https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/ecity/first-drive
Comment: Does anybody know what this quote refers too ?
"There’s a new piece of legislation that says all new taxis must be capable of zero emissions driving for at least 30 miles."
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https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/first-drive-levc-tx-taxi-streets-london
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http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volvo/s40/101948/new-levc-tx-london-taxi-review
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LIVERPOOL ORANGE LIGHT DISTRICT
Mayor vows to crack down on seedy taxi sex deals
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has vowed to clamp down on a seedy underworld deal between black cab drivers and brothels which has been exposed in an ECHO investigation.
Mayor Anderson thanked the ECHO for highlighting the issue and said his officers will now carry out similar investigations in a bid to punish those attempting to coerce groups of men into paying for sex.
Earlier today, we revealed the results of our undercover investigation, in which we were offered a “package deal” involving a lift to a location, sex with women and a lift home for a overall price of £140 from a driver in Duke Street .
On another occasion, an ECHO reporter was offered “sex with girls” by a hackney driver as he attempted to get a lift home from Lime Street Station on a Sunday night.
We have presented Mayor Anderson with the results of our investigation and he has said the issue is “not acceptable” and has vowed to take action.
Responding to our reports, he said: “This is a concern and my message to any cab driver that is stung by an undercover operation is that you will lose your license, there is no question about that.
“It is not acceptable, it is not something that they should be doing and we will clamp down on it.
http://bit.ly/2kn7TU1
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HENLEY
BUS and taxi drivers should be fined for leaving their vehicle engines running while stationary in Henley town centre, say councillors.
Members of the town council’s transport strategy group claim there has been a persistent problem with engines being left running while vehicles are parked in the the taxi rank in Hart Street and the bus stop in Bell Street.
They say drivers have been asked to turn off their engines and operators have been asked to educate their drivers but the issue remains.
The council wants police to enforce the law as part of a drive to improve air quality in the town centre, where the level of nitrogen dioxide in some streets is 50 per cent higher than Air Quality England’s target limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.
Speaking at a group meeting on Monday, Councillor Ian Reissmann said it was an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to leave your vehicle’s engine idling.
He said: “Police community support officers and police officers can impose a fixed penalty fine. The police station is still open from time to time and you can use the non-emergency number to report the offence.”
David Dickie, a member of environmental group Henley in Transition, said he had no luck when he asked taxi and bus drivers to comply with the law.
He said: “I’ve been doing monitoring and found taxis and buses are leaving their engines running for quite some time. I have spoken to them and all they say is ‘go away’. I don’t know what to do next.”
http://bit.ly/2zMhpmr
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A gang used a woman to lure unsuspecting taxi drivers to areas of Folkestone where they were attacked and robbed at knifepoint.
The female – who has never been charged – rang the taxi company to book a cab as her male accomplices lay in wait.
After the first robbery, one of the gang cynically texted the woman: "Got home safely please order another one."
Judge Rupert Lowe told one of the gang members Joshua Prett: “It was a cold, calculated plan to terrify some other public servant and rob him as well.
He ruled that Prett, 27, of Snowdrop Close, Folkestone, posed a serious danger to the public and gave him a 15 year extended jail sentence.
Prosecutor Tom Dunn told Canterbury Crown Court how on April 11, a taxi driver was directed to an address in Peto Close to collect a fare after a call from a woman.
“He arrived and waited, looking at his phone. As he was doing that the driver’s door was opened by a man who had his face covered.
"But not sufficiently covered to prevent (him) from recognising Prett.
“Prett had a knife and demanded money as another man opened the passenger door.
"He was armed with a Samurai sword which he pressed hard against (the victim’s) ribs, which was very frightening.”
The robbers then took the cabby’s takings of £190 and his iPhone and a few hours later the gang tried the same scam after ordering another taxi.
This time taxi driver, Anthony Hall was directed to a cul-de-sac near Eversley Way in Folkestone when two men got into his vehicle.
One of the robbers, armed with a knife told him: “We are going to take your money” as his accomplice stole the driver’s mobile phone.
The prosecutor said the courageous cabby resisted the attack telling the robbers that he had a family to feed and pushed one of them away, grabbed the arm holding the knife as he raised the alarm.
The two robbers fled but police tracked Prett to a house in Clifton Road where they found two Samurai swords.
"He was armed with a Samurai sword which he pressed hard against Mr Partovi's ribs" - Prosecutor Tom Dunn
Two weeks earlier Prett with three other men had attack a man and his brother – again armed with a knife stealing a car key and other property.
Father-of-one Prett claimed he had worked as a £500 a week beach patrolman for Coastal Defence in Folkestone.
Paul Hogben, defending, said Prett began taking drugs when he was 12, said the coastal defence contract ended and he was unemployed and he began using crack cocaine again.
“He said to me: 'I need counselling. I need help', referring to the way he is failing to cope.
Prett pleaded guilty aggravated burglary, two charges of having offensive weapons, attempted theft, and two robberies.
He was given a 12-year immediate jail sentence and the judge added an extra three years which he will have to serve when he is finally released, probably in 2026.
http://bit.ly/2Arwddp
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A taxi driver found guilty of illegally 'plying for hire' in Guildford town centre has been fined over £300.
He was caught out after taking a 'mystery shopper' on a journey in November 2016 that was not pre-booked, an operation carried out on behalf of the town's council.
Because he was driving a private hire vehicle licensed by Woking Borough Council, this was an offence under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847.
Despite denying the offence, the man was found guilty following a trial at Guildford Magistrates Court on 27 November.
He has been fined £300 and will have to pay a £30 victim surcharge, meanwhile Guildford Borough Council has been awarded £1,000 costs.
The driver also has a private hire driver's licence with Guildford Borough Council who say they will be taking further action.
Lead Councillor for Licensing and Community Safety, Cllr Graham Ellwood, said: "We are pleased with the success of this prosecution and our effective ‘mystery shopper’ exercise.
"This is the fourth such successful action we have taken this year which has come about from the hard work carried out by our licensing officers.
"It sends a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal activity, and if taxi drivers break the rules in Guildford they will be caught and they risk losing their livelihood.
"In the run up to the busy festive season, we want all members of 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 thorough one of our licensed operators so as to ensure a safe journey home."
http://bit.ly/2nxRopB
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BIRMINGHAM
More than 1,000 black cabs will be driven off Birmingham’s streets if the city council ploughs ahead with tough new pollution limits, it has been claimed.
The chairman of Birmingham’s biggest Hackney Carriage firm, TOA, warned the crackdown could leave just 70 cabs on the city’s streets within three years.
There are currently more than 1,200.
City licensing chiefs have told all black cab drivers their licenses will be revoked on January 1, 2020, if their cars do not meet tough emissions standards.
The authority has claimed cabs – which queue in ranks with engines running – were partly responsible for the city centre’s levels of nitrogen dioxide, which causes an estimated 900 premature deaths a year in Birmingham.
But drivers said they would be driven out of business if they were forced to switch to eco-friendly vehicles such as electric cabs costing around £55,000, plus credit costs.
TOA boss Manawar Hussain said some workers were still paying for £35,000 cabs bought within the last few years in the expectation they could be used for a decade.
“We are all in favour of cleaner air, drivers are working and breathing it in with everyone else,” he said.
“This will be devastating to both the drivers – who have to pay up or give up – and the public and businesses who rely on our cabs.
“We could have as few as 70 cars on the road.”
Mr Hussain said cabs were a lifeline to many disabled people and claimed the council had refused to consider allowing existing cabs to be retrofitted with hydrogen fuel systems at a cost of less than £1,000.
http://bit.ly/2ntbvVJ
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