COLCHESTER

Proposals to install CCTV cameras in all taxi and private high vehicles operating in Colchester have been opposed by owners and drivers in the town.

The borough council plans have been opposed by many drivers and taxi operators over the high cost - but now a compromise may be on the way.

Taxi and limousine drivers are the most likely workers to die a violent death on the job, a CDC report has shown. Compared to other workers, they have an increased risk of such deaths because they work with cash, with the public, alone and during nighttime hours.

In order to help safeguard taxi drivers, as well as the public when disputes arise, Colchester Borough Council, the licensing authority, is planning to update its policies to include more rules.

One key element is introducing compulsory CCTV in all cabs next year. But the town’s drivers and owners are up in arms.

Clive Woolgar of Five Sevens Taxis in Colchester said: “The drivers are 100% against the council system. It is the main topic every day in the office.

“We are not against CCTV.I have it in my cab and my son has put his in two years ago. It does protect the driver, if he gets a complaint against him he can prove what happened.

“But drivers don’t want to spend nearly £600 on a council system with CBC in the car, which the driver has no access to.

“You can pick up a CCTV system for £70 and get it installed for another £30, that is £100.”

Colchester councillor Mike Lilley, whose responsibilities include planning, public safety and licensing, said: “We are out to consultation on these changes and getting feedback.

“CCTV is something all the drivers, Hackney cabs and private hire, agree it is a good idea.

“It does protect the driver, as well as the public. If there is a dispute, CCTV would allow us to investigate.

“There are occasions where passengers run off without paying, or drivers are abused, and it would provide evidence.”

Cllr Lilley added that the problem for the owners and the drivers is the cost of up to £500 for the system which was recommend to the authority.

“Some drivers already have CCTV,” he said. “We have listened to them. I think we will change the policy so we can allow the drivers and owners to buy the system that they want, so long as it does conform, and that it is a HD system we can use to prosecute.”

http://www.eadt.co.uk/business/colchester-cabs-to-have-cctv-essex-taxi-drivers-to-get-cameras-in-cabs-1-5706543
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WIRRAL

 A cabbie has revealed the 'dire' state of the industry, and said an increase in fares of up a third approved by Wirral Council on Wednesday was 'completely fair and justified.'

David Vose was speaking after a rise approved by Wirral Council saw black cab fares rise, but said it would help overworked black cab drivers on 80-hour weeks just to make a simple wage.

He said: “What people don’t understand is the outgoings and costs we have. The industry isn’t rolling in money – we are actually often working below the minimum wage.

“I did a feasibility study in 2010 showing it takes over 32 hours to cover just the costs and your wage, and that’s got a lot worse since 2010 to where we are now.

“Sometimes people jump in a cab to go round the corner and they’re not happy that it’s a £4.50 fee, but they don’t realise we’ve waited an hour for that job.

“I think this rise is completely fair and justified.”

Mr Vose has been driving Hackney Carriages for 28 years, and also gave his views on why the industry in Wirral, in particular, has suffered.

He said: “The industry is in the worst state now that I’ve ever seen it. The main reason is that Birkenhead is in decline. There’s no investment being put into the town. We’ve lost out ever since Liverpool became the Capital of Culture in 2008.

“We just started to go downhill. People would go out in the evening and to the theatre and places like that, but never in Birkenhead or Wirral, always Liverpool.

“There’s no investment being put into Birkenhead at all. In 2010, my rank was doing 2.17 jobs per hour. Now we are 1.5 jobs per hour.

“Drivers are working in excess of 80 hours per week just to make a decent wage. It affects your quality of life, working day and night.”

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting, Unite representative Derek Cummins said while the rise seemed “quite excessive”, it was needed as there has only been a '20p increase in seven years.'

The decision means a one-mile journey on the night tariff will increase from £4.30 to £5.40 – by 25.6%.

A one-mile journey on the normal day rate tariff will rise from £4 to £4.60.

For a one-mile trip on public and bank holidays, that will mean a 14.3% increase from £4.90 to £5.60, while on the Christmas and New Year tariff, that will see a 37.5% rise – from £6.40 to £8.80.

Councillors at Wednesday’s licensing, health and safety and general purposes committee unanimously approved the rise, with costs effective from November 1.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the committee unanimously agreed to keep its cap on the number of Hackney carriage vehicle licences in Wirral to 289.

https://goo.gl/2rj1q8

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MUNICH


In Munich, taxi drivers have been holding a demonstration against whet they describe as ‘cheap copies’ such as the major ride-hailing firms.




 At Munich airport, for example, the taxi drivers have to wait in line for long, unproductive periods, whereas the drivers of other services do not. One representative of the drivers said that taxis are part of the overall public service network.

All of this comes at a time when Lufthansa and start-up Mytaxi are beginning a test phase allowing passengers to pre-book a car to the city centre via an app.

https://goo.gl/WPbKg8
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READING


A TAXI driver has been jailed for 14 years after admitting to a series of sex attacks on drunk and vulnerable customers.

Ruhen Miah, 42, of Newbury, Berkshire, used his job as a licensed taxi driver to attack four women who were trying to get home after nights out in Newbury town centre.

Judge Angela Morris, sentencing at Reading Crown Court, told Miah that some of the victims were "so intoxicated they had no chance of defending themselves".

Morris said there was "a degree of targeting" in Miah's behaviour and he had abused the trust not just of his victims but also friends who had put them in his taxi and urged him to get them home safely.

Miah was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for rape, five years for assault by penetration, eight years for an attempted rape and 18 months each for two counts of sexual assault.

He had previously pleaded guilty to all counts. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

https://goo.gl/JMGXZ8