MONDAY IN PARLIAMENT

Caroline Lucas Green, Brighton, Pavilion (Hansard source)

(Citation: HC Deb, 26 February 2018, )

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to take urgent steps in primary legislation to create a statutory definition of cross border hiring whereby a journey must begin or end in the licensing authority area for which the vehicle, driver and operator are licensed; and if he will support this by the introduction of statutory England-wide guidance setting out minimum licensing standards; and if he will make a statement.

Reply:

Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)

At a Westminster Hall Debate last year, the Rt Hon John Hayes MP announced the formation of a Task and Finish group to consider any regulatory issues and remedies. 

The group’s remit includes considering issues such as those on national standards and whether to provide a statutory definition of plying for hire.

The proposal to restrict the locations that taxis and private hire vehicles can carry passenger from or to will also be considered as part of its deliberation.

The group has decided that more time was needed to fully consider the issues but will submit its report shortly.

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LIVERPOOL

A black cab driver who watched videos on his mobile phone while transporting BLIND people around Liverpool has been taken off the road.

Cabbie Nazeed Hyseni has had his Hackney Carriage licence suspended for 28 days by the city council after being found to have failed to ensure the safety of his passengers.

Hyensi, 34, of Canon Road, Anfield, picked up a party of four outside Lime Street Station in March of last year.

Three of the party were registered blind, with one having a guide dog.

The passengers, who were all in their 60s, were travelling to Old Swan.

Licensing Committee members heard that during the journey, the fully-sighted member of the party became aware that Hyseni had his mobile phone switched on and was watching videos on his lap as he drove.

The passengers claimed that when they urged the cabbie to concentrate on his driving he ignored them.

When the party got out of the taxi they told Hyseni that he was not going to be given a tip because they were unhappy with his service, to which he replied: “It’s none of your business.”

One of the passengers immediately complained to the City Council’s Licensing Team.

Hyseni was asked to make a statement about the incident.

He denied the allegation, claiming he was unaware that his phone was on his lap and claimed that the passengers were rude to him.

The committee rejected Hyseni’s version of events, banning him from working as a taxi driver in the city for 28 days.

He initially appealed against the ruling to the City’s Magistrates Court.

When this was rejected he appealed to the Crown Court, which again rejected his appeal.

Presiding over the appeal, Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said Hyseni should never have appealed the Committee’s decision.

Judge Cummings went on to describe Hyseni’s conduct as ‘disgraceful’, before telling him to: “wake up to his responsibilities as a taxi driver”.

The Judge also praised the passengers for their public spirit in complaining which would help protect other passengers from experiencing a similar journey.

As well as being taken off the road, Hyseni was ordered to pay the council’s full legal costs.


Welcoming the decision, Chair of Liverpool City Council’s Licensing Committee, Councillor Christine Banks said: “This was clearly a distressing ordeal for the passengers. Hyseni’s actions put their safety and the safety of other road users and pedestrians at risk. As a consequence he has lost his livelihood for 28 days and will be faced with a hefty legal bill.”

Cllr Banks added: “We take incidents such as this extremely seriously and we hope it sends the message that we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour.”

http://bit.ly/2oCgS2e
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EASY RIDE JAPAN

  Field testing for the new robo taxi service being put together by Nissan and DeNA in Japan — which has been dubbed “Easy Ride” — will begin on March 5th, a new press release has revealed.

During initial field testing, service will be limited to the Minatomirai district of Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), with service only available along set (but popular) routes, until further expansions.

The route in question, a 4.5 kilometer span between Nissan’s global headquarters and the Yokohama World Porters shopping center, was presumably chosen because of its utility to Nissan employees. It’ll be easier, of course, to collect detailed data and feedback from them than from the general public.

The Easy Ride pilot service will be monitored via a new, dedicated remote monitoring center — one utilizing both Nissan and DeNA tech.

The press release provides more:

“Nissan and DeNA will also test Easy Ride’s unique service functions. Using a dedicated mobile app, passengers can input what they want to do via text or voice and choose from a list of recommended destinations. An in-car tablet screen will show selections of nearly 500 recommended places of interest and events in the vicinity. 
Additionally, about 40 discount coupons for retailers and restaurants in the area are available for download on the participants’ own smartphones.

“Participants will be asked to complete a survey about their overall user experience, usage of content and coupons from local retailers and restaurants, and preferred pricing for the Easy Ride service. Nissan and DeNA will use the survey results as they continue to develop the offering, and for future field tests.”

This initial pilot program service will allow Nissan and DeNA to further develop and fine-tune its future service route plans, the hailing process and drop off process, best-practices regarding vehicle distribution, multilingual support, etc., according to the press release.

Full service is reportedly expected to be rolled out in Japan in the early 2020s, possibly in time for the Olympics.

http://bit.ly/2CO2NUu
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 SOUTHPORT

A taxi driver is wanted by police after a teenage passenger claimed she was sexually assaulted,

The 19-year-old victim had been out in Southport with a friend before getting into the taxi to go back home.

The alleged victim reported that during the journey, on December 23 at around 3am, she was sexually touched by the driver.

She was not injured in the assault but police said she was left “distressed” by the ordeal.

Detective Constable Dave Tweedle said: “We’ve issued the CCTV image of a man we believe could have crucial information to help us piece together the circumstances surrounding this incident.

“The young girl has been left feeling understandably vulnerable and violated and that’s why we need to establish exactly what happened that night and bring justice to the victim.

“It’s on occasions like this that we rely on the public to come together and help us with our enquiries. If you have any information or recognise the man from the CCTV, we urge you to get in touch.

“For those living, working and visiting all areas of Merseyside, we continue to advise you to always use licensed taxis, preferably arranging this before you travel, stay with your friends and let someone know where you are going, who with and when you’ve arrived safely.

“We hope this reassures the victim and the wider public that incidents like this are rare and we’ll do everything we can to protect all those who feel they are a victim of a similar crime.”


Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police CC.

http://bit.ly/2t1RWGS