London Assembly member Keith Prince puts Mayor Khan on the spot over 'sponsored' Via Van on demand Bus service;
https://twitter.com/KeithPrinceAM/status/1100449760882888706
https://londonist.com/london/transport/tfl-on-demand-bus-service-app-sutton
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BIRMINGHAM
Last week the council's licensing committee published an update to their plans for a Clean Air Zone in the city centre, with particular emphasis on the arrangements around Hackney Carriage Vehicles (HCV).
According to city council figures, only 72 of the 1,265 Hackney Carriages licensed to operate in the city will be compliant with the new emission standards being imposed by the pollution charge from January 2020.
Following meetings last week the Rail and Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), which represents HCV drivers, announced a series of 'go slow' protests across the city centre, in protest at the costs being imposed on drivers to convert their vehicles to meet emissions standards.
However, following discussions on Friday (February 22), RMT representative Raja Amin said that the protests had been postponed after the council made some concessions on their proposals.
What concessions were made?
These included :
Removing the emission standard of Euro 4 and Euro 6 and replacing it with a 'strict vehicle ageing policy'.
Increasing the age limit on HCV's from 14 to 15 years.
Allowing any HCV that is less than 15 years old and any Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) that is less than 12 years old to work until such time as it reaches its age limit.
Any vehicle that does not reach the standards would be able to keep working until they reach their age limit, but would have to pay the daily Clean Air Zone charge.
Any HCV that is suitable for an LPG conversion can be converted regardless of its age, provided that its physical condition is structurally sound and it will last until December 2025.
A HCV will be able to carrying on working after 1st January 2020 if it has entered into a binding contract for an LPG conversion.
"Well as you saw, after the first 12 points were sent out last Wednesday we announced a dispute with Birmingham City Council and gave them some dates from Monday to Friday for two weeks where we’d drive slow in the area," he said.
https://bit.ly/2Ez3CVi
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PLYMOUTH
Councillors are being given the option to set a lower rise in fees paid by Plymouth taxi drivers after an outcry at the size of a planned increase.
In mid-January the city council published a draft set of new fees for hackney carriage and private hire drivers which in some cases were up by more than 80 per cent.
The size of the rise led to noisy protests by taxi drivers who twice drove in convoy through the city centre to highlight their opposition to the changes.
For hackney drivers, it was proposed that a one-year black cab licence goes from £210 to £342 and a one-year driver’s licence from £112 to £165.
A one-year private hire vehicle licence was proposed to go from £117 to £170, with a one-year driver’s licence going from £82 to £120.
Now officers have come up with alternative proposals including lower increases to the main charges.
Both options will be considered by councillors on the taxi licensing sub-committee on Thursday.
Hackney carriages are the black cabs that pick up from taxi ranks and can be hailed in the street, while private hire taxis have to be booked in advance.
Both categories are licensed and regulated by the city council, and it also sets fares for hackney carriages.
The council service including enforcement has to be self-financing, and the city council says the rises are needed to balance the books.
The new fees are due to come into force on March 1.
https://bit.ly/2BUXPHU
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BISHOP AUCKLAND
A WOMAN punched a taxi driver and smashed up his car with a walking stick in a fit of drunken anger after realising she did not have the means to pay the fare on New Year's Eve, a court heard.
Lauren Ashley Kirsopp, 22, of Davies Street, Ferryhill, then kicked a police officer following her arrest.
She admitted charges of assault by beating, criminal damage and assault of an emergency worker, when she appeared before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe yesterday.
Kayleigh Hellen, prosecuting, said: "The defendant has gone into a taxi at 10.05pm on New Year's Eve at Bishop Auckland market place.
"The fare was agreed but when the destination was reached the defendant became abusive and aggressive before punching the taxi driver.
"She has then climbed from the vehicle and smashed it with a walking stick."
The court heard the windscreen was cracked, a wiper damaged and there were large dents all over the bodywork.
When she was later arrested, in the early hours of New Year's Day, she was taken to Bishop Auckland police station where she assaulted a police officer by kicking him once in the leg.
A victim impact statement from the taxi driver said: "This was the busiest night of the year for business. I lost a full night's work. They were my first paying customers and there was £1,000 worth of damage done to my taxi. I feel very vulnerable as an individual. I didn't expect this. This has never happened before but now I feel emotionally drained and upset about what happened."
Ms Hellen said Kirsopp had taken part in restorative justice, where she met her police officer victim face to face and answered questions through a third party for the taxi driver victim. She had also written letters of apology.
Kirsopp, who was representing herself, said: "I needed a taxi to Coundon. It was all because I didn't have enough money for the taxi. I had been drinking all day. it was totally out of character. I got in the taxi and I didn't have the right money and I kicked off."
She said that she was planning on seeking help for anger management issues and other mental health problems.
"I shouldn't have took it out on the taxi driver," she added. "I didn't realise how much it had affected both the taxi driver and the police officer."
https://bit.ly/2TmvDHG
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