims said. “We have high standards for the individuals who work in the child welfare system as their jobs are extremely important in ensuring the safety of children.”

Kitchings was an Uber driver for six months and “has been removed from the app,” an Uber spokeswoman said Tuesday.

He is a former member of the U.S. Navy and has a long history in social services, WPTV reported.

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NEWCASTLE


A taxi driver has died after a crash with a bus on the Redheugh Bridge.

Six people were injured and the road was closed in both directions for more than nine hours after the collision on Wednesday night.

Police say a 36-year-old man, believed to be the taxi driver, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 53-year-old man, thought to be the Stagecoach bus driver, was taken to hospital with a leg injury. His condition is serious but not life-threatening.

The bus was travelling southbound towards Newcastle city centre when the crash happened. The bridge was closed by police shortly after 11pm, reopening at 8am on Thursday.

Of the six injured, three were described as having “serious” injuries and were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) by ambulance.

Three more were taken to the RVI for a precautionary check-up by North East Ambulance Service’s (NEAS) patient transport service vehicle.

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