Cambridge’s Taxi Licensing Committee will meet on Monday to discuss the renewal of the ride-sharing app’s licence, which expires later this month, in light of the Transport for London (TfL) suspension, the Cambridge News reports.
Although Cambridge transport firms have lodged objections about Uber since it began operating in the city last November, complaints about how the newcomer handles booking were not upheld, the newspaper says.
TfL refused to renew Uber’s licence in September, when it accused the operator of a “lack of corporate responsibility”. Safety concerns cited included the way Uber handled police reports of alleged sexual assaults by drivers.
A judge at a preliminary hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday scheduled Uber’s appeal against the London licence ban to begin on 30 April and last for five days, Reuters say.
However, the judge warned that the hearing might be delayed until June.
And if there are grounds for further appeals, the process could take years, although Uber reportedly hopes to have reached a deal with TfL before it has exhausted its legal options.
London is “one of Uber’s biggest and most profitable markets, and the loss of its licence was seen as a major blow for the company as it struggles to repair its reputation”, says The Daily Telegraph.
http://bit.ly/2AXAjZa
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Taxi fares to be reduced in Guildford
The judicial review was heard at the High Court on 7 and 10 November 2017, with judgement handed down on 5 December 2017. The High Court found in our favour and dismissed the challenge.
The judge agreed with the Council's approach and said the decision to use the data it did to set the fares was reasonable, and awarded full costs of £17,875.
The High Court Order suspending the implementation of the fares now ceases to have effect and we can implement the fare rates previously approved in November 2016.
Cllr Graham Ellwood, Lead Councillor for Licensing and Community Safety, said: "We are delighted that the High Court dismissed the challenge to our proposals to reduce fares. The Licensing team had gone to great lengths to consult with the trade to determine the correct input data for calculating the fares, which was recognised in court.
"Setting taxi fares (the rates charged on a taxi's meter by time and distance for a journey) is important to ensure taxi drivers can recover their costs and provide a service at a reasonable cost for the public. It's vital that we set the right rates to ensure this balance and to protect users from being overcharged.
"As a result of the High Court decision, we need to implement these changes. Currently taxi meters are still set to the old rate, meaning customers are now paying too much.
Taxi driver and proprietors need to make arrangements to change their taxi meters by Wednesday 20 December, and we have written to the taxi trade advising them of this.
"Now that the busy festive season is in full swing, we want the public to enjoy their celebrations and get home safely. We would remind people celebrating in Guildford to take one of our licensed liveried taxis home, or book a private hire vehicle through one of our licensed operators for a safe journey home, confident in the knowledge that they will be charged fairly for the service."
https://www.instituteoflicensing.org/NewsJobsArticle.aspx?NewsID=9926&NewsOrJob=news
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LEEDS
Council bosses have promised to listen to taxi drivers concerned about the impact of Leeds' proposed 'clean air zone', which could see them charged £12.50 a day if their vehicles do not meet decent emissions standards.
Town hall chiefs admitted the plan would have a 'huge impact' on the trade, but said the government must do its bit to help firms upgrade to more environmentally friendly vehicles.
Plans to create an area within the outer ring road where the charges will be introduced in a bid to improve the city's air quality were revealed last week.
The council has no choice but to tackle road emissions after Leeds was named as one of 29 areas where legal pollution levels had been breached.
Under the plans, a £100 daily would apply to buses, coaches and HGVs which do not meet the 'Euro6' standard, which covers vehicles made from September 2015 onwards.
Taxis may have to meet an even higher standard, with proposals to charge cabbies £12.50 a day unless they drive an 'ultra-low emission' vehicle (ULEV) - either petrol hybrid or electric.
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SOUTHAMPTON taxi drivers fear being driven out of business by an incoming scheme to tackle the city’s illegally high pollution levels.
That’s despite civic chiefs offering cabbies in Southampton and Eastleigh a £250,000 pot to help them ‘go-green’, before the introduction of a Clean Air Zone.
Due to be introduced by 2019, the scheme will force commercial vehicle drivers in high polluting vehicles to cough up sky-high fees to enter the city.
Environmental chiefs hope the move will drive down the lethal levels of dangerous gasses in Southampton – said to be one of the worst polluted cities in the UK.
In a bid to help cabbies, civic chiefs are offering grants to offset the cost of new eco-friendly vehicles, which will be immune from the charges.
But cab bosses say the grants, which range from £1,500 to £3,000, will only put a small dent in the price of an environmentally-friendly cab – which can cost up to £50,000.
Southampton-based taxi driver, Alan Lloyd, accused the council of “pricing taxis out of the city”.
He also described the money offered by the city council as “token”.
Another to comment was Perry McMillan, chairman of the south east cab section of Unite.
He said: “At the end of the day, cabbies can’t afford that sort of money.
“You’ve got to remember that a lot of these drivers are small businesses and some of those small businesses could go and get out of the market because of this.”
Despite having a hybrid himself, Mr McMillan, a taxi driver of more than two decades, said he was sceptical about how many cabbies would take up the offer.
He added: “I’ve spoken to taxi drivers and I think a lot of them are just looking at ways they can get round it. Whether that be just paying the charge or getting a vehicle which just passes the standard.”
The comments come following a meeting between civic chiefs and taxi bosses yesterday, where the new grant scheme was announced.
Officers from Southampton City Council say the money, which was gained from a central government grant, will be given to cabbies who purchase low emission vehicles.
The biggest grant of £3,000 will be given to those who choose an electric car, while smaller grants are available for hybrids and low-emission fuel-powered cars.
To be eligible, taxi drivers will need to have been licensed by the council for a year and have driven more than 8,000 miles over that period.
Drivers will also have to register their taxi for three years with the city council, who also license cabs in Eastleigh.
Announcing the scheme, which begins as of next Monday, councillor Chris Hammond, cabinet member for sustainable living, said: “Taxi drivers are one of the first groups that the city council and Eastleigh Borough Council has offered financial support for the Clean Air Zone.
“This Labour council has made pollution one of our priorities and it was an important part of our manifesto.
“We are doing what we can to make sure we have that dialogue and we give that support to help taxi drivers come on us with this journey.”
The scheme comes following a month-long consultation earlier this year, in which civic chiefs asked taxi drivers how they could best support them in light of the Clean Air Zone.
According to the council, 59 per cent of respondents claimed they would choose a hybrid car if they were to ‘go-green’.
The council said that most taxi drivers had also shown a preference towards a cash incentive scheme.
Southampton is one of five cities around the UK tasked with introducing a Clean Air Zone.
The others are Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and Derby.
The scheme was launched after the UK was given a final warning by the European Union for continually breaching legal levels of pollutant gasses, including toxic nitrogen dioxide – produced by road traffic.
Health experts say the high level of pollutants lead to thousands of premature deaths each year, of which 110 occur in Southampton.
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