Two South Yorkshire taxi drivers have been accused of rape, 15 have been accused of sexually assaulting women and three others have been accused of sex attacks on men over the last three years, new figures reveal.

The 20 incidents reported to South Yorkshire Police led to five drivers being charged, according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act.

In four of the cases suspects were never identified and in two the victims would not co-operate with police investigations.

With eight of the cases, suspects were identified but there was a lack of evidence for anyone to be prosecuted.

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Steven Ashmore said: “Any allegations of sexual offences are taken incredibly seriously by South Yorkshire Police.

“We want victims of sexual crimes to feel confident to come forward and report offences to police so they can receive support and offenders can be apprehended and, wherever possible, prosecuted.

“The occupation of a suspect does not impact upon the police investigation into alleged sexual offences, as we thoroughly investigate all allegations of this nature to ensure the safety of the public.

“Quite rightly, though, the public expect to feel safe when using any of the region’s licensed taxi companies and we work closely with local authorities and other partner agencies across South Yorkshire to address any issues and raise any concerns."

Sheffield Council said it takes 'offences committed by licensed drivers extremely seriously' and once charged by the police drivers are suspended.

A spokeswoman said: “The licensing service at Sheffield City Council works closely with Sheffield Safeguarding Service and Children and Adults Board. We share information with each other and the police. Each case will be investigated.

“If the police bring charges against a license holder we will suspend them.

“Allegations may lead to further investigation by licensing officers, and then a decision will be taken as to the appropriate action to take, which can be immediate suspension.

“The individual can appeal the decision but we do not allow them to carry on working.
“In Sheffield we have high standards in relation to the licensing of vehicles and drivers
“If you apply for a hackney carriage or a private hire drivers licence you must undergo a DBS criminal records check to ensure that anyone who orders a taxi can be sure they are safe.

“Drivers are trained to observe a code of conduct, a breach can now lead to disciplinary procedures. Additionally we work with our taxi drivers to make sure they know how to identify suspicious behaviours and who to contact if they have any concerns.”

In Rotherham, of 24 licences revoked by Rotherham Council over recent years, 14 were for 'sexually inappropriate comments or conversations'.

CCTV cameras are fitted in all taxis licensed in the town.

Councillor Sue Ellis, Chairman of Rotherham Council’s Licensing Board, said: “We take all allegations of Rotherham Council licensed drivers behaving inappropriately extremely seriously.
“Drivers in Rotherham now operate to one of the most stringent policies in the country, including having cameras fitted in vehicles, and I would urge everybody to make sure that they ask for a Rotherham driver and that the camera is on and working.

“We encourage people to complain to us if they have any concerns regarding their journey in a Rotherham taxi. We want people to report any issues so that we can take action to ensure everyone has a safe journey in the future.”

Two Barnsley taxi drivers have had their licences revoked for sex offences over recent years.
Councillor Roy Miller, a member of Barnsley Council's cabinet, said: “Regulatory Services take the licensing of taxi drivers very seriously and have a robust process to deal with any applications, whether it is for a new licence or renewal, and licences are refused where necessary.

"Two drivers in the Barnsley area have had their licences revoked for sex offences in recent years. Protection and safety of the public are of paramount importance, and all allegations are taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly with the appropriate action then taken and where necessary licences are suspended or revoked."

Doncaster Council did not respond.

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PLYMOUTH
A taxi driver has denied he groped a lone teenage passenger in his cab, but says he did offer a free journey to another woman after making comments about her breasts.

Florian Scripcea, aged 39, is on trial accused of touching a teenaged girl over her clothing as she sat in the front seat of his Fiat Scudo taxi.

The jury was told by prosecutors how Scripcea, of Hawkers Lane, Peverell, had touched her breasts before moving his hand down to her crotch, and then pulling her hand on to his crotch during the 15-minute journey which took place on Saturday, October 30, last year.

Taking to the stand at Plymouth Crown Court, he denied picking up the 18-year-old at a bus stop near the Lidl store in Union Street at about 2am, after the clocks had gone back.

However, he did admit a woman approached his silver-coloured Hackney cab around the same time.

The jury heard Scripcea explain how he was married with two sons aged 10 and two, and had come to the UK from Romania in 2010, bringing his family over with him shortly after beginning work as a taxi driver.

He revealed that since the alleged incident his taxi licence has not been renewed by Plymouth City Council and he had sold his vehicle.

He is now caring for his youngest son while his wife goes out to work.

Answering questions put to him by his barrister Ali Rafati, he answered in a softly-spoken voice that he did not recognise the young woman who gave evidence against him.

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An Ipswich cabby has spoken about why he refused to complete mandatory training on protecting vulnerable passengers, after this newspaper revealed 180 licensed drivers have failed to enrol on the course.

In March, Ipswich Borough Council’s licensing and regulatory committee introduced the compulsory training on child sexual exploitation, dementia awareness and disability for all existing and new taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

The deadline to complete the training was January 2018, but it has emerged that while 378 drivers have done it, 180 have failed to do so.

Last week, the Ipswich Star reported that the authority had extended the cut-off point to the end of the March – but the funding had elapsed so drivers would have to pay to take part.

Those who do not complete the training risk losing their license.

Chris Talbot, who picks up his customers from Lloyds Avenue, has refused to do the training, and said the council had dealt with the matter “aggressively”.

The 53-year-old said: “The first we heard about it was them saying you have to do this course by the end of December or you will be suspended – no consultation took place, they just made the threat.

“The problem with this is one, the council did not consider any other courses apart from Skills UK. Two, they did not at any time assess the quality of the course which is very, very poor.

Thirdly, before making the threat of suspending us if we did not do the course, they didn’t check with the course provider that they could cope with the numbers. The reason so many drivers haven’t done the course is down to the fact the course provider could not provide enough places for all the drivers to do the course by the end of the year.”

However, Stephen Connelly, chairman of licensing at Ipswich Borough Council, said there was space on the course for every driver who registered on time.

He added: “We are a responsible licensing authority and are determined to ensure that our drivers can recognise the signs of child sexual exploitation when they see it.

We believe that the safety of the travelling public is paramount and know that we are supported in this by taxi drivers across Ipswich. We have extended the deadline until the end of March to make sure all of our drivers are trained in this important area.”

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Taxi prices are set to rise in Guernsey before Christmas.

The proposed increase is 2.5% during peak times and for journeys over 4.5 miles, and will come into force on 18th December.

The rise will be the first increase since November 2015.

The increase has been worked out based on the Halcrow formula, which is the agreed basis upon which maximum fares are calculated.

The Halcrow formula uses a taxi inflation formula (40%) and an average earnings figure (60%) to produce the propose percentage increase in fares.

Tariff 1 Journeys (Mon-Fri 7am-10pm & Sat-Sun 7am-7pm):

2 mile journey will not increase and remain at £6.60

4.5 mile journey will increase by 20p to £11.40
Tariff 2 Journeys (Mon-Fri 10pm-7am & Sat-Sun 7pm-7am & Public Holidays):

2 mile journey will increase by 20p to £9.20
4 mile journey will increase by 40p to £16.00

http://www.itv.com/news/channel/2017-12-07/prices-of-taxis-in-guernsey-set-to-rise-before-christmas/
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Uber explains why it hiked fare prices after a man died at East Croydon station

But the company has not yet commented on whether customers would get refunds - which were given after a bomb scare at the station
Uber has explained why they raised their prices after a man was killed at East Croydon station and the demand of passengers needing alternative transport rose.

A 24-year-old Norwegian man was hit by the train on Monday (December 4) causing heavy delays, prompting would-be passengers to seek alternative transport.

Many people in the area took to social media to complain about the taxi company’s hiked prices in light of the tragic incident.

An account named @lawness said:

“@Uber_Support Stuck at Purley Station due to fatality on the line: your fares "a lot higher due to increased demand”. Capitalising p****s.”

The tweet included a screen shot of a fare quote of £26.33 for a six minute drive from Station Yard in Purley to the Kingswood Arms pub in Banstead.

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Uber has explained why they raised their prices after a man was killed at East Croydon station and the demand of passengers needing alternative transport rose.

A 24-year-old Norwegian man was hit by the train on Monday (December 4) causing heavy delays, prompting would-be passengers to seek alternative transport.

Many people in the area took to social media to complain about the taxi company’s hiked prices in light of the tragic incident.

An account named @lawness said: “@Uber_Support Stuck at Purley Station due to fatality on the line: your fares "a lot higher due to increased demand”. Capitalising p****s.”

Uber stated that it uses a system that automatically raises the prices when their drivers are in high demand named dynamic pricing.

Alana Saltzman, Uber communications, said: “Dynamic pricing means that fares automatically increase when the demand for cars in a specific area is greater than the cars available.

“The higher fare encourages more drivers to come into the area so there are cars available.

“As all of the licensed drivers who use the Uber app work independently, higher fares incentivise drivers to go online and move to busy areas so we can help more people get where they need to go.”

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