CYPRUS

A new application, Taxify, which is being launched on Wednesday in Nicosia is expected to revolutionise the taxi sector in Cyprus.

The app allows users to set their location and see where the nearest partner taxi is and order it. The taxi can be tracked heading to the customer’s location and indicates how long far away it is and how long it will take to arrive.

Customers can also track their routes while inside the cab, preventing drivers from taking longer routes and overcharging for trips. Customers will also be able to pay via their phones.

Taxify, which is being used in Europe already will start operating in the capital, with an expansion of services to the whole island planned in the near future.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the application was created in Estonia and has been a great success in Europe, Central America and Africa. With 5 million users in 30 countries and with transactions over $ 1 billion, it is today the most rapidly growing technology company in Europe.

Sotiris Tigarides, head of the service in Cyprus, said the company will use only registered taxis with professional taxi drivers who are mostly self-employed and will be able to continue to work with both existing taxi offices and Taxify.

Customer safety and the legal aspects of the industry will be a priority, he said.
The app will offer different payment methods and has a ratings utility. It is available for Android, iOS and Windows phones.

Drivers are charged a commission of only 15 per cent, while other, similar applications charge 25 to 30 per cent, he explained.

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Taxi drivers in Bristol are being offered a ‘package of incentives’ by the city council, which is seeking to boost the number of cleaner and low emission taxis operating within the city.

The council is aiming to see as many as 100 Hackney Carriage owners switch to low emission models, following an award of £449,500 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The incentives are being offered over a five-year period totalling £3,635 per proprietor, which will cover subsidies for a number of fees that are required for operating a taxi in Bristol.

Included within the five-year package are £187 per year for licencing fees, a £50 per year certificate of conformity fee, and a permit to operate at Temple Meads Railway Station, totalling £490 per year.

The subsidy announcement coincides with the current implementation of a vehicle licensing policy aimed at improving vehicle emissions that requires between 250 and 300 Hackney Carriages to be ULEVs or fitted with Euro VI standard engines.

According to the city council, should the incentives be taken up by taxi drivers, the city could benefit from a 20% reduction in emissions across the whole taxi fleet.

Councillor Mhairi Threlfall, cabinet member for transport at Bristol city council, said: “It is great news that we were successful in our bid for government funding, which will allow us to help our taxi drivers to buy electric vehicles and reduce pollution in the city.

“Hackney Carriage taxis play an important role in Bristol’s public transport system, often providing trips that are difficult to replace by other modes of transport, such as trips for elderly and disabled people.

“However, frequent travel in the central area and higher level of idling means that they do also make a significant contribution to the current unacceptable levels of air pollution in the city, which we are determined to reduce.

“We also realise that running a business often involves juggling lots of different costs, so this scheme of financial subsidies will make it much easier for our taxi drivers to make an immediate difference to our air quality by switching to electric or low emission vehicles.”

Clean Air Zone

Bristol city council has recently outlined its five potential options for the establishment of a clean air zone within the city, which include options based around either a small or medium-sized ‘Class C’ or ‘Class D’ charging clean air zone in the centre of the city, which could levy a charge for the use of buses and coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles, heavy and lights goods vehicles, and potentially also private cars (see airqualitynews.com story).

A final proposal is expected to be put forward later this year, with an expected 2019 rollout of the scheme.

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NEWBURY

 A taxi driver has had to pay more than £2,000 in fines and costs for breaking licensing rules.

Arshad Khaliq, 46 years old, of Martin Road, Slough had to cough up after he admitted plying for hire and driving an unlicensed vehicle while working in Newbury, Berkshire.

Mr Khaliq was caught working in a taxi rank in Newbury while driving a vehicle for which the licence had expired.

Despite no longer having a valid licence, Mr Khaliq continued to use the vehicle, and was caught doing so on three separate occasions between the end of July and beginning of August 2017.

Mr Khaliq also failed to display correct livery for the vehicle.

He was found to have broken the laws regulating taxi drivers following an investigation by the Public Protection Partnership (PPP).

He was sentenced for his crimes at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 13.
At the hearing, Mr Khaliq admitted to three offences of plying for hire and driving or standing on a taxi rank with an unlicensed vehicle.
Mr Khaliq received a fine of £1,125 and was ordered to pay a contribution towards the council’s costs of £1,500 as well as a victim surcharge of £37 amounting to a total of £2,662.

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TYNESIDE


 Masked and carrying machetes: The gang who targeted Tyneside taxi drivers
"Arrogant and violent", that's how police have described a gang who used machetes and fake guns to rob taxi drivers across Tyneside.

Three men pretended to be customers and got into the back of taxis before pulling on masks and revealing their weapons once the car had moved away. The three men have been jailed for a total of 26 years.

Detectives said they targeted the drivers when they were most vulnerable, working alone at night.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how all three men were 'obsessed' with illegal weapons and posted videos brandishing them on social media.

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