Uber to launch new electric taxi service in Dubai

Ride-hailing service Uber will soon launch the first electric taxi fleet in the UAE, with its new UberONE service.

Announced as the exclusive taxi partner for Dubai Taxi Corporation’s fleet of electric vehicles in the UAE, UberONE will add 50 new premium electric cars to its fleet, giving riders across Dubai the chance to request a fully-electric, smart and sustainable transport option at the touch of a button.

Starting from Tuesday, 10 October, riders across the emirate will be able to choose from a dedicated fleet of electric vehicles exclusively via the “UberONE” option on the Uber app.

The joint initiative comes as part of Dubai Taxi Corporation and Uber’s commitment to helping Dubai become the smartest city in the world and in support of the Green Economy for Sustainable Development Initiative.

As well as offering driver-partners and riders a high-quality travel experience at the touch of a button, electric cars also reduce air and noise pollution in local communities, and will lower per-mile operating costs for driver-partners, compared to those for conventional cars. The introduction of the electric vehicle fleet to the Uber app will also lay the foundations for a viable, long-term technology solution to achieving a sustainable, clean ride vehicle network that smart cities of the future are striving for.

Chris Free, general manager for Uber UAE, said: “At Uber we are constantly innovating our offering and looking for ways to provide new and progressive experiences at the push of a button. We are tremendously excited to be the exclusive ride-hailing partner for this fleet of premium electric vehicles in Dubai, in partnership with Dubai Taxi Corporation, and for the clean vehicle technology to deliver our driver-partners and riders with more efficient, less-polluting mobility.

We will continue to work hand in hand with Dubai Taxi Corporation to bring innovative infrastructural solutions to Dubai and grow the city’s smart mobility ecosystem.”

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BURNLEY

A taxi driver who launched a ‘ferocious’ attack on two passengers using an iron bar has been jailed.
Nabeel Iqbal, who worked for Max Cabs, and another man attacked the men with the weapon and ‘what looked like a wheel brace’ following a falling-out in his car, a court heard.

Burnley Crown Court was told that a short time after the row Iqbal and another unknown male approached the passengers on Owen Street in Accrington.

The court heard how the offenders chased one of the passengers Adam Wright and struck him causing him to fall to the floor. One of the males then said to another of the passengers, a teenager, ‘You’re next son’ before ‘briefly chasing him away’.

Prosecutor Mark Kellett said Mr Wright was ‘distressed, lying injured on the floor’ before the offenders chased and repeatedly struck the third passenger Joseph Silcock.

Both victims were taken to hospital and Mr Wright was treated for three days with a fractured left elbow.

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GUILDFORD

As the aftermath of the latest Uber revelations rumble on , Guildford is having its own discussions on the future of taxi and private hire vehicles.

Guildford Borough Council heard recommendations from licensing team leader, Mike Smith, on plans for all taxi and private hire vehicles to be card payment equipped by April 1 2019.

The latest requirement for Guildford drivers follows the poorly received policy adopted by the council in December 2015 which implemented the turquoise re-branding.

Mr Smith laid out various benefits to the new policy and said: "Since the approval of the last policy things have moved on quite significantly in the taxi world."

The benefits of introducing card enabled payment mentioned by Mr Smith included:

*  Not having to queue at a cash point in order to get money to pay for a taxi.

 *  Less dispute over how to split a fare.

 *   If there is less requirement for drivers to carry cash, they become less of a target for crime.

There would be a financial impact for drivers at a coast of around £500 per year to supply a suitable card payment device which would be required to accept Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards, accept contactless payments and provide a receipt.

Mr Smith suggested that it would be very easy to break this cost down into each individual fare to ensure that no direct cost is incurred by the drivers.

A typical card transaction costs roughly 1% of the total fare, meaning that if you're journey cost you £10, a 10p transaction fee would be taken by the device provider.

Mr Smith said: "In Guildford we have a formula for setting carriage fares so we could very easily include this cost to the driver in the fare calculator so that drivers could recover that cost."

As Uber challenges its licence revoke in London , the planned policy changes would go some way to both updating and simplifying the traditional "taxi journey home" in Surrey.

At this stage there is no planned provision for hailing a taxi through a mobile device, as is possible with the Uber app.

During the meeting, Councillor Dennis Paul voiced his support of the new policy but raised the issue of "unscrupulous" drivers using card reading technology to clone customers' cards.

In response Mr Smith suggested that the licensing committee's vetting process is already designed to hire fit and proper drivers.

He hopes this process would restrict the dangers of claims raised by Cllr Paul happening by not being granted a licence in the first place.

In a 2016 consultation carried out by Transport for London, it found that 86% of respondents backed card acceptance in taxis with 68% in favour of the use of contactless payment.

The policy is not yet being implemented in London but serves to highlight its popularaity.
The recommendations were approved by the council and the policy will be subject to a six week public consultation period.

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LIVERPOOL

A man was left fighting for life after he was kicked in the head by a group of men at a taxi rank.

The 41-year-old victim was in an argument with them before they followed him towards a taxi, then launched their attack in Liverpool city centre.

Emergency services were called at around 4am following reports a man had been assaulted on Ranelagh Street in the early hours of Saturday morning. A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance service told that the man was rushed to Aintree Hospital. He is understood to be in a serious condition.

The offenders fled the scene on foot in the direction of Liverpool Central train station. An investigation has been launched and enquiries are ongoing. Detectives are examining CCTV footage to establish what happened and identify any offenders and forensic examination of the street and the taxi is taking place.

Anyone with any information should contact Merseyside Police on 0151 7774065, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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