Police arrested two men and issued 50 fixed penalty notices in a crackdown on unlicensed taxi drivers in Sheffield and Doncaster.

As part of the operation taxis were also inspected to assess their roadworthiness.

A number of drivers were given prohibition notices to make sure defects on their vehicles are repaired.

They were warned that if they fail to carry out the repairs their taxis could be seized.

Police said the two men arrested in the crackdown were quizzed on suspicion of drink driving and failing to appear at court.

Chief Inspector Glen Suttenwood, head of the Roads Policing Unit in South Yorkshire, said: “This operation was a great opportunity for us to work alongside our partners and reinforce the importance of taxis being properly licensed and safe for passengers.

“The majority of drivers had the right documentation and vehicles were roadworthy but we have taken steps to address those that weren’t which will improve public safety.

“The operation was met with positive feedback from the drivers themselves and also their passengers. I would like to thank those involved for their support and co-operation throughout.”

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Taxi drivers protest against rival Uber at Prague airport

The Czech immigration police were settling a dispute between drivers for the Uber passenger transport company and drivers from taxi firms, 50 of whom gathered outside the Prague airport on Friday and put stickers on the arriving Uber cars to label their operation illegal.

Taxi drivers say the drivers working for Uber breach laws by driving customers without having a taxi-service licence, without having their cars registered as taxi, and without no speedometers in their cars.

At variance with law, many Uber cars have no luminous taxi top sign nor do they have the name of the operator written on them, the critics say.

Uber presents itself as a service alternative to taxis. Using a cell phone application, people can call an Uber driver to take them where needed.
The drivers work either for the Uber company or as self-employed drivers.

Uber says it does not offer taxi services but a shared drive on the principle of shared economy.
In the first half of the year, Uber transported 340 percent more clients in Prague than in the same period of 2016. It would not release the number of the clients.

Uber has been operating in the Czech Republic for three years. Apart from Prague, it was originally also present in the Moravian capital Brno, where, however, it has stopped operating due to legal complaints against it.

In Prague, too, Uber has been in dispute with the City Hall that accused its drivers of breach of law.

Source:

http://www.praguemonitor.com
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Caerphilly

Plans to introduce low-emissions taxis in London are helping create more than 130 jobs in south Wales, as the firm tasked with making lightweight bodywork for eco-friendly black cabs reopens a factory in the area.

The Norwegian aluminium company Sapa is investing £9.6m to reopen a mothballed plant in Bedwas, near Caerphilly, which it closed in 2014 because of tough market conditions and overcapacity. The reopening brings back the same number of jobs over the next five years as were lost in the closure.

Britain to ban sale of all diesel and petrol cars and vans from 2040

The investment, which is also backed by £550,000 from the Welsh government, comes at a time when manufacturers face growing uncertainty over Brexit. It also comes as carmakers seek to develop eco-friendly vehicles ahead of a move to ban sale of diesel and petrol cars and vans in the UK from 2040.

The first customer to be supplied goods made at the refurbished facility will be the London Electric Vehicle Company, which is developing a zero-emissions taxi for the capital’s polluted streets.

Sapa said the support from the Welsh government helped it to pick the plant over another European facility with spare capacity. The Bedwas site has been changed from an aluminium extrusion plant before its closure in 2014 to a new facility on the same site set up to produce specialised automotive components.

source: Guardian