TOMORROW IN PARLIAMNT

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BOSTON


A taxi ploughed into a crowd of people near Boston's Logan airport on Monday afternoon, injuring at least ten.

The incident sparked terror fears following recent attacks using vehicles in London, Berlin and Nice, but police were quick to reassure the public that there was no evidence that the crash was intentional.

A police official, who did not want to be named said the crash was believed to be a case of "operator error" in which the driver stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.

A 56-year-old taxi driver was being questioned by police at the scene, but no arrests had been made on Monday afternoon.


"At this preliminary point in the investigation, there is no information that suggests the crash was intentional. The driver is currently being interviewed," a police spokesman said.

Pictures of the scene showed the white taxi cab, damaged at the front, having apparently hit a building near some picnic tables.

The car lost control and hit the crowd of people, who were mainly other taxi drivers waiting to pick up passengers from the airport.


"We discovered that one of the cab drivers in the pool had jumped the curb and struck several other cab drivers who were sitting in a sitting area, a rest area, awaiting their next fares," a Massachusetts state police spokesman said.

Ten people were hospitalised in the crash, with state police saying the injuries were of "varying severity".

Boston has one of the largest Fourth of July celebrations in the country. There has been high police presence in the city at major events since the 2013 Boston marathon terror attacks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/03/car-hits-several-people-bostons-logan-airport-causing-several/ 

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Uber must leave Italy in 10 days after nationwide ban

Uber's situation in Italy is the same problem it typically deals with, albeit on a different day and in a different country. The company faced similar pushback from local taxi associations in France, the UK and other places around the globe, and it'll no doubt happen again and again. In fact, this isn't the first court battle it lost in the European country: a couple of years ago, a court in Milan banned the company's UberPop application.

Nevertheless, the company said in a statement that it's "shocked" by the court's decision and will file for an appeal. It added: "Thousands of professional, licensed drivers use the Uber app to make money and provide reliable transportation at the push of a button for Italians." Until it changes the court's mind, though, Uber's Black, Lux, Suv, X , XL, Select and Van phone applications will have to say "ciao" to Italian commuters.

https://www.engadget.com/2017/04/07/uber-banned-in-italy/
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Twelve taxi drivers in Aylesbury Vale have been dealt with for licensing offences in the latest round of checks.

Police were out with AVDC, who found drivers without ID badges and cars which weren't meeting standards.

They also arrested a shoplifter who got into a taxi with £133 worth of stolen meat.

The aim of the operation, which took place on 24 June in Aylesbury, Buckingham, Bletchley and Milton Keynes, was to conduct checks on private hire and hackney carriage vehicles and drivers.

The vehicles were checked for defects by the Roads Safety Officer and to establish correct driving licence and insurance.

The Licensing Officers from AVDC checked the condition of the vehicles met the standards set by the Council and drivers held the correct licensing documentation.

Private hire vehicles licensed by Aylesbury Vale are required to display exterior signage which includes, rear licensing plate which must be fixed to the outside rear of the vehicle, front licensing plate in windscreen and side door stickers stating “ADVANCE BOOKINGS ONLY”.

Private hire drivers and Hackney carriage drivers are required to wear their driver ID badge and for it to be visible to the passengers.

They are not allowed to smoke in their vehicles at any time.

In total 17 Private Hire vehicles and 1 Hackney Carriage vehicle were stopped. A shoplifter was detained after getting back into a private hire vehicle having stolen £133 worth of meat during the check.

One vehicle could not open its boot, and received an immediate suspension notice.

Several vehicles had magnetic door signs which were removed by AVDC and disposed of. The door signs must be firmly stuck onto the body of the vehicle so that it can be easily seen to be a private hire vehicle all of the time.

AVDC dealt with 12 drivers for licensing offences, which included drivers not wearing ID badges, not displaying correct vehicle signage, having damage to the vehicles and failing to have a first aid kit and/or fire extinguisher.

They were given penalty points which are attributed to their private hire or hackney carriage driver licence and given 14 days in which to rectify any defects found or face further action. Licensed drivers can only have 12 points on their licence before they run the risk of losing their private hire or hackney carriage driver licence.

https://www.mix96.co.uk/news/local/2321403/12-taxi-drivers-caught-breaching-rules-in-latest-checks/
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UBERK AUSTRALIA

One-third of drivers involved with ride-sharing services such as Uber are yet to register for GST or to fully declare their income.

Assistant Commissioner Tom Wheeler said more than 100,000 individuals have received a payment for a ride-sharing service since the Australian Taxation Office started collecting data in August 2015, but about one third of them still have not registered for GST and/or fully declared income.

The ATO has written to 60,000 drivers looking to make extra cash by transporting passengers on popular ride-sharing services, reminding them of their obligations.

Uber and other ride-sharing drivers must be registered for GST following an ATO ruling that took effect in August 2015. Before that they had been able to avoid GST payments by arguing they fall under the $75,000 turnover threshold at which GST applies.

Uber legally challenged the ruling, saying they were not like a taxi service, but in a landmark decision in February the Federal Court agreed with the ATO that Uber drivers were like a "taxi" and thereby have to register for and pay GST even if they fall under the threshold.

Mr Wheeler said the ATO had written to 60,000 drivers since August 2015, and would continue to write to other drivers who come onto their radar.
"We are seeing numbers of drivers growing, but there's quite a significant churn rate," he said. "Our monitoring tells us that only half of these 60,000 drivers received a payment for driving in the recent January to March 2017 quarter."

A large number of those drivers were registered for GST and meeting their obligations, but some drivers were yet to register. "The ATO has more work to do in educating drivers about their tax obligations and making sure they comply," Mr Wheeler said.

http://bit.ly/2tkCcLq