MERSEYSIDE
A 100TH taxi driver has been arrested for drink or drug driving on Merseyside in less than a year.
Police announced yesterday on social media that the "unfortunate milestone" had been reached, tweeting out an image of a vehicle stopped at the side of the road.
The force's tweet, sent out from the Roads Policing Unit account, said: "Unfortunate milestone today! This is the 100th licensed driver arrested for drink (8) or Drug (92) drive since May!"
The number includes both Hackney carriage drivers and private hire vehicles.
The post said a total of 48 of those had been Liverpool drivers, 33 from Sefton, 14 from Knowsley and five from other regions.
It added: "We will carry on working hard to support the majority of legal drivers in the trade."
The news follows a scheme over Christmas named Operation Nemesis that saw roadside checks carried out across Merseyside for the fourth consecutive festive season.
That operation saw 19 arrested throughout the month, leading Inspector Keith Kellett to warn: "Drug driving is a serious offence and leaves our communities vulnerable.
"All motorists have a duty of care to themselves, those they are travelling with and other road users which is why it is particularly important that taxi drivers and private hire companies consider the risks they may be putting themselves and others in if they’re found to be driving whilst using drugs."
What's the law on drug driving?
The law states that it's illegal to drive if either the person is unfit to do so because they're on legal or illegal drugs, or they have certain levels of illegal drugs in the blood – even if they haven't affected the person's driving.
The police can stop drivers and make them do a 'field impairment assessment' if they think the driver is on drugs.
That means a series of tests, like asking the driver to walk in a straight line.
They can also use roadside drug kits to screen for cannabis and cocaine.
https://bit.ly/2U1wBKH
-------------------------------
RUNCORN
Cabbies woke up shocked this morning to find the windows of at an estimated five taxis had been smashed overnight during a suspected theft spree in Runcorn.
Apec Taxis said four of its vehicles had been targeted plus an independent vehicle in Halton Brook, Halton Lodge and around the Town Hall estate including Stenhills Crescent.
Michael Holland, the firm’s secretary, said the incidents would take five taxis out of action for up to two days for cleaning and repairs meaning a loss of income.
Taxi-driving couple Mel and Julie Snelson also had their wheelchair-access black cab targeted, with the culprit making off with two coats but leaving a satnav and dashcam behind.
Their son Dan Snelson captured CCTV of a hooded suspect trying to open the door of a vehicle.
They said a disabled-access taxi was among those targeted overnight.
Police are now investigating and said they received three reports of thefts from vehicles.
Mr Holland said: "The drivers have gone out to go to work to find their windows smashed, all round Halton Brook and Town Hall estate.
"One of our drivers has CCTV footage and he’s come back and looked at it.
"You can actually see a youngish-type gentleman doing it.
"All four of the cabs are out of action until they can get the glass cleaned out and the replacement windows.
"Some could be off for a day or off for a couple of days.
"Some are London-type taxis and they’re quite rare now, so we’d have to go to a specialist."
A Cheshire police spokesman said: "Officers are investigating reports of three thefts from motor vehicles in Runcorn.
"All of the incidents involved taxis and are believed to have occurred between 4pm, Tuesday, March 26, and 8am on Wednesday, March 27.
"Anyone with any information which may assist the investigation is asked to contact Cheshire police on 101 quoting IML 357911."
Alternatively information can be provided online or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
https://bit.ly/2CCqNfN
Wednesday 27 March 2019
Tuesday 26 March 2019
LIVERPOOL
Black cab drivers in Liverpool say they are being "bullied" into accepting card payments ahead of council plans to make it a mandatory requirement.
The council's licensing committee are set to approve a new law requiring ALL Hackney carriages to install a £280 card payment facility - despite fears expressed by taxi drivers that it would harm their trade.
Those against the plans have argued that as self-employed workers they should not be forced to pay for it, with some suggesting there is not enough demand for card payments from customers to justify the costs.
More than half (58%) who responded to a consultation on the proposals said they didn't think it would be a good idea, while 62% said it would not encourage more people to use black cabs, and 79% said they didn't think it should be a mandatory requirement.
In a list of objections, drivers said they should have the choice as to whether or not they offer card payments, with one person accusing the council of bullying self-employed workers into harmful decisions.
One representation said: "I think the trade is being bullied into decisions which will have financial problems to owners/drivers. If it’s not broken don’t fix it."
Another said: "Should be up to the driver if he wants card reader not compulsory, going to cost drivers £280 we pay enough out at present."
Hackney carriage drivers aren't happy about the city council's proposals
A third said: "In over 30 years I have never been asked for card payment, if installed open to fraud and non-payment, card invalid etc."
And a fourth said: "The council should not force taxi owners to pay for card readers. It should be encouraged but not enforced. No other business is forced to take card payments."
If the plans go ahead, Hackney drivers will have 12 months to install a card reader in the passenger compartment.
Original proposals suggested a time frame of six months, but this has been extended as a result of the "unfavourable responses" to the consultation.
The equipment will have to meet required standards and owners of the vehicles will be advised of the choices of devices available to use.
Some drivers said the council should provide the equipment if they want card readers to be part of taxi services in the city, while others said they should be able to choose their own cheaper methods of processing card payments.
But justifying the plans, Aziz Musa, licensing and regulatory officer, said it would improve standards of Hackney carriages in line with modern times.
In a letter to the city council, Mr Musa said card payments would be an easier and quicker method of payment for taxis and would improve public safety by removing the need to stop off and get cash late at night.
https://bit.ly/2HVg1ou
------------------------------
MANCHESTER
A helpless taxi driver watched as five vandals smashed up his cab outside his home in Crumpsall.
Nasar Rashid, 48, was woken up by his young son who told him "there's some people and they're smashing the car up".
He then watched the yobs damage his Citreon Grand Picasso by striking the back windows.
The dad-of-five works for Street Cars - a private-hire taxi firm.
But he will now have to take the next three days off while he waits for his car to be fixed.
The incident happened on Hazelbottom Road in Crumpsall at around 11.30pm on Sunday night.
"I was asleep, I work early morning shifts so I was just at home. My son woke me up and said 'there's some people and they're smashing the car up'", Mr Rashid said.
"I looked through the window and there was about five lads. I rang the police. They said to make sure that I don't go outside. I had to watch the whole thing."
Luckily the yobs didn't manage to smash the windows fully or take anything from inside.
But the taxi driver says he's left feeling scared after the incident.
He told the M.E.N he's spoken to the council about the high number of thefts in the local area.
The incident happened on Hazelbottom Road in Crumpsall
Mr Rashid added: "I'm fully insured but it's going to be at least three days before it's fixed and I am out of work.
"I've got five kids and it's not fair. It makes us scared to go outside and leave our own home. I am still waiting to hear from the police today."
Police confirmed they are investigating.
https://bit.ly/2I0z2ps
----------------------------------
SWINDON
MORE highly polluting taxi cabs could be forced off the roads under mooted borough council plans.
Taxi drivers have called on Swindon Borough Council to bear in mind the high cost of new vehicles, urging officers to ensure the trade remains financially viable.
As part of plans to tackle illegal air pollution levels at the top of Kingshill Road, the borough has suggested tightening up licensing rules to reduce emissions.
Currently, nitrogen dioxide levels on the road need to be cut by a third to bring them below legal limits.The totem measure of an air quality management plan rubber stamped by Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet last week is a proposal to ban heavy goods vehicles from the road.
However, also mentioned in the plan is a potential change to taxi licensing regulations.
There are 1,000 private hire cars vehicles and 104 hackney carriages in the town, they said. “It is not known what proportion of the traffic on this road is a taxi or hackney carriage, but it is clear that the road is an important route into and out of Old Town, and so private hire and hackney cab vehicles will make up a meaningful part.”
By 2024, the deadline given to Swindon council to fix pollution problems, the majority of taxi cabs would be compliant with stringent emission regulations - known as Euro 6. Under the regulations, introduced in 2014, diesel cabs should produce no more than 80 microgrammes of nitrogen dioxide per kilometre travelled.
The council plan said: “We will put forward proposals to the Licensing Committee to improve the emissions of the taxi and hackney carriage fleet through licence conditions; beyond that already mandated.” In a table of potential measures, the council lists as a potential success measure whether all hackney carriages are run on electricity or alternative fuels by 2024.
Andy Lucas of the Swindon Taxi Association stressed the importance of Swindon Borough Council speaking to drivers about the plans: “We need to be fully included in any consultation on pollution reduction measures and understand that this will be discussed at our next regular forum meeting with the Council. Many taxis are required to be wheelchair accessible and all new taxis are Euro 6 compliant.”
New cabs can cost £30,000 to £50,000: “The council must pay regard to the high cost of these vehicles and take a balanced view when making recommendations, so our trade remains viable.”
Responding, a Swindon Borough Council spokesman confirmed officers would be consulting cab drivers. “We believe that the Air Quality Action Plan shows what needs to be done to improve air quality along Kingshill Road. This follows engagement with local residents, businesses and councillors.
“We have already started to progress the actions to improve air quality and have implemented a relatively small, but significant, change by altering the time we collect waste along Kingshill Road so it coincides with a much quieter time of the day.
“We will also engage with a number of partners and clearly taxi and Hackney Carriage drivers are an important stakeholder group who we will be speaking to in the near future as we continue our push to improve air quality in Swindon.”
https://bit.ly/2HWqiRA
----------------------------------
BRADFORD’S taxi drivers have launched a new scheme offering discounted trips in an effort to save people money and also reduce the number of ‘empty’ trips drivers make.
The Hackney Carriage Association, with the approval of Bradford Council, has started the new campaign, and is hoping to get as many drivers on board in the coming weeks as possible.
Members of the public travelling into Bradford city centre will now be able flag down taxis heading back into the centre if they are empty, and will only be charged £1 per person for the trip.
All people have to do is look out for taxis displaying signage which reads, “Going to town? Flag me down” to take advantage of the offer.
It only applies for journeys into Bradford city centre, and does not apply to private hire cars. Trips from the city centre will be charged at the normal fare rate.
Mohammed Khan, chair of the Hackney Carriage Association, said he hopes the new scheme will reduce the number of “empty” trips drivers have to make - journeys carrying no passengers - and also offer people affordable travel into the city centre.
He said: “We were just waiting to get formal approval from Bradford Council to put banners in our taxis.
“We are licensed to be flagged down in the street, and it will cost only £1 per person for people going into the city centre.
“A lot of our drivers are interested in signing up, and we have more than 30 drivers signed up so far.
“We are hoping to get as many drivers as possible signed up soon so people don’t miss out on the offer.”
A spokesperson for Bradford Council said the authority welcomes the new scheme.
She said: “The Hackney Carriage Association sets fares with the local authority.
“We welcome their recent proposal which will allow people to flag down and use vehicles who are returning to the city centre as it will reduce the number of trips being made without passengers who can also benefit from a reduced fare.
“Taxis can offer a reduced fare but they cannot offer a fare above what has been approved.”
According to Bradford Council’s Hackney Carriage Conditions and Standards, “two children under the age of ten years shall be regarded as one person, and children under the age of three years shall not be reckoned, provided they are accompanied by an adult”.
There are a maximum of 222 Hackney Carriage drivers in Bradford, all of whom have to pass driver training modules, hold a valid DBS and be fit to drive.
Black cab drivers in Liverpool say they are being "bullied" into accepting card payments ahead of council plans to make it a mandatory requirement.
The council's licensing committee are set to approve a new law requiring ALL Hackney carriages to install a £280 card payment facility - despite fears expressed by taxi drivers that it would harm their trade.
Those against the plans have argued that as self-employed workers they should not be forced to pay for it, with some suggesting there is not enough demand for card payments from customers to justify the costs.
More than half (58%) who responded to a consultation on the proposals said they didn't think it would be a good idea, while 62% said it would not encourage more people to use black cabs, and 79% said they didn't think it should be a mandatory requirement.
In a list of objections, drivers said they should have the choice as to whether or not they offer card payments, with one person accusing the council of bullying self-employed workers into harmful decisions.
One representation said: "I think the trade is being bullied into decisions which will have financial problems to owners/drivers. If it’s not broken don’t fix it."
Another said: "Should be up to the driver if he wants card reader not compulsory, going to cost drivers £280 we pay enough out at present."
Hackney carriage drivers aren't happy about the city council's proposals
A third said: "In over 30 years I have never been asked for card payment, if installed open to fraud and non-payment, card invalid etc."
And a fourth said: "The council should not force taxi owners to pay for card readers. It should be encouraged but not enforced. No other business is forced to take card payments."
If the plans go ahead, Hackney drivers will have 12 months to install a card reader in the passenger compartment.
Original proposals suggested a time frame of six months, but this has been extended as a result of the "unfavourable responses" to the consultation.
The equipment will have to meet required standards and owners of the vehicles will be advised of the choices of devices available to use.
Some drivers said the council should provide the equipment if they want card readers to be part of taxi services in the city, while others said they should be able to choose their own cheaper methods of processing card payments.
But justifying the plans, Aziz Musa, licensing and regulatory officer, said it would improve standards of Hackney carriages in line with modern times.
In a letter to the city council, Mr Musa said card payments would be an easier and quicker method of payment for taxis and would improve public safety by removing the need to stop off and get cash late at night.
https://bit.ly/2HVg1ou
------------------------------
MANCHESTER
A helpless taxi driver watched as five vandals smashed up his cab outside his home in Crumpsall.
Nasar Rashid, 48, was woken up by his young son who told him "there's some people and they're smashing the car up".
He then watched the yobs damage his Citreon Grand Picasso by striking the back windows.
The dad-of-five works for Street Cars - a private-hire taxi firm.
But he will now have to take the next three days off while he waits for his car to be fixed.
The incident happened on Hazelbottom Road in Crumpsall at around 11.30pm on Sunday night.
"I was asleep, I work early morning shifts so I was just at home. My son woke me up and said 'there's some people and they're smashing the car up'", Mr Rashid said.
"I looked through the window and there was about five lads. I rang the police. They said to make sure that I don't go outside. I had to watch the whole thing."
Luckily the yobs didn't manage to smash the windows fully or take anything from inside.
But the taxi driver says he's left feeling scared after the incident.
He told the M.E.N he's spoken to the council about the high number of thefts in the local area.
The incident happened on Hazelbottom Road in Crumpsall
Mr Rashid added: "I'm fully insured but it's going to be at least three days before it's fixed and I am out of work.
"I've got five kids and it's not fair. It makes us scared to go outside and leave our own home. I am still waiting to hear from the police today."
Police confirmed they are investigating.
https://bit.ly/2I0z2ps
----------------------------------
SWINDON
MORE highly polluting taxi cabs could be forced off the roads under mooted borough council plans.
Taxi drivers have called on Swindon Borough Council to bear in mind the high cost of new vehicles, urging officers to ensure the trade remains financially viable.
As part of plans to tackle illegal air pollution levels at the top of Kingshill Road, the borough has suggested tightening up licensing rules to reduce emissions.
Currently, nitrogen dioxide levels on the road need to be cut by a third to bring them below legal limits.The totem measure of an air quality management plan rubber stamped by Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet last week is a proposal to ban heavy goods vehicles from the road.
However, also mentioned in the plan is a potential change to taxi licensing regulations.
There are 1,000 private hire cars vehicles and 104 hackney carriages in the town, they said. “It is not known what proportion of the traffic on this road is a taxi or hackney carriage, but it is clear that the road is an important route into and out of Old Town, and so private hire and hackney cab vehicles will make up a meaningful part.”
By 2024, the deadline given to Swindon council to fix pollution problems, the majority of taxi cabs would be compliant with stringent emission regulations - known as Euro 6. Under the regulations, introduced in 2014, diesel cabs should produce no more than 80 microgrammes of nitrogen dioxide per kilometre travelled.
The council plan said: “We will put forward proposals to the Licensing Committee to improve the emissions of the taxi and hackney carriage fleet through licence conditions; beyond that already mandated.” In a table of potential measures, the council lists as a potential success measure whether all hackney carriages are run on electricity or alternative fuels by 2024.
Andy Lucas of the Swindon Taxi Association stressed the importance of Swindon Borough Council speaking to drivers about the plans: “We need to be fully included in any consultation on pollution reduction measures and understand that this will be discussed at our next regular forum meeting with the Council. Many taxis are required to be wheelchair accessible and all new taxis are Euro 6 compliant.”
New cabs can cost £30,000 to £50,000: “The council must pay regard to the high cost of these vehicles and take a balanced view when making recommendations, so our trade remains viable.”
Responding, a Swindon Borough Council spokesman confirmed officers would be consulting cab drivers. “We believe that the Air Quality Action Plan shows what needs to be done to improve air quality along Kingshill Road. This follows engagement with local residents, businesses and councillors.
“We have already started to progress the actions to improve air quality and have implemented a relatively small, but significant, change by altering the time we collect waste along Kingshill Road so it coincides with a much quieter time of the day.
“We will also engage with a number of partners and clearly taxi and Hackney Carriage drivers are an important stakeholder group who we will be speaking to in the near future as we continue our push to improve air quality in Swindon.”
https://bit.ly/2HWqiRA
----------------------------------
BRADFORD’S taxi drivers have launched a new scheme offering discounted trips in an effort to save people money and also reduce the number of ‘empty’ trips drivers make.
The Hackney Carriage Association, with the approval of Bradford Council, has started the new campaign, and is hoping to get as many drivers on board in the coming weeks as possible.
Members of the public travelling into Bradford city centre will now be able flag down taxis heading back into the centre if they are empty, and will only be charged £1 per person for the trip.
All people have to do is look out for taxis displaying signage which reads, “Going to town? Flag me down” to take advantage of the offer.
It only applies for journeys into Bradford city centre, and does not apply to private hire cars. Trips from the city centre will be charged at the normal fare rate.
Mohammed Khan, chair of the Hackney Carriage Association, said he hopes the new scheme will reduce the number of “empty” trips drivers have to make - journeys carrying no passengers - and also offer people affordable travel into the city centre.
He said: “We were just waiting to get formal approval from Bradford Council to put banners in our taxis.
“We are licensed to be flagged down in the street, and it will cost only £1 per person for people going into the city centre.
“A lot of our drivers are interested in signing up, and we have more than 30 drivers signed up so far.
“We are hoping to get as many drivers as possible signed up soon so people don’t miss out on the offer.”
A spokesperson for Bradford Council said the authority welcomes the new scheme.
She said: “The Hackney Carriage Association sets fares with the local authority.
“We welcome their recent proposal which will allow people to flag down and use vehicles who are returning to the city centre as it will reduce the number of trips being made without passengers who can also benefit from a reduced fare.
“Taxis can offer a reduced fare but they cannot offer a fare above what has been approved.”
According to Bradford Council’s Hackney Carriage Conditions and Standards, “two children under the age of ten years shall be regarded as one person, and children under the age of three years shall not be reckoned, provided they are accompanied by an adult”.
There are a maximum of 222 Hackney Carriage drivers in Bradford, all of whom have to pass driver training modules, hold a valid DBS and be fit to drive.
Monday 25 March 2019
LIVERPOOL
Ola, one of the world's largest ride-hailing companies has launched in Merseyside - and is aiming to surpass Uber as the region's top taxi-app firm.
People around the region may have noticed people in luminous green jackets driving tuk-tuk vehicles on the roads - this is all part of Ola's launch in Merseyside .
In celebration of landing in the region, the company has been offering free rides in the tuk-tuk vehicles around Liverpool City Centre as it looks to spread the word about the Indian company that is looking to challenge Uber on a global scale .
One of the key differences between Ola and Uber is that the former works with private hire drivers and hackney carriage drivers.
Ola means business - it has been granted licenses in each of the Merseyside boroughs and there are already around 500 drivers working around the city.
The company says it will provide more choice for customers - and will pay drivers a greater share of fares than its biggest rival Uber.
Ben Legg, Managing Director of Ola UK, said: “I have been driving passengers around the city today and have really enjoyed the chance to discuss the challenges that the community faces and how we can help with our new technology.
“We are celebrating bringing more travel and employment choices to Liverpudlians with our ride-hailing app with the help of the community choir.”
First time riders can receive 50% their first journey when they download the app before the end of April.
As part of its pledge to empower drivers, Ola says it offers the highest driver rates, charging 10% commission to black cabs, compared with 25% charged by competitors.
The company claims to have also committed to make black cab and PHV ride options equally as attractive to app users by ensuring that they are competitively priced.
Black cabs do not ‘peak’ meaning that they can be cheaper when PHVs are in high demand.
Following the UK launch of Ola in Cardiff in August 2018, the company has since launched in Bristol in October, followed by Bath and Exeter in November.
Liverpool is the fifth UK launch and the first of many in the North of England this year.
https://bit.ly/2OpJmbX
------------------------------------
WREXHAM
CALLS have been made for new rules to be introduced for the hiring of limousines, wedding cars and funeral hearses.
Wrexham Council has also suggested CCTV and tracking devices should be installed in taxis after claiming current legislation for licensing taxis and private hire vehicles is ‘not fit for purpose’.
The Welsh Government is consulting on reforms to the system after ministers raised issues with inconsistent standards and the inability for authorities to share safeguarding information.
In their response, council chiefs said technology would help to improve record keeping.
They said: “The existing legislation is archaic, not fit for purpose and requires fundamental reform with new primary legislation.
“The panel believe that ideally records should be kept for every journey undertaken, however, there are obvious practical difficulties with taking this approach.
“A better option would be to use technology to better the safeguarding processes.
“The use of CCTV, trackers and GPS systems would not only provide a more robust system for record keeping, but would also not place an administrative burden on taxi drivers
“The cost of fitting CCTV within licensed vehicles particularly for small businesses may require subsidy from Welsh Government.”
The government has put forward several proposals to transform the system, including transferring the licensing powers of the 22 local authorities in Wales to a single national authority.
However, the council has objected to the potential loss of local enforcement controls.
It said it would result in the loss of more than £150,000 a year worth of income for the authority, which could result in properties used by its licensing department being reviewed.
They said: “We do not support the proposal on the information provided, as there is no evidence to support the need to redirect the existing taxi and private hire vehicle licensing function away from local authorities.
“At this stage there is no detail contained within this white paper as to how the Joint Transport Authority would undertake the licensing function.
“Our overriding concern is the protection of the public, and there in nothing contained within this proposal which suggests that public safety is at the forefront of this proposal.”
The council’s draft response will be discussed by members of the environmental licensing committee on Monday, March 25.
https://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34130
------------------------------------
BURY’S taxis are in danger of disappearing if changes are not made to Bury Council policies on vehicle testing, the leader of the Hackney Carriage Association has warned.
Charles Oakes, the association’s director, estimates that the borough’s Hackney fleet has shrunk from a peak of around 125 several years ago to just 64 today.
These cabs are routinely tested to assess their suitability for a license based on safety and aesthetic factors.
Vehicles that accrue five faults in a test are rejected.
However Mr Oakes claims that many vehicles are being struck off for purely cosmetic issues, such as scratches or dents.
This is dramatically reducing the number of taxis in Bury, he says, especially where drivers are unable to afford to make expensive body work repairs to keep their cab operating.
These issues are compounded by taxis being affected by vandalism, including drivers reporting having stones thrown at their vehicles.
If Bury’s taxis are lost, the public and those with disabilities will lose the out most, Mr Oakes warns.
He also notes that things will only get more difficult for Hackney drivers as new legislation and policies are introduced, in Greater Manchester and across the country, related to taxi licensing and pollution, such as the Clean Air Zone penalty.
Further he argues that there are “too many private hire vehicles in Bury”, saying that the approximately 900 vehicles have “basically killed off the Hackney trade”.
Mr Oakes said: “Drivers are fed up. They have had enough and they are not coming back onto Bury’s roads.
“My concern is that were are not going to be able to supply the demand if vehicles continue to be off the road, and the council does not seem to care about this.
“We are not like private hire vehicles. The Hackney Carriages are the council’s vehicles and they tell us what we can charge and look after everything that we do.
“They have a duty to make sure that we make enough money to continue in business and maintain their vehicles to a particular standard but they are not doing that.
He added: “I know the public will say that our vehicles have to be safe, and we do not disagree with that, but we are annoyed with the cosmetic issues.
“Not having enough cabs is almost as bad as having too many because if what customers are left come to the rank even they might not find a cab where there used to be loads.”
Mr Oakes has now submitted a letter to Bury Council’s chief executive Geoff Little, and will be pursuing a judicial review into taxi testing criteria.
However, he was keen to stress that divers do not take issue with testing faults relating to safety, but only those relating to vehicle aesthetics.
He is also calling on Bury Council to carry out a public survey into Hackney Carriage use and perceptions.
If the association’s demands are not met the drivers are threatening to take action by boycotting the local elections.
Mr Oaks said: “I have written to Bury Council say that it is not nice but the council has had its say about all this and the five faults rule. But our members have said we want our say and that will be at the ballot box.
“It is not pleasant or something I like to do, but it is how our drivers feel. Our members are not happy.”
Commonly referred to as taxis, Hackney Carriages are defined as a form of public transport vehicle and are licensed to be able to “ply for hire” — unlike private hire vehicles which must be booked in advance.
They can hailed by prospective passengers or park at a rank and wait for custom, then carry passengers for hire or reward based on fares set by the council.
A Bury Council spokesman said: “There are nearly 1,000 private hire vehicles and Hackney carriages licensed by Bury Council . These numbers are not determined by the council, but by market demand.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that taxis are not only fit to be on the road, providing passenger safety, but that they are in the best of condition, which is why vehicles must pass a number of tests.
“We make no apology for ensuring that Bury residents can feel confident in using taxis and private cabs that meet the high standards that we set.”
https://bit.ly/2UeVRwc
-------------------------------
MONTREAL — Quebec’s transport minister is defending his plan to overhaul the province’s taxi industry as drivers across the province strike in protest.
Thousands of angry taxi drivers clogged the streets during rush hour this morning, causing major traffic jams in Montreal and Quebec City.
Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel said his government will not increase planned compensation totalling $500 million for drivers who have seen the value of their permits drop with the arrival of Uber and other ride-hailing applications.
The minister, who was making an announcement in the Quebec City region, is due to meet with taxi industry representatives Tuesday. He said he is ready to hear their complaints but also to defend aspects of the deregulation that he says will benefit them.
He said today’s pressure tactics only inconvenience taxi customers unable to hail a cab and motorists caught behind the slow-moving protest convoys.
Taxi drivers claim the legislation tabled last week is a gift to Uber that will drive them out of business and cost them tens of thousands of dollars.
https://bit.ly/2uusmrX
Ola, one of the world's largest ride-hailing companies has launched in Merseyside - and is aiming to surpass Uber as the region's top taxi-app firm.
People around the region may have noticed people in luminous green jackets driving tuk-tuk vehicles on the roads - this is all part of Ola's launch in Merseyside .
In celebration of landing in the region, the company has been offering free rides in the tuk-tuk vehicles around Liverpool City Centre as it looks to spread the word about the Indian company that is looking to challenge Uber on a global scale .
One of the key differences between Ola and Uber is that the former works with private hire drivers and hackney carriage drivers.
Ola means business - it has been granted licenses in each of the Merseyside boroughs and there are already around 500 drivers working around the city.
The company says it will provide more choice for customers - and will pay drivers a greater share of fares than its biggest rival Uber.
Ben Legg, Managing Director of Ola UK, said: “I have been driving passengers around the city today and have really enjoyed the chance to discuss the challenges that the community faces and how we can help with our new technology.
“We are celebrating bringing more travel and employment choices to Liverpudlians with our ride-hailing app with the help of the community choir.”
First time riders can receive 50% their first journey when they download the app before the end of April.
As part of its pledge to empower drivers, Ola says it offers the highest driver rates, charging 10% commission to black cabs, compared with 25% charged by competitors.
The company claims to have also committed to make black cab and PHV ride options equally as attractive to app users by ensuring that they are competitively priced.
Black cabs do not ‘peak’ meaning that they can be cheaper when PHVs are in high demand.
Following the UK launch of Ola in Cardiff in August 2018, the company has since launched in Bristol in October, followed by Bath and Exeter in November.
Liverpool is the fifth UK launch and the first of many in the North of England this year.
https://bit.ly/2OpJmbX
------------------------------------
WREXHAM
CALLS have been made for new rules to be introduced for the hiring of limousines, wedding cars and funeral hearses.
Wrexham Council has also suggested CCTV and tracking devices should be installed in taxis after claiming current legislation for licensing taxis and private hire vehicles is ‘not fit for purpose’.
The Welsh Government is consulting on reforms to the system after ministers raised issues with inconsistent standards and the inability for authorities to share safeguarding information.
In their response, council chiefs said technology would help to improve record keeping.
They said: “The existing legislation is archaic, not fit for purpose and requires fundamental reform with new primary legislation.
“The panel believe that ideally records should be kept for every journey undertaken, however, there are obvious practical difficulties with taking this approach.
“A better option would be to use technology to better the safeguarding processes.
“The use of CCTV, trackers and GPS systems would not only provide a more robust system for record keeping, but would also not place an administrative burden on taxi drivers
“The cost of fitting CCTV within licensed vehicles particularly for small businesses may require subsidy from Welsh Government.”
The government has put forward several proposals to transform the system, including transferring the licensing powers of the 22 local authorities in Wales to a single national authority.
However, the council has objected to the potential loss of local enforcement controls.
It said it would result in the loss of more than £150,000 a year worth of income for the authority, which could result in properties used by its licensing department being reviewed.
They said: “We do not support the proposal on the information provided, as there is no evidence to support the need to redirect the existing taxi and private hire vehicle licensing function away from local authorities.
“At this stage there is no detail contained within this white paper as to how the Joint Transport Authority would undertake the licensing function.
“Our overriding concern is the protection of the public, and there in nothing contained within this proposal which suggests that public safety is at the forefront of this proposal.”
The council’s draft response will be discussed by members of the environmental licensing committee on Monday, March 25.
https://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34130
------------------------------------
BURY’S taxis are in danger of disappearing if changes are not made to Bury Council policies on vehicle testing, the leader of the Hackney Carriage Association has warned.
Charles Oakes, the association’s director, estimates that the borough’s Hackney fleet has shrunk from a peak of around 125 several years ago to just 64 today.
These cabs are routinely tested to assess their suitability for a license based on safety and aesthetic factors.
Vehicles that accrue five faults in a test are rejected.
However Mr Oakes claims that many vehicles are being struck off for purely cosmetic issues, such as scratches or dents.
This is dramatically reducing the number of taxis in Bury, he says, especially where drivers are unable to afford to make expensive body work repairs to keep their cab operating.
These issues are compounded by taxis being affected by vandalism, including drivers reporting having stones thrown at their vehicles.
If Bury’s taxis are lost, the public and those with disabilities will lose the out most, Mr Oakes warns.
He also notes that things will only get more difficult for Hackney drivers as new legislation and policies are introduced, in Greater Manchester and across the country, related to taxi licensing and pollution, such as the Clean Air Zone penalty.
Further he argues that there are “too many private hire vehicles in Bury”, saying that the approximately 900 vehicles have “basically killed off the Hackney trade”.
Mr Oakes said: “Drivers are fed up. They have had enough and they are not coming back onto Bury’s roads.
“My concern is that were are not going to be able to supply the demand if vehicles continue to be off the road, and the council does not seem to care about this.
“We are not like private hire vehicles. The Hackney Carriages are the council’s vehicles and they tell us what we can charge and look after everything that we do.
“They have a duty to make sure that we make enough money to continue in business and maintain their vehicles to a particular standard but they are not doing that.
He added: “I know the public will say that our vehicles have to be safe, and we do not disagree with that, but we are annoyed with the cosmetic issues.
“Not having enough cabs is almost as bad as having too many because if what customers are left come to the rank even they might not find a cab where there used to be loads.”
Mr Oakes has now submitted a letter to Bury Council’s chief executive Geoff Little, and will be pursuing a judicial review into taxi testing criteria.
However, he was keen to stress that divers do not take issue with testing faults relating to safety, but only those relating to vehicle aesthetics.
He is also calling on Bury Council to carry out a public survey into Hackney Carriage use and perceptions.
If the association’s demands are not met the drivers are threatening to take action by boycotting the local elections.
Mr Oaks said: “I have written to Bury Council say that it is not nice but the council has had its say about all this and the five faults rule. But our members have said we want our say and that will be at the ballot box.
“It is not pleasant or something I like to do, but it is how our drivers feel. Our members are not happy.”
Commonly referred to as taxis, Hackney Carriages are defined as a form of public transport vehicle and are licensed to be able to “ply for hire” — unlike private hire vehicles which must be booked in advance.
They can hailed by prospective passengers or park at a rank and wait for custom, then carry passengers for hire or reward based on fares set by the council.
A Bury Council spokesman said: “There are nearly 1,000 private hire vehicles and Hackney carriages licensed by Bury Council . These numbers are not determined by the council, but by market demand.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that taxis are not only fit to be on the road, providing passenger safety, but that they are in the best of condition, which is why vehicles must pass a number of tests.
“We make no apology for ensuring that Bury residents can feel confident in using taxis and private cabs that meet the high standards that we set.”
https://bit.ly/2UeVRwc
-------------------------------
MONTREAL — Quebec’s transport minister is defending his plan to overhaul the province’s taxi industry as drivers across the province strike in protest.
Thousands of angry taxi drivers clogged the streets during rush hour this morning, causing major traffic jams in Montreal and Quebec City.
Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel said his government will not increase planned compensation totalling $500 million for drivers who have seen the value of their permits drop with the arrival of Uber and other ride-hailing applications.
The minister, who was making an announcement in the Quebec City region, is due to meet with taxi industry representatives Tuesday. He said he is ready to hear their complaints but also to defend aspects of the deregulation that he says will benefit them.
He said today’s pressure tactics only inconvenience taxi customers unable to hail a cab and motorists caught behind the slow-moving protest convoys.
Taxi drivers claim the legislation tabled last week is a gift to Uber that will drive them out of business and cost them tens of thousands of dollars.
https://bit.ly/2uusmrX
Friday 22 March 2019
LEIGH
Firefighters were called into action last night after a vehicle went up in flames
A crew from Leigh fire station was dispatched to Orrell Road at midnight today (Thursday) after receiving reports of a vehicle fire.
On arrival, they found a Peugeot Partner minibus well alight.
Firefighters revealed the blaze was ignited by a mechanical fault, and there were no suspicious circumstances.
Crews spent 45 minutes dousing the flames, but the vehicle was completely destroyed.
The driver, who was not carrying any passengers at the time of the incident, escaped unharmed and remained at the scene.
https://bit.ly/2Yb2qPE
------------------------------
DUNDEE
Taxi drivers who switched to electric cars are switching back to fossil fuel engines ahead of the council introducing fees for charging their cars, it has been claimed.
The Tele understands a number of drivers have either made the switch from electric vehicles (EVs) to traditional diesel-powered cars, or are in the process of doing so.
Frustrated drivers say the added cost of paying for charging means EVs will cost more to own in the long run than conventional cars.
The Tele revealed in January Dundee City Council was set to introduce fees for electric car charging later this year, following similar moves by other councils such as Dumfries and Galloway.
However, the charge plan has been criticised by drivers who bought EVs because of the promise of free charging, which are said to offset the extra costs associated with buying one.
Chris Elder, local Unite the Union taxi representative, claimed drivers would end up spending as much on charging their cars as they would filling up on diesel. As a result, he said, there was no longer an incentive to switch.
“If Dundee charges the same rates as Dumfries and Galloway it would cost drivers £10-12 to charge them up,” Mr Elder said.
“If they’re charging that Saturday and into Sunday they’re looking at possibly £40 in all for charging – plus the cars are more expensive.”
A basic model Nissan Leaf – a popular EV taxi in Dundee – is £27,995, including a £3,500 government grant. However, the diesel Skoda Octavia saloon is £20,000.
Dundee City Council has been persuading locals to buy EVs to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
It has spent millions on dedicated electric charging hubs across the city and rapid chargers inside its multi-storey car parks.
Because EVs do not produce emissions, they are immediately better for air quality than an equivalent conventionally fuelled car.
Mr Elder insists taxi drivers are awake to the environmental benefits of electric taxis.
He said: “The council has jumped the gun. We should be incentivised to choose low-emission vehicles like hybrids and when the infrastructure is there look at electric vehicles. It is ridiculous they are thinking of charging fees now.”
https://bit.ly/2FsvhHP
---------------------------------
DROITWICH
A DRINK driver was caught while moving his car onto his driveway after getting a taxi home, a court heard.
Bradley Birch, aged 27, said he was less than a hundred yards from his property when he was pulled over.
He had been released from police custody just before the offence took place - and had been advised that he was over the limit.
Birch, who was defending himself, said: “I got a taxi to the lane. I drove no more than a hundred yards. It was in the early hours of the morning. I wanted to put the car safely on the drive...because there’s been so many issues around there. I didn’t think anyone would be in danger.”
Birch, of Goldcrest Way, Droitwich, pleaded with the magistrates to allow him to keep his licence, claiming his livelihood depended on it and that he had a mortgage to pay.
He also said he did not believe he was over the limit.
The defendant handed a character reference to the magistrates and also said he had a letter showing that he took a taxi home.
Shafquat Reaz, prosecuting, said the defendant was in police custody for a separate matter, which did not result in any charges, before his drink driving offence.
The court heard that officers advised him he would likely be over the limit when he was released - as he had been drinking.
Mr Reaz added: “He gave them assurances that he would get a taxi. That’s why they parked their vehicle by his address.”
Birch pleaded guilty to drink driving in his silver Range Rover in Goldcrest Way on February 25.
He had a reading of 64 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Worcester Magistrates Court banned him from driving for 17 months and told him to pay a £450 fine, £135 in costs and a £45 victim surcharge, on March 14.
The defendant shook his head as the disqualification was announced.
He said: "I won't have a job now from this day onwards."
The magistrates said they considered whether there were 'special reasons' not to disqualify the defendant, however they decided that the ban was justified as he had been advised not to drive by the police.
They argued that this cancelled out the short distance that Birch drove, while under the influence.
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/17519705.droitwich-drink-driver-caught-after-getting-taxi-home/
---------------------------------
Firefighters were called into action last night after a vehicle went up in flames
A crew from Leigh fire station was dispatched to Orrell Road at midnight today (Thursday) after receiving reports of a vehicle fire.
On arrival, they found a Peugeot Partner minibus well alight.
Firefighters revealed the blaze was ignited by a mechanical fault, and there were no suspicious circumstances.
Crews spent 45 minutes dousing the flames, but the vehicle was completely destroyed.
The driver, who was not carrying any passengers at the time of the incident, escaped unharmed and remained at the scene.
https://bit.ly/2Yb2qPE
------------------------------
DUNDEE
Taxi drivers who switched to electric cars are switching back to fossil fuel engines ahead of the council introducing fees for charging their cars, it has been claimed.
The Tele understands a number of drivers have either made the switch from electric vehicles (EVs) to traditional diesel-powered cars, or are in the process of doing so.
Frustrated drivers say the added cost of paying for charging means EVs will cost more to own in the long run than conventional cars.
The Tele revealed in January Dundee City Council was set to introduce fees for electric car charging later this year, following similar moves by other councils such as Dumfries and Galloway.
However, the charge plan has been criticised by drivers who bought EVs because of the promise of free charging, which are said to offset the extra costs associated with buying one.
Chris Elder, local Unite the Union taxi representative, claimed drivers would end up spending as much on charging their cars as they would filling up on diesel. As a result, he said, there was no longer an incentive to switch.
“If Dundee charges the same rates as Dumfries and Galloway it would cost drivers £10-12 to charge them up,” Mr Elder said.
“If they’re charging that Saturday and into Sunday they’re looking at possibly £40 in all for charging – plus the cars are more expensive.”
A basic model Nissan Leaf – a popular EV taxi in Dundee – is £27,995, including a £3,500 government grant. However, the diesel Skoda Octavia saloon is £20,000.
Dundee City Council has been persuading locals to buy EVs to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
It has spent millions on dedicated electric charging hubs across the city and rapid chargers inside its multi-storey car parks.
Because EVs do not produce emissions, they are immediately better for air quality than an equivalent conventionally fuelled car.
Mr Elder insists taxi drivers are awake to the environmental benefits of electric taxis.
He said: “The council has jumped the gun. We should be incentivised to choose low-emission vehicles like hybrids and when the infrastructure is there look at electric vehicles. It is ridiculous they are thinking of charging fees now.”
https://bit.ly/2FsvhHP
---------------------------------
DROITWICH
A DRINK driver was caught while moving his car onto his driveway after getting a taxi home, a court heard.
Bradley Birch, aged 27, said he was less than a hundred yards from his property when he was pulled over.
He had been released from police custody just before the offence took place - and had been advised that he was over the limit.
Birch, who was defending himself, said: “I got a taxi to the lane. I drove no more than a hundred yards. It was in the early hours of the morning. I wanted to put the car safely on the drive...because there’s been so many issues around there. I didn’t think anyone would be in danger.”
Birch, of Goldcrest Way, Droitwich, pleaded with the magistrates to allow him to keep his licence, claiming his livelihood depended on it and that he had a mortgage to pay.
He also said he did not believe he was over the limit.
The defendant handed a character reference to the magistrates and also said he had a letter showing that he took a taxi home.
Shafquat Reaz, prosecuting, said the defendant was in police custody for a separate matter, which did not result in any charges, before his drink driving offence.
The court heard that officers advised him he would likely be over the limit when he was released - as he had been drinking.
Mr Reaz added: “He gave them assurances that he would get a taxi. That’s why they parked their vehicle by his address.”
Birch pleaded guilty to drink driving in his silver Range Rover in Goldcrest Way on February 25.
He had a reading of 64 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Worcester Magistrates Court banned him from driving for 17 months and told him to pay a £450 fine, £135 in costs and a £45 victim surcharge, on March 14.
The defendant shook his head as the disqualification was announced.
He said: "I won't have a job now from this day onwards."
The magistrates said they considered whether there were 'special reasons' not to disqualify the defendant, however they decided that the ban was justified as he had been advised not to drive by the police.
They argued that this cancelled out the short distance that Birch drove, while under the influence.
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/17519705.droitwich-drink-driver-caught-after-getting-taxi-home/
---------------------------------
Wednesday 20 March 2019
Passengers will be able to pay by card in all Guildford taxis from April 1, but some drivers are unhappy with the policy.
All licensed taxis will have to carry a card payment device from that date, following approval in February 2018.
The local council said this would make payment "easier and more convenient for all", but driver Mick Simmonds said the change was "ridiculous and unnecessary".
Despite having had a card machine in his taxi for two years, he said, Mr Simmonds has had to spend £182 for a new one because his existing machine doesn't print receipts.
"I can write a receipt or do email," he said, "But they insist it has to print out. It just costs us more money.
"All they do is put more costs on top of costs on top of costs. They're no friend to the taxi driver."
Introducing the policy, Cllr Graham Ellwood, lead councillor for licensing, environmental health and community safety, said: "We have made these changes to our licensed taxi service to make payments easier and more convenient for all and to improve safety for drivers by removing the need for them to carry large amounts of cash.
"This new payment option adds to our work with the trade making positive changes to protect public safety. We have introduced a livery for taxis, door signs for private hire vehicles and the requirement for drivers to complete a BTEC qualification."
A council spokesman added that the cost of a machine would be included in the approved taxi fare calculator and "as such the trade will be able to recover the cost of providing a device through the fare."
Mick Simmonds said Guildford Borough Council was 'no friend to the taxi driver' (Image: Grahame Larter/Surrey Advertiser)
But Mr Simmonds said: "These people have never driven a taxi. They think they know what they are doing, but they don't.
"They're not interested in us making money. It's ridiculous and unnecessary."
Relations between the council and Guildford's taxi drivers have been strained in recent years, with drivers complaining that their costs have been rising while trade is drying up, partly due to the success of apps such as Uber.
In January 2019, the council proposed a 10% rise in the cost of a one-year taxi licence, while disputes over the teal livery and proposals to slash fares have ended up in court.
A year ago, in March 2018, drivers staged a go-slow protest in the town centre, clogging up the one way system to demonstrate against reductions in fares.
Regarding the card machines, a spokesman for the council said: "The requirement for card payments in taxis was approved in early 2018, following consultation with the trade.
"In summary there was strong support received during consultation from both the trade and customers for the use of card payment devices in taxis.
"The device must accept credit/debit cards, contactless payments and provide a receipt. We have advised the trade that the device must be able to print a receipt, as opposed to devices which just email or text a receipt to customers. This is for reasons of convenience and confidence for customers.
"There may be customers who either do not have an email/mobile number to be sent an electronic receipt but still want one, or may not wish to give (or be in a position to provide) these details, for example a lone female travelling home after a night out, or a person who may be intoxicated. As such by being given a printed receipt from the device, the customer can be confident in what they have paid."
https://bit.ly/2TOECTd
All licensed taxis will have to carry a card payment device from that date, following approval in February 2018.
The local council said this would make payment "easier and more convenient for all", but driver Mick Simmonds said the change was "ridiculous and unnecessary".
Despite having had a card machine in his taxi for two years, he said, Mr Simmonds has had to spend £182 for a new one because his existing machine doesn't print receipts.
"I can write a receipt or do email," he said, "But they insist it has to print out. It just costs us more money.
"All they do is put more costs on top of costs on top of costs. They're no friend to the taxi driver."
Introducing the policy, Cllr Graham Ellwood, lead councillor for licensing, environmental health and community safety, said: "We have made these changes to our licensed taxi service to make payments easier and more convenient for all and to improve safety for drivers by removing the need for them to carry large amounts of cash.
"This new payment option adds to our work with the trade making positive changes to protect public safety. We have introduced a livery for taxis, door signs for private hire vehicles and the requirement for drivers to complete a BTEC qualification."
A council spokesman added that the cost of a machine would be included in the approved taxi fare calculator and "as such the trade will be able to recover the cost of providing a device through the fare."
Mick Simmonds said Guildford Borough Council was 'no friend to the taxi driver' (Image: Grahame Larter/Surrey Advertiser)
But Mr Simmonds said: "These people have never driven a taxi. They think they know what they are doing, but they don't.
"They're not interested in us making money. It's ridiculous and unnecessary."
Relations between the council and Guildford's taxi drivers have been strained in recent years, with drivers complaining that their costs have been rising while trade is drying up, partly due to the success of apps such as Uber.
In January 2019, the council proposed a 10% rise in the cost of a one-year taxi licence, while disputes over the teal livery and proposals to slash fares have ended up in court.
A year ago, in March 2018, drivers staged a go-slow protest in the town centre, clogging up the one way system to demonstrate against reductions in fares.
Regarding the card machines, a spokesman for the council said: "The requirement for card payments in taxis was approved in early 2018, following consultation with the trade.
"In summary there was strong support received during consultation from both the trade and customers for the use of card payment devices in taxis.
"The device must accept credit/debit cards, contactless payments and provide a receipt. We have advised the trade that the device must be able to print a receipt, as opposed to devices which just email or text a receipt to customers. This is for reasons of convenience and confidence for customers.
"There may be customers who either do not have an email/mobile number to be sent an electronic receipt but still want one, or may not wish to give (or be in a position to provide) these details, for example a lone female travelling home after a night out, or a person who may be intoxicated. As such by being given a printed receipt from the device, the customer can be confident in what they have paid."
https://bit.ly/2TOECTd
Tuesday 19 March 2019
Tom Brake Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (International Trade), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Exiting the European Union)
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to reform taxi and private hire licensing laws.
Hansard source
(Citation: HC Deb, 19 March 2019, cW)
Nusrat Ghani Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
The former Minister for Transport, Sir John Hayes, set up a working group to consider how private hire vehicle and taxi licensing authorities use their powers, and produce focussed recommendations for action. The Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing considered the regulation of the industry in their discussions. The report of the Task and Finish Group was published on 24 September 2018.
On 12 February 2019 we published the Government’s response to the report of the Task and Finish Group which sets out which of the recommendations the Department proposes to take forward. Many of the short-term recommendations made by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group in his report are for licensing authorities to make full use of their extensive existing powers and these are a matter for licensing authorities to consider.
Work has already started to take forward some of the recommendations, for example the Department launched, on 12 February, its consultation on draft statutory guidance to be issued to licensing authorities on the use of their powers to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm which will run until 22 April. Those reforms that require legislative change, for example national minimum standards, will be made through primary legislation when time allows.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to reform taxi and private hire licensing laws.
Hansard source
(Citation: HC Deb, 19 March 2019, cW)
Nusrat Ghani Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
The former Minister for Transport, Sir John Hayes, set up a working group to consider how private hire vehicle and taxi licensing authorities use their powers, and produce focussed recommendations for action. The Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing considered the regulation of the industry in their discussions. The report of the Task and Finish Group was published on 24 September 2018.
On 12 February 2019 we published the Government’s response to the report of the Task and Finish Group which sets out which of the recommendations the Department proposes to take forward. Many of the short-term recommendations made by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group in his report are for licensing authorities to make full use of their extensive existing powers and these are a matter for licensing authorities to consider.
Work has already started to take forward some of the recommendations, for example the Department launched, on 12 February, its consultation on draft statutory guidance to be issued to licensing authorities on the use of their powers to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm which will run until 22 April. Those reforms that require legislative change, for example national minimum standards, will be made through primary legislation when time allows.
Monday 18 March 2019
SWINDON
Taxi drivers, operators and the public will be asked for their views on changing the rules on driver registration in Swindon.
At the moment drivers can only work for one operator – and they must display the name of the company on their car. But members of Swindon Borough Council’s licensing committee decided to put a suggestion that would allow licensed drivers to work for any number of operators out to an eight-week consultation.
The suggestion was put to the committee by Coun Jim Robbins, not a committee member, in order to allow drivers who work on airport or seaport runs to be able to pick passengers up on the return journey, saving fuel and increasing their income.
But operators turned up to decry the idea.
One, Mark Newson of SN1 cars, said: “As an operator we wouldn’t give a job to a driver who was also working for another firm over one of our loyal drivers who pays us so they can work for us. It just wouldn’t work.
“We are very happy with the current system and we think it would also damage the council’s licensing team, who do a good job now, to do their jobs as well,”
The eight-week consultation starts in the first week of April.
https://bit.ly/2FcPU9F
--------------------------------------------
A GLASGOW taxi firm are celebrating after winning a top award.
Network Private Hire Ltd were declared Scottish Private Hire of the Year in a glittering ceremony last week.
The inaugural event, which was held at the Double Tree by Hilton, was attended by around 300 people from the country's biggest taxi firms.
John Cassidy, the firm's director, said: "We weren't expecting to win.
"We run the best taxi company in the country. We're a big company, we help the community, we deliver a great service and we have good staff.
"We're a family run business and we try to work hard at it."
https://bit.ly/2FmQiUw
--------------------------------------------
NEWCASTLE (STAFFS)
Taxi drivers have vowed to go on strike again if their demands aren't met by council bosses.
Friday night saw chaos in the Newcastle town centre as private hire and black cab drivers refused to pick up passengers.
Cabbies are now planning further action if Newcastle Borough Council refuses to listen to their concerns with a 91-page taxi licensing plan that is set to be approved in April.
As well as drivers from the Newcastle Borough, those from Stoke-on-Trent shunned the town in solidarity with their colleagues from 11.30pm on Friday to 3.30am on Saturday (March 16).
Newcastle taxi drivers' issues with the new policy
Taxi drivers claim to have the following issues with Newcastle Borough Council's new taxi licensing policy for 2019/20:
* Operators claim they will have to keep logbooks of service history for self-employed drivers - at a great cost of time and effort to their businesses;
* It will send drivers out of the borough for licences.
Tariq Mahmood, Newcastle Hackney Carriage Association Chairman, said: "This was a direct result of the reluctance of Newcastle Borough Council to engage with the taxi trade and extend the period of consultation to discuss drastic changes to their Draft Taxi Policy.
"The action was very successful and there was little or no taxi service within Newcastle on the night. This resulted in problems for the public who were left to find alternative ways home, and the police who had many issues trying to disperse the night-time revellers from the town centre.
https://bit.ly/2OdGj6L
Taxi drivers, operators and the public will be asked for their views on changing the rules on driver registration in Swindon.
At the moment drivers can only work for one operator – and they must display the name of the company on their car. But members of Swindon Borough Council’s licensing committee decided to put a suggestion that would allow licensed drivers to work for any number of operators out to an eight-week consultation.
The suggestion was put to the committee by Coun Jim Robbins, not a committee member, in order to allow drivers who work on airport or seaport runs to be able to pick passengers up on the return journey, saving fuel and increasing their income.
But operators turned up to decry the idea.
One, Mark Newson of SN1 cars, said: “As an operator we wouldn’t give a job to a driver who was also working for another firm over one of our loyal drivers who pays us so they can work for us. It just wouldn’t work.
“We are very happy with the current system and we think it would also damage the council’s licensing team, who do a good job now, to do their jobs as well,”
The eight-week consultation starts in the first week of April.
https://bit.ly/2FcPU9F
--------------------------------------------
A GLASGOW taxi firm are celebrating after winning a top award.
Network Private Hire Ltd were declared Scottish Private Hire of the Year in a glittering ceremony last week.
The inaugural event, which was held at the Double Tree by Hilton, was attended by around 300 people from the country's biggest taxi firms.
John Cassidy, the firm's director, said: "We weren't expecting to win.
"We run the best taxi company in the country. We're a big company, we help the community, we deliver a great service and we have good staff.
"We're a family run business and we try to work hard at it."
https://bit.ly/2FmQiUw
--------------------------------------------
NEWCASTLE (STAFFS)
Taxi drivers have vowed to go on strike again if their demands aren't met by council bosses.
Friday night saw chaos in the Newcastle town centre as private hire and black cab drivers refused to pick up passengers.
Cabbies are now planning further action if Newcastle Borough Council refuses to listen to their concerns with a 91-page taxi licensing plan that is set to be approved in April.
As well as drivers from the Newcastle Borough, those from Stoke-on-Trent shunned the town in solidarity with their colleagues from 11.30pm on Friday to 3.30am on Saturday (March 16).
Newcastle taxi drivers' issues with the new policy
Taxi drivers claim to have the following issues with Newcastle Borough Council's new taxi licensing policy for 2019/20:
* Operators claim they will have to keep logbooks of service history for self-employed drivers - at a great cost of time and effort to their businesses;
* Vehicles can't be licensed past four years old for their first time and beyond seven years in total;
* Switching to electric vehicles is too expensive and they'll lose money when charging;
* A new type of testing system won't be as efficient as the Stoke-on-Trent College BTEC qualification they already have;
* They don't like the penalty points scheme;
*They say they'll have to wait between five and eight weeks for an appointment to renew their licences;
* It'll cost customers more;
* It will reduce service and safety standards;
Tariq Mahmood, Newcastle Hackney Carriage Association Chairman, said: "This was a direct result of the reluctance of Newcastle Borough Council to engage with the taxi trade and extend the period of consultation to discuss drastic changes to their Draft Taxi Policy.
"The action was very successful and there was little or no taxi service within Newcastle on the night. This resulted in problems for the public who were left to find alternative ways home, and the police who had many issues trying to disperse the night-time revellers from the town centre.
https://bit.ly/2OdGj6L
Sunday 17 March 2019
WALES
Proposals for a major overhaul of how taxis work in Wales fail to tackle a "crisis" in the industry, it is claimed.
The Welsh Government wants to strip powers from councils and set-up an all-Wales licensing body.
A union has called for councils to be given powers to stop out-of-town drivers, which it said makes it harder for others to earn a living.
The Welsh Government said the concerns will be considered.
It said current laws do not reflect the fact taxis and private-hire drivers are conducting pre-booked work outside of the place they got their licence, often through smart-phone based apps.
The system, only recently devolved and parts of which date back to the 19th Century, had envisaged that enforcing standards would take place within council boundaries.
But drivers can shop around Welsh local authorities, which may have different standards and charge different fees.
A white paper on the proposals under consultation said this has resulted in variable safety and quality standards and no mechanism for enforcing regulations against vehicles licensed in a different local authority area.
To tackle that, the Welsh Government wants to set-up a national licensing authority with the job of taking over all existing tasks conducted by councils on taxis and private hire, with national standards for vehicles.
A second option could see national standards regulated by the 22 councils, with their enforcement powers extended, and with a mechanism for them to share information.
There are two types of licensed drivers - metered hackney cab drivers who can also do pre-booked work, and private hire drivers who do only pre-booked jobs.
The GMB union said the whitepaper did not tackle what has become known as "cross-bordering" - and believes that drivers should predominately work in the area they are licensed.
Regional organiser Lorraine Gaskell said: "We sat on one major junction in Cardiff and over the period of an hour we saw 44 licensed cars from Cardiff and 33 out-of-town taxis."
Paul O'Hara, a private hire driver from Cardiff who is part of a new driver-led co-operative called Drive, said many drivers are depressed with the amount of hours they have to work and the lack of family time.
He feared the new system would allow drivers from all over Wales to work anywhere they liked.
"The public deserve a good service but not to the detriment of drivers earnings, drivers health, because they have to stay out 12-13 hours a day to earn a living," said the driver, who is a GMB branch secretary.
"It's a crisis in the trade."
He said the white paper did not tackle the problem. A single authority "could see drivers from Anglesey getting a licence exactly the same as a driver from Cardiff, then working in Cardiff," he said.
https://bbc.in/2Ju8Yps
(The Welsh white paper can be read here, Start at page 38)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ws6et40jqav4sz/improving-public-transport_0%281%29.pdf?dl=0
Proposals for a major overhaul of how taxis work in Wales fail to tackle a "crisis" in the industry, it is claimed.
The Welsh Government wants to strip powers from councils and set-up an all-Wales licensing body.
A union has called for councils to be given powers to stop out-of-town drivers, which it said makes it harder for others to earn a living.
The Welsh Government said the concerns will be considered.
It said current laws do not reflect the fact taxis and private-hire drivers are conducting pre-booked work outside of the place they got their licence, often through smart-phone based apps.
The system, only recently devolved and parts of which date back to the 19th Century, had envisaged that enforcing standards would take place within council boundaries.
But drivers can shop around Welsh local authorities, which may have different standards and charge different fees.
A white paper on the proposals under consultation said this has resulted in variable safety and quality standards and no mechanism for enforcing regulations against vehicles licensed in a different local authority area.
To tackle that, the Welsh Government wants to set-up a national licensing authority with the job of taking over all existing tasks conducted by councils on taxis and private hire, with national standards for vehicles.
A second option could see national standards regulated by the 22 councils, with their enforcement powers extended, and with a mechanism for them to share information.
There are two types of licensed drivers - metered hackney cab drivers who can also do pre-booked work, and private hire drivers who do only pre-booked jobs.
The GMB union said the whitepaper did not tackle what has become known as "cross-bordering" - and believes that drivers should predominately work in the area they are licensed.
Regional organiser Lorraine Gaskell said: "We sat on one major junction in Cardiff and over the period of an hour we saw 44 licensed cars from Cardiff and 33 out-of-town taxis."
Paul O'Hara, a private hire driver from Cardiff who is part of a new driver-led co-operative called Drive, said many drivers are depressed with the amount of hours they have to work and the lack of family time.
He feared the new system would allow drivers from all over Wales to work anywhere they liked.
"The public deserve a good service but not to the detriment of drivers earnings, drivers health, because they have to stay out 12-13 hours a day to earn a living," said the driver, who is a GMB branch secretary.
"It's a crisis in the trade."
He said the white paper did not tackle the problem. A single authority "could see drivers from Anglesey getting a licence exactly the same as a driver from Cardiff, then working in Cardiff," he said.
https://bbc.in/2Ju8Yps
(The Welsh white paper can be read here, Start at page 38)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ws6et40jqav4sz/improving-public-transport_0%281%29.pdf?dl=0
Merseyside's taxi drivers could all face mandatory new drug tests when they try and renew their licence.
The drastic new measures are proposed in a report from police and crime commissioner Jane Kennedy's office and follow a spate of arrests of taxi drivers for driving under the influence of drugs.
From the start of last year to November police had arrested more than 40 drivers for the offence - and then revealed shortly after that eight drivers were arrested in as many days.
The new report, which will be discussed next week, said that Ms Kennedy met with council leaders and the metro mayor earlier this month to try and push the idea forward.
The document says: "Following a huge increase in the number of taxi drivers being arrested for drug driving offences, last April the Commissioner took the issue of ‘drug testing’ for taxi drivers to the authority, advising that she would like to see a standardised approach to drug testing implemented across the region.
"This would mean that all prospective taxi drivers and those seeking to renew their licenses would be subject to a mandatory drug test."
A post on Merseyside Police's Safer Roads Unit twitter account last year revealed how a driver had tested positive and over the limit for three drugs while he had a paying customer in the vehicle.
A report from the courts said the unnamed driver had cocaine, Benzoylecgonine (a compound tested for in cocaine urinalyses), and Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (a compound common in cannabis) in his system when he was stopped back in June.
The amount of Benzoylecgonine in his blood was 16 times above the "specified limit", the tweet said.
That driver lost his licence.
Improving road safety is one of Ms Kennedy's priorities as PCC, with the aim of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on Merseyside's roads to less than 400.
For 2017 that number stood at 557.
https://bit.ly/2uahAGX
-----------------------------------
BIRMINGHAM
Police find taxi bumper and headlight held together with CABLE TIES
This hapless man had a long walk home after cops found the bumper of his taxi was held together by CABLE TIES.
Flabbergasted police made the discovery when they stopped the private hire taxi on the Washwood Heath Road.
During an examination, they found the bumper and headlights was attached by thin cable ties and the engine was emitting an unhealthy sound.
They also found defective bodywork and immediately took the car off the road until all repairs are carried out.
The headlight could have caused damage or injury to other people on the road had it flown off.
The ‘cable car’ was one of 35 vehicles stopped and checked over during an enforcement operation on Wednesday.
Bham Taxi Cop, who is an enforcement and liaison officer for private hire and hackney carriages, said: “The condition of the vehicle fell well below the accepted standards of a private hire and many of the parts, should they have come off, would have posed a danger to any other road user.”
Meanwhile the public were left shaking their heads in disbelief at a tweet showing images of the taxi.
Wayne Casey said: “The guy deserves something for ingenuity surely.”
Jo tweeted: “Far too many professional drivers not conducting daily checks.
https://bit.ly/2CyQfmL
The drastic new measures are proposed in a report from police and crime commissioner Jane Kennedy's office and follow a spate of arrests of taxi drivers for driving under the influence of drugs.
From the start of last year to November police had arrested more than 40 drivers for the offence - and then revealed shortly after that eight drivers were arrested in as many days.
The new report, which will be discussed next week, said that Ms Kennedy met with council leaders and the metro mayor earlier this month to try and push the idea forward.
The document says: "Following a huge increase in the number of taxi drivers being arrested for drug driving offences, last April the Commissioner took the issue of ‘drug testing’ for taxi drivers to the authority, advising that she would like to see a standardised approach to drug testing implemented across the region.
"This would mean that all prospective taxi drivers and those seeking to renew their licenses would be subject to a mandatory drug test."
A post on Merseyside Police's Safer Roads Unit twitter account last year revealed how a driver had tested positive and over the limit for three drugs while he had a paying customer in the vehicle.
A report from the courts said the unnamed driver had cocaine, Benzoylecgonine (a compound tested for in cocaine urinalyses), and Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (a compound common in cannabis) in his system when he was stopped back in June.
The amount of Benzoylecgonine in his blood was 16 times above the "specified limit", the tweet said.
That driver lost his licence.
Improving road safety is one of Ms Kennedy's priorities as PCC, with the aim of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on Merseyside's roads to less than 400.
For 2017 that number stood at 557.
https://bit.ly/2uahAGX
-----------------------------------
BIRMINGHAM
Police find taxi bumper and headlight held together with CABLE TIES
This hapless man had a long walk home after cops found the bumper of his taxi was held together by CABLE TIES.
Flabbergasted police made the discovery when they stopped the private hire taxi on the Washwood Heath Road.
During an examination, they found the bumper and headlights was attached by thin cable ties and the engine was emitting an unhealthy sound.
They also found defective bodywork and immediately took the car off the road until all repairs are carried out.
The headlight could have caused damage or injury to other people on the road had it flown off.
The ‘cable car’ was one of 35 vehicles stopped and checked over during an enforcement operation on Wednesday.
Bham Taxi Cop, who is an enforcement and liaison officer for private hire and hackney carriages, said: “The condition of the vehicle fell well below the accepted standards of a private hire and many of the parts, should they have come off, would have posed a danger to any other road user.”
Meanwhile the public were left shaking their heads in disbelief at a tweet showing images of the taxi.
Wayne Casey said: “The guy deserves something for ingenuity surely.”
Jo tweeted: “Far too many professional drivers not conducting daily checks.
https://bit.ly/2CyQfmL
Saturday 16 March 2019
Wolverhampton Council handed out nearly 12,000 taxi licences last year – but only a tiny amount of them were for drivers in the city.
The 11,811 private hire licences issued was by far the highest of any council in the country, breaking the Labour-run authority’s own record from the previous year.
However, according to a Freedom of Information request just 852 of them (seven per cent) went to drivers working in Wolverhampton.
It came as criticisms of the authority’s “cheap and easy” licensing system were raised after it emerged that a driver convicted of a sex attack on a passenger in Winchester had been licensed in Wolverhampton.
The figures show that a staggering 5,376 licences were awarded to Birmingham drivers, making up 45 per cent of all licences given out.
Since a change in the law in 2015, the private hire licensing process has been simplified in Wolverhampton, meaning drivers from all over the country have flocked to the city to pick up a cheap licence.
The North West has become a hotbed for Wolverhampton licences, with Manchester drivers taking 1,443 licences, Oldham (423), Bury (185), Blackburn (153), and Stockport (148).
And drivers from the East Midlands also made the journey over to Wolverhampton in vast numbers, with licences handed out to people from Nottingham (364), Leicester (356) and Derby (334).
Nearly 300 drivers from Shropshire came to the city for licences, including 190 from Telford and 100 from Shrewsbury.
The Government has launched a consultation following widespread calls for a change in the law to stop drivers from getting a licence in one part of the country and operating in another.
Critics have raised concerns over passenger safety, with Tories in the city claiming the Labour-led council’s system is “finance driven” and too cheap and easy. Wolverhampton Council says its streamlined system has made it the “licensing authority of choice”.
Last month Ferham Khan, 33, was jailed for 12 years for sexually assaulting a woman he had picked up in Winchester in 2017.
Winchester City Council leader, Councillor Caroline Horrill, has written to Wolverhampton Council raising concerns around the implications of its licensing policy.
A Wolverhampton Council spokesman said: “As is the case with anyone seeking a licence with us, he underwent an enhanced DBS check at the time of his application and had no previous convictions. As soon as we received information from Hampshire police that they were investigating him on suspicion of a serious sexual assault, we immediately took him off the road.”
https://bit.ly/2UINtSY
Thursday 14 March 2019
TAXI drivers in Kirklees who transport passengers to Leeds are being hit by thousands of pounds' worth of charges for entering the city’s clean air zone.
The charges are waived for drivers based in Leeds.
Now councillors in the borough have called for a “unified approach” that stops local drivers being penalised as the authority gets set to adopt a new licensing policy for hackney carriages and private hire cars.
Drivers from Kirklees are understood to be setting up a petition, and preparing a deputation, in reaction to the new policy prior to its introduction on April 1, 2020.
Raising the issue of congestion charges at a meeting of Kirklees Council’s Licensing and Safety Committee in Huddersfield Town Hall, Clr Cathy Scott (Lab, Dewsbury East) called for Kirklees drivers to receive the same exemption as their Leeds colleagues.
Currently drivers from outside Leeds face a surcharge of £12.50 per day as they enter the city’s clean air charging zone (CAZ).
Said Cllr Scott: “This is going to impact on a lot of businesses because some of them do up to 7,000 trips a year. That’s going to impact on jobs.”
Leeds is able to reduce the financial burden on its taxi drivers via funding given to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), a group of leading councillors and officers from West Yorkshire councils, plus York, that works on major infrastructure projects.
Clr Scott added: “I’ve received a lot of lobbying in regards to the fairness of it.
“Kirklees didn’t receive that funding. It was actually given to Leeds authority. But if we’re talking about a combined authority surely the word ‘combined’ can be introduced into this negotiation?
“This isn’t only about Leeds. It’s about Wakefield and others.
“It’s a small industry in some cases. If we talk in Kirklees about supporting businesses across the borough it should also be involving taxi drivers.”
Officers with the council said the authority was investigating whether it could access Government funding to assist local drivers.
The proposed new policy includes adopting a revised standard for testing vehicles: upon first licensing and then annually on renewal.
The council is looking to encourage the use of low-emission vehicles, including
electric vehicles and is working with WYCA to install a network of electric charging points.
Drivers have also expressed concern that the policy only accepts applications for vehicles up to six years of age, and that vehicles over 10 years old (but not London-type cabs) will be refused further licences.
https://bit.ly/2O4Arwm
----------------------------------
Watford Borough Council will now screen drivers applying for taxi licences to make sure they have not had their licences revoked elsewhere
Anyone wishing to register as a taxi driver in Watford will now be screened against a national register of drivers whose licences have been revoked elsewhere.
In the past it has been possible for a taxi driver to have their licence refused or revoked by one licensing authority – only to pick up a licence from another.
That’s because when drivers failed to declare the situation when making an application to a second authority – it was difficult for the authority to make any checks.
But now the Local Government Association, in partnership with the National Anti-Fraud Network, has launched a national register of all Hackney Carriage and private hire drivers who have previously had a licence refused or taken away.
On Monday Watford Council’s licensing committee agreed to use the register, as part of their application process.
Now if a check on the register reveals a refusal or revocation the council will then be able to make follow-up enquiries with the relevant authority and then determine whether or not to grant the licence.
Information about drivers from Watford will also be added to the system so it is available to other licensing authorities too.
Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “I want everyone who gets into a taxi in our town to know that they are safe.
“This new database allows us to look at a whether a driver’s licence has been revoked or refused from another part of the country.
“If we have concerns, we can refuse them the permission to drive in Watford.
“Taxi drivers provide such an important service to our community and so it’s important that we regulate the trade in a fair and transparent way.”
According to the report to the licensing committee, the national register was drawn up because of the difficulties in cross-referencing information and increasing concerns over ‘cross border’ hiring.
“The concern was that a driver could simply re-apply for a licence in a neighbouring authority and continue to work more or less in the same region (or another region) as if nothing had happened,” it said.
Although a false declaration on an application form is a criminal offence, according to a report, 22 warning letters have been issued to drivers in Watford who had failed to fill in their form correctly since July 2018.
Most of these warnings, says the report, related to “very old” convictions or non-conviction issues, such as where an arrest was made but no further action taken.
And, it says, the majority have not impacted on a driver’s fitness to hold a licence.
The council consulted on the changes to the licensing policy in February. No written responses were received.
There was, says the report, one verbal mention of support for the change. And one licence holder expressed concerns that the council would rely upon ‘false reports’ against drivers. However it was explained that this is not how the register would work.
https://bit.ly/2F2U2c9
---------------------------------
MERSEYSIDE DRIVER DIES
A TAXI driver has died three weeks after a crash that also claimed the life of mum-of-two Michelle Jennings.
Michelle, 35, was on her way to work in a taxi at around 5am on Wednesday, February 27.
The crash happened on the East Lancashire Road in Croxteth between the taxi and BMW.
Michelle, the passenger in the taxi, from Fazakerley, passed away in hospital from injuries.
The 51-year-old taxi driver was seriously injured and had been in hospital since the incident.
Police confimed he died yesterday, Wednesday, March 13.
A 26-year-old man from St Helens arrested in connection with this collision was released under investigation and enquiries are on-going.
Officers are urging anyone with information, who witnessed this collision or who has dash-cam footage, to contact @MerPolCC, call 0151 7775747 or 101, quoting reference 19100077634 or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555111.
-------------------------------------
Hull taxi bosses have urged cabbie drivers to act like “human beings” and not abandon their customers after a number of worrying reports involving drivers on social media.
In the past week, a number of women have taken to Facebook to post alarming ordeals involving taxi drivers in the city.
Kayleigh-Marie Jopling, a mum-of-two from Hessle, claimed that a taxi driver abandoned her in Spring Bank at 4.30am last Sunday morning.
Just a day prior, Abbie Jones, a University of Hull student, alleged that she and her friends were subjected to foul-mouthed tirades by a cabbie driver.
Both of the women got in vehicles waiting in the taxi rank at Hull Paragon and Magnus Murray, secretary of the Humber Taxi Association, said it is worrying to hear accounts of such behaviour which he feels is becoming more common.
He wants taxi drivers to show more compassion towards passengers, particularly women and young children, if they are missing small amounts off their fare.
Mr Murray said: “What concerns me is that if a young girl is short on a £4 fare because she only has £3 a driver would kick her out. What is he achieving?
“It’s pounds and pennies. Carry on taking them to where they want to go and I just want them to think that they have done a good deed getting people home.
“It is women and young children who are getting kicked out because they haven’t got the fare but these taxi drivers are human beings and they should be getting these people home safe.
“That to me is far more important than arguing over a few quid.”
Mr Murray, who is part of the Humber Taxi Association which was previously known as the Humber Private Hire Association (HPHA), has urged unhappy customers to carry on reporting their experiences to Hull City Council and the individual taxi operators.
“Make an official complaint through the correct procedure,” Mr Murray said. “That makes it formal and we urge people to report it to the licensing officers.
“There are always two sides to a story but if a driver gets pulled in it is on his record and if that type of behaviour reoccurs they can suspend their licence.”
https://bit.ly/2UyUV2B
--------------------------------
A GLASGOW taxi company has unveiled a new look for some of its taxis to demonstrate the acts of kindness its staff carry out on a daily basis.
Glasgow Taxi's have shared the new Your City's Friends branding which appears on 30 of the iconic cabs across the city.
The brand is intended to remind people not only the core service provided but of the significant added value and charitable work the company undertakes all year round.
After first being installed around a month ago, more and more vehicles can now be spotted with the slogan on them.
The first driver to drive around sporting one of the new creations, Jim Smith, believes the design is going down well.
The driver of 10 years added: "I think because we do so much for the city, it has been well received.
"We have taken people to the hospital and, to be honest, you often don't take the money. You can see people are in need.
"There is a lot of trust in us."
Fellow driver David Hodgson said: "I love the job, we are a friend to the city. We are a permanent fixture here but we are a necessity.
"Long after everyone else stops for the night, we are always going to be there."
Another driver recalled the time he drove a lady's shopping home for her, after she returned to the supermarket to retrieve a £1 from her trolley. He later returned to pick her up.
Stephen Flynn, Glasgow Taxis Ltd chairman, said: “We’re very proud to reveal Your City’s Friend as the new slogan for Glasgow Taxis Ltd, which perfectly captures the essence of our role in serving Glasgow. Our staff, members and drivers help transport thousands of people safely every day but we do so much more, often unseen or unheard, and always for the betterment of the city."
“For example, in the first couple of months of 2019 we have introduced defibrillators to 15 taxis, one driver helped recover the stolen mobile of a Strictly Come Dancing dancer, another fixed the wheelchair of a conference delegate, and we’ve supported the Beatson Cancer Charity, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice too. We’ve a phrase at Glasgow Taxis – “this is what we do” – and these examples and many more are simply all in a day’s work.
“Your City’s Friend is a complementary message to the famous People Make Glasgow slogan, which also features on our 30 cabs, reminding that our staff and drivers are the very heart of Glasgow Taxis.”
https://bit.ly/2HmZaM6
DERBY
This dramatic photos show the aftermath of a crash caused when a taxi driver fell asleep at the wheel.
Azhar Iqbal blacked out while driving the yellow Hackney cab down on the eastbound carriageway of the A52, drifted off the road and smashed into a tree.
The car travelled through a grass verge and slip road, and ended up colliding with trees close to the M1 turn-off.
His autistic passenger was not injured in the crash, but Iqbal received a cut to his nose.
DerbyshireLive reports Iqbal originally claimed he had suffered a "medical episode" at the wheel, but later changed his story to say he had swerved across the road to avoid a fox.
He has now been disqualified for dangerous driving and had his taxi licence revoked, following the incident which took place in February last year.
At the time of the incident, Mr Iqbal told police he had suffered a "medical episode" which caused him to lose control of the taxi.
However, during an investigation led by Derby City Council, he changed his story to say he had swerved to avoid hitting an animal.
At trial it emerged he had in fact fallen asleep, and was seen by another driver moments before the crash with his chin touching his neck and his head looking down.
A tweet from Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit revealed the dramatic photos and read: "A good result for public safety here. Taxi driver who fell asleep at the wheel but then claimed he swerved to avoid an animal.
"Disqualification from driving for 12 months and taxi licence revoked. #RoadSafety"
Richard Antcliff, director of Public Protection and Streetpride, added: “Partnership working between the police and ourselves is essential to keeping Derby and its residents safe.
"This prosecution and licensing committee decision shows that we will work together and take action to remove unsafe drivers from the roads.”
Appearing before magistrates in Derby charged with dangerous driving, Mr Iqbal entered a guilty plea and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
The court heard how he had worked as a taxi driver for ten years "without blemish", and now has a job at a warehouse.
His barrister David Lee told the court: "He was allowed to drive on a personal licence until today. He has lost a good, well paid job as a taxi driver.
https://bit.ly/2F00mRK
-----------------------------------
The city of Seoul is planning to roll out artificial intelligence-supported ride-location technology in all of the metro’s cabs following a successful trial.
The test with 380 taxis delivered better than 97% accuracy in predicting areas with high demand for rides. A number of participating cab firms saw a more-than 2% spike in business using the technology.
The AI-platform, developed by the city and Korea Smart Card, divides Seoul into 100m x 100m squares and bases its real-time forecasts on weather, population and ‘other factors’.
"Before, taxi drivers encountered their passengers through coincidence, however, with the ‘AI Taxi System’ their encounter will be inevitable,” the city says.
https://bit.ly/2XX3Qx6.
---------------------------------
SOUTH AFRICA
From 'sushi king' to taxi boss: Kenny Kunene takes on Uber with new app
"We've been inundated with calls from all over the country," says Kenny Kunene about his latest business venture.
Driven by the realisation that technology is the gateway to the future, Kunene has decided to enter the world of taxi e-hailing. He recently started a business to compete with global giants like Uber and Bolt (formerly Taxify).
His foray into the world of high-tech transport is a far cry from some of the earlier antics that got him media attention, such as eating sushi from the bodies of naked women.
Kunene’s service, called Yookoo Rides, was launched in February. It has several additional features compared to those offered by his competitors.
“Besides the fact that we are a 100% black-owned South African company, our app offers a panic button that will be linked to next of kin and our offices for emergency purposes. So in an event of any emergency, we will be able call the customer, contact the police or even dispatch security services in the area,” Kunene said in an interview with TimesLIVE.
Kunene said the app also offered a convenient payment method that allowed customers to load money for future rides. Also setting it apart from the competition is the fact that more than one trip can be made at a time.
“People use these services for different reasons and some very often. A person who uses it to work can put R2,000 on their wallet account and pay for their trips from it. Even those who travel around for fun can be able to have a budget,” he said.
Kunene said some people did not have cards nor cash (as required by Uber and Taxify), so his app allowed for trips to be paid for by other users using the "wallet" feature.
The company has so far rolled out its services to Gauteng. There are plans to expand the business to other provinces - and beyond. “In the past two weeks, we have been inundated with calls from all over the country and some neighbouring countries that want to use the service. I can assure you that we will go global,” said Kunene.
Another feature differentiating Kunene’s business is that it offers substantial discounts. “Yookoo Rides offers massive discounts of up to 40%. This varies on distance, of course. The smaller the distance, the cheaper the ride. It’s a different case when it is a long distance trip,” he said.
Local users of e-hailing services have been involved in a number of incidents in which drivers have been accused of attacks and assaults. Kunene explained that his drivers were subjected to strict vetting processes, including the submission of professional driving permits.
He said his company offered various technological innovations that are aimed at creating jobs and uplifting the youth. “Our young people have the brains and ideas, so we want to create a platform that will assist in polishing their ideas and become billionaires, because smart technology is the future.”
While the business has been up and running for almost a month, Kunene said his team had been working on it since 2015. “It didn’t just happen. It took a lot for it to finally take off. I was blessed to come across people with the same passion - and qualifications, because I am just a businessman. It was a dream come true,” he said.
TimesLIVE tested the app and the discounts varied. It was rated 4.6 out of 5 by users on the Google Play Store.
https://bit.ly/2HxSzOa
------------------------------------
This dramatic photos show the aftermath of a crash caused when a taxi driver fell asleep at the wheel.
Azhar Iqbal blacked out while driving the yellow Hackney cab down on the eastbound carriageway of the A52, drifted off the road and smashed into a tree.
The car travelled through a grass verge and slip road, and ended up colliding with trees close to the M1 turn-off.
His autistic passenger was not injured in the crash, but Iqbal received a cut to his nose.
DerbyshireLive reports Iqbal originally claimed he had suffered a "medical episode" at the wheel, but later changed his story to say he had swerved across the road to avoid a fox.
He has now been disqualified for dangerous driving and had his taxi licence revoked, following the incident which took place in February last year.
At the time of the incident, Mr Iqbal told police he had suffered a "medical episode" which caused him to lose control of the taxi.
However, during an investigation led by Derby City Council, he changed his story to say he had swerved to avoid hitting an animal.
At trial it emerged he had in fact fallen asleep, and was seen by another driver moments before the crash with his chin touching his neck and his head looking down.
A tweet from Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit revealed the dramatic photos and read: "A good result for public safety here. Taxi driver who fell asleep at the wheel but then claimed he swerved to avoid an animal.
"Disqualification from driving for 12 months and taxi licence revoked. #RoadSafety"
Richard Antcliff, director of Public Protection and Streetpride, added: “Partnership working between the police and ourselves is essential to keeping Derby and its residents safe.
"This prosecution and licensing committee decision shows that we will work together and take action to remove unsafe drivers from the roads.”
Appearing before magistrates in Derby charged with dangerous driving, Mr Iqbal entered a guilty plea and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
The court heard how he had worked as a taxi driver for ten years "without blemish", and now has a job at a warehouse.
His barrister David Lee told the court: "He was allowed to drive on a personal licence until today. He has lost a good, well paid job as a taxi driver.
https://bit.ly/2F00mRK
-----------------------------------
The city of Seoul is planning to roll out artificial intelligence-supported ride-location technology in all of the metro’s cabs following a successful trial.
The test with 380 taxis delivered better than 97% accuracy in predicting areas with high demand for rides. A number of participating cab firms saw a more-than 2% spike in business using the technology.
The AI-platform, developed by the city and Korea Smart Card, divides Seoul into 100m x 100m squares and bases its real-time forecasts on weather, population and ‘other factors’.
"Before, taxi drivers encountered their passengers through coincidence, however, with the ‘AI Taxi System’ their encounter will be inevitable,” the city says.
https://bit.ly/2XX3Qx6.
---------------------------------
SOUTH AFRICA
From 'sushi king' to taxi boss: Kenny Kunene takes on Uber with new app
"We've been inundated with calls from all over the country," says Kenny Kunene about his latest business venture.
Driven by the realisation that technology is the gateway to the future, Kunene has decided to enter the world of taxi e-hailing. He recently started a business to compete with global giants like Uber and Bolt (formerly Taxify).
His foray into the world of high-tech transport is a far cry from some of the earlier antics that got him media attention, such as eating sushi from the bodies of naked women.
Kunene’s service, called Yookoo Rides, was launched in February. It has several additional features compared to those offered by his competitors.
“Besides the fact that we are a 100% black-owned South African company, our app offers a panic button that will be linked to next of kin and our offices for emergency purposes. So in an event of any emergency, we will be able call the customer, contact the police or even dispatch security services in the area,” Kunene said in an interview with TimesLIVE.
Kunene said the app also offered a convenient payment method that allowed customers to load money for future rides. Also setting it apart from the competition is the fact that more than one trip can be made at a time.
“People use these services for different reasons and some very often. A person who uses it to work can put R2,000 on their wallet account and pay for their trips from it. Even those who travel around for fun can be able to have a budget,” he said.
Kunene said some people did not have cards nor cash (as required by Uber and Taxify), so his app allowed for trips to be paid for by other users using the "wallet" feature.
The company has so far rolled out its services to Gauteng. There are plans to expand the business to other provinces - and beyond. “In the past two weeks, we have been inundated with calls from all over the country and some neighbouring countries that want to use the service. I can assure you that we will go global,” said Kunene.
Another feature differentiating Kunene’s business is that it offers substantial discounts. “Yookoo Rides offers massive discounts of up to 40%. This varies on distance, of course. The smaller the distance, the cheaper the ride. It’s a different case when it is a long distance trip,” he said.
Local users of e-hailing services have been involved in a number of incidents in which drivers have been accused of attacks and assaults. Kunene explained that his drivers were subjected to strict vetting processes, including the submission of professional driving permits.
He said his company offered various technological innovations that are aimed at creating jobs and uplifting the youth. “Our young people have the brains and ideas, so we want to create a platform that will assist in polishing their ideas and become billionaires, because smart technology is the future.”
While the business has been up and running for almost a month, Kunene said his team had been working on it since 2015. “It didn’t just happen. It took a lot for it to finally take off. I was blessed to come across people with the same passion - and qualifications, because I am just a businessman. It was a dream come true,” he said.
TimesLIVE tested the app and the discounts varied. It was rated 4.6 out of 5 by users on the Google Play Store.
https://bit.ly/2HxSzOa
------------------------------------
Tuesday 12 March 2019
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Severn Trent explains why it's been using taxi drivers to check on water leaks
The water company which covers Nottinghamshire has been explaining why it has been using taxi drivers to go out and check on leaks.
Severn Trent says it has been using taxis as part of its 'Virtual Field Team' programme.
This was launched last year as a video-calling service that allows the water company's customers to speak ‘face-to-face’ with an engineer when they report a leak.
But it has now emerged that taxi drivers have been sent out by Severn Trent to send back videos of reported leaks.
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We’ve carried out a series of two-week trials as we look to find new, more efficient ways to find and fix leaks.
"This particular trial has looked at around 50 small leaks where we’ve used taxi drivers rather than technicians as a cheaper way to get live video footage of the leak, so our engineers back at base can quickly assess the correct response and dispatch the most appropriate team to fix it.
“We’re now looking at all the trial results to see the best way to help our engineers spend more time doing what’s best for our customers by fixing leaks rather than simply assessing them.”
The move has been strongly criticised by the GNB union.
Stuart Fegan, GMB National Officer, said: “When I found out Severn Trent are using taxi drivers to investigate leaks I thought it must be a joke.
“But no one is laughing – this has got huge safety implications for customers, the drivers and the public at large.
“Water engineers are highly trained specialists - they can spot if water is contaminated and if water produces a risk to the public.
"I doubt most taxi drivers can. They also don’t know how to pin-point leaks - meaning repair crews can dig unnecessary holes in the highway.
“And how is someone going to feel after they report a leak, expecting a Severn Trent worker to attend with a uniform and the necessary training, and a taxi driver turns up? They’d think it was a hoax call.
“Severn Trent needs to see sense and cancel the 'Uber leaks' programme immediately."
Severn Trent is the UK’s second biggest water company, stretching from mid-Wales to Rutland, and from north Wales to the Bristol Channel and the Humber.
In November it said that initial trials of the 'Virtual Field Team' scheme showed that the team had been able to review three times as many leaks compared to engineers who would have had to travel to each leak location.
https://bit.ly/2J83PDj
---------------------------------------
LUTON
A taxi driver rapist who was able to live freely for 10 years was captured on tonight's episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody.
The channel 4 programme followed police in Luton after a routine check found a match from a new domestic encounter, with DNA collected at the time of the rapes in 2007.
DNA at the scene of both rapes linked the suspect together, but police were unable to identify a suspect until a more recent domestic encounter.
Cameras followed the twists and turns of the arrest, as the case was reopened thanks to the new evidence.
Behind every unsolved rape case there will be a victim who has not received justice,' said detective Ginnette Amico. 'It's my job to not leave any stone unturned.'
Viewers saw police track down Ahmed Shipu to his house, and then question him over the incidents.
Detective Amico watched footage of the victim's interviews from 2007, as both described being picked up by a taxi driver and offered a lift.
The first, a 15-year-old girl, was picked up and driven on a route she didn't know, before the man stopped in a car park, pushed her to the ground and committed the rape.
The second, a 22-year-old, was offered a lift with another man, however when the male got out of the car to pick up something from his house, the suspect drove off and raped her.
'I see myself as a protector of victims, and the two victims have had to carry on their lives with the scars he has created for them,' explained detective Amico.
Reopening a cold case has it's challenges, and the detectives must look through the evidence collected. Though they knock on doors and ask questions, Detective Amico is left frustrated.
'What they've got to realise is that if it was their mum or their sister then they'd want people to say something,' she explained.
During the hour-and-a-half episode, police are able to track down the older of the two victims, who is now in her thirties, and listens on as she tries to provide as much evidence as she can.
https://dailym.ai/2Tuk3es
----------------------------------
OXFORD
POLICE are yet to charge anyone five months after a woman was subjected to a terrifying sex attack in the back of a taxi.
However, a 34-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault in October remains a suspect, police have confirmed.
The victim, aged in her 20s, had fallen asleep while being driven from Oxford to Abingdon and awoke to find the driver of the car undoing her trousers.
She was then sexually assaulted.
Officers confirmed that the 34-year-old from Oxford was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault the day after the incident.
He was subsequently released under investigation.
The woman had taken a taxi from Park End Street in Oxford city centre at around 1.30am on October 14, and was driven to Abingdon.
After she was assaulted the woman escaped from the taxi near West St Helen Street in Abingdon but was followed by the driver.
She approached a member of the public for help before the driver left the scene.
The driver is described as an Asian male with short black hair and stubble.
https://bit.ly/2UuXcvO
--------------------------------------
YESTERDAY 11/3 IN PARLIMENT
Lord Hylton Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21 February (HL13733), what assurances they can provide that access to Parliament, Government departments and St Thomas’s Hospital will not be obstructed by taxis blocking Parliament Square;
and whether prosecutions are in process or pending as a result of earlier blockades.
(Citation: HL Deb, 11 March 2019, cW)
Baroness Williams of Trafford The Minister of State, Home Department, Minister for Equalities (Department for International Development)
The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police
The police are also responsible for any decisions on arrests.
Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, the police will decide whether or not an offence reaches the threshold required for prosecution under the relevant legislation.
--------------------------------
Bridget Phillipson Labour, Houghton and Sunderland South
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to prevent taxi or private hire vehicle drivers from operating exclusively outside of the locality in which they are licensed.
(Citation: HC Deb, 11 March 2019, cW)
Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
The Government’s response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing agreed with the principle that all taxi and private hire vehicle journeys should start and/or end within the area that issued the licences, and set out that further consideration will be given to how this might best work in practice, with a view to legislation.
--------------------------------------
Clive Betts Chair, Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: protecting users, published on 12 February 2019, whether he has plans for statutory guidance to prohibit vehicles from undertaking journeys which do not take place or end in the area which they are licensed.
(Citation: HC Deb, 11 March 2019, cW)
Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
The draft statutory guidance on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing which the Department is consulting on is made using powers in the Policing and Crime Act 2017.
Section 177 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 enables the Secretary of State to issue guidance to public authorities as to how their licensing functions under taxi and private hire vehicle legislation may be exercised so as to protect children, and vulnerable individuals who are 18 or over, from harm.
The Department does not believe that prohibiting vehicles from undertaking journeys which do not take place or end in the area in which they are licensed falls within scope of the section 177 powers.
In the response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Government agreed with the principle that all taxi and private hire vehicle journeys should start and/or end within the area that issued the licences, and set out that further consideration will be given to how this might best work in practice, with a view to legislation.
---------------------------------
Severn Trent explains why it's been using taxi drivers to check on water leaks
The water company which covers Nottinghamshire has been explaining why it has been using taxi drivers to go out and check on leaks.
Severn Trent says it has been using taxis as part of its 'Virtual Field Team' programme.
This was launched last year as a video-calling service that allows the water company's customers to speak ‘face-to-face’ with an engineer when they report a leak.
But it has now emerged that taxi drivers have been sent out by Severn Trent to send back videos of reported leaks.
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We’ve carried out a series of two-week trials as we look to find new, more efficient ways to find and fix leaks.
"This particular trial has looked at around 50 small leaks where we’ve used taxi drivers rather than technicians as a cheaper way to get live video footage of the leak, so our engineers back at base can quickly assess the correct response and dispatch the most appropriate team to fix it.
“We’re now looking at all the trial results to see the best way to help our engineers spend more time doing what’s best for our customers by fixing leaks rather than simply assessing them.”
The move has been strongly criticised by the GNB union.
Stuart Fegan, GMB National Officer, said: “When I found out Severn Trent are using taxi drivers to investigate leaks I thought it must be a joke.
“But no one is laughing – this has got huge safety implications for customers, the drivers and the public at large.
“Water engineers are highly trained specialists - they can spot if water is contaminated and if water produces a risk to the public.
"I doubt most taxi drivers can. They also don’t know how to pin-point leaks - meaning repair crews can dig unnecessary holes in the highway.
“And how is someone going to feel after they report a leak, expecting a Severn Trent worker to attend with a uniform and the necessary training, and a taxi driver turns up? They’d think it was a hoax call.
“Severn Trent needs to see sense and cancel the 'Uber leaks' programme immediately."
Severn Trent is the UK’s second biggest water company, stretching from mid-Wales to Rutland, and from north Wales to the Bristol Channel and the Humber.
In November it said that initial trials of the 'Virtual Field Team' scheme showed that the team had been able to review three times as many leaks compared to engineers who would have had to travel to each leak location.
https://bit.ly/2J83PDj
---------------------------------------
LUTON
A taxi driver rapist who was able to live freely for 10 years was captured on tonight's episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody.
The channel 4 programme followed police in Luton after a routine check found a match from a new domestic encounter, with DNA collected at the time of the rapes in 2007.
DNA at the scene of both rapes linked the suspect together, but police were unable to identify a suspect until a more recent domestic encounter.
Cameras followed the twists and turns of the arrest, as the case was reopened thanks to the new evidence.
Behind every unsolved rape case there will be a victim who has not received justice,' said detective Ginnette Amico. 'It's my job to not leave any stone unturned.'
Viewers saw police track down Ahmed Shipu to his house, and then question him over the incidents.
Detective Amico watched footage of the victim's interviews from 2007, as both described being picked up by a taxi driver and offered a lift.
The first, a 15-year-old girl, was picked up and driven on a route she didn't know, before the man stopped in a car park, pushed her to the ground and committed the rape.
The second, a 22-year-old, was offered a lift with another man, however when the male got out of the car to pick up something from his house, the suspect drove off and raped her.
'I see myself as a protector of victims, and the two victims have had to carry on their lives with the scars he has created for them,' explained detective Amico.
Reopening a cold case has it's challenges, and the detectives must look through the evidence collected. Though they knock on doors and ask questions, Detective Amico is left frustrated.
'What they've got to realise is that if it was their mum or their sister then they'd want people to say something,' she explained.
During the hour-and-a-half episode, police are able to track down the older of the two victims, who is now in her thirties, and listens on as she tries to provide as much evidence as she can.
https://dailym.ai/2Tuk3es
----------------------------------
OXFORD
POLICE are yet to charge anyone five months after a woman was subjected to a terrifying sex attack in the back of a taxi.
However, a 34-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault in October remains a suspect, police have confirmed.
The victim, aged in her 20s, had fallen asleep while being driven from Oxford to Abingdon and awoke to find the driver of the car undoing her trousers.
She was then sexually assaulted.
Officers confirmed that the 34-year-old from Oxford was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault the day after the incident.
He was subsequently released under investigation.
The woman had taken a taxi from Park End Street in Oxford city centre at around 1.30am on October 14, and was driven to Abingdon.
After she was assaulted the woman escaped from the taxi near West St Helen Street in Abingdon but was followed by the driver.
She approached a member of the public for help before the driver left the scene.
The driver is described as an Asian male with short black hair and stubble.
https://bit.ly/2UuXcvO
--------------------------------------
YESTERDAY 11/3 IN PARLIMENT
Lord Hylton Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21 February (HL13733), what assurances they can provide that access to Parliament, Government departments and St Thomas’s Hospital will not be obstructed by taxis blocking Parliament Square;
and whether prosecutions are in process or pending as a result of earlier blockades.
(Citation: HL Deb, 11 March 2019, cW)
Baroness Williams of Trafford The Minister of State, Home Department, Minister for Equalities (Department for International Development)
The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police
The police are also responsible for any decisions on arrests.
Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, the police will decide whether or not an offence reaches the threshold required for prosecution under the relevant legislation.
--------------------------------
Bridget Phillipson Labour, Houghton and Sunderland South
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to prevent taxi or private hire vehicle drivers from operating exclusively outside of the locality in which they are licensed.
(Citation: HC Deb, 11 March 2019, cW)
Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
The Government’s response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing agreed with the principle that all taxi and private hire vehicle journeys should start and/or end within the area that issued the licences, and set out that further consideration will be given to how this might best work in practice, with a view to legislation.
--------------------------------------
Clive Betts Chair, Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: protecting users, published on 12 February 2019, whether he has plans for statutory guidance to prohibit vehicles from undertaking journeys which do not take place or end in the area which they are licensed.
(Citation: HC Deb, 11 March 2019, cW)
Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
The draft statutory guidance on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing which the Department is consulting on is made using powers in the Policing and Crime Act 2017.
Section 177 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 enables the Secretary of State to issue guidance to public authorities as to how their licensing functions under taxi and private hire vehicle legislation may be exercised so as to protect children, and vulnerable individuals who are 18 or over, from harm.
The Department does not believe that prohibiting vehicles from undertaking journeys which do not take place or end in the area in which they are licensed falls within scope of the section 177 powers.
In the response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Government agreed with the principle that all taxi and private hire vehicle journeys should start and/or end within the area that issued the licences, and set out that further consideration will be given to how this might best work in practice, with a view to legislation.
---------------------------------
Thursday 7 March 2019
BIRMINGHAM
A total of 20 taxis have reportedly brought the whole of Birmingham city centre to a standstill - by parking under Smallbrook Queensway.
West Midlands Police has been made aware of the protest, but has not been called out as it is not a police matter.
A spokeswoman for the force said:
We are aware of the protests - we have just been made aware of the fact that it’s happening.
Around 20 have parked under Smallbrook Queensway tunnel.
A taxi protest in the heart of Birmingham has sparked huge delays, according to bus service National Express.
Bus services were held back by 60 minutes due to the congestion caused by the protests.
Witnesses have alleged that Smallbrook Queensway exits have been blocked as part of the protest over the proposed congestion charge.
National Express said: "Due to the taxi protest currently taking place, there is heavy congestion in Birmingham City Centre.
"Services are being delayed up to 60 minutes unfortunately."
This is a breaking news story.
Each day BirminghamLive journalists bring you the latest news on the roads and railways across Birmingham and the West Midlands and further afield to help keep you on the move.
https://bit.ly/2CcDnT4
-----------------------------------------
Newcastle Borough Council
Taxi drivers are planning a mass protest against licensing changes they say will drive cabbies out of town and leave customers forking out more per ride.
Newcastle Borough Council has been consulting on a new licensing policy for two years - but drivers say they weren't invited into the process for 13 months.
And even when they were invited, they were offered just a single two-hour meeting. They were told to put their issues with the 91-page document in writing to council bosses within six weeks.
After drivers then asked Newcastle MP Paul Farrelly to join the debate, they were offered two more meetings, lasting two hours each.
Now taxi drivers say they'll stage a mass protest outside the council's offices after March 14 if they are not listened to.
Newcastle-under-Lyme taxi drivers Murtaza Alam, Tariq Mahmood, Shahraz Yaqub, Mark Beardmore, Sam Hashmi, Paul Wilkes, Abid Hussain and Glyn Cross. (Image: Joe Burn)
Drivers also claim the changes will reduce levels of service and safety for passengers.
The new proposals include asking drivers to switch to electric cars, a move they say is too expensive and will see their hard-earned cash lost to charging times.
They've taken issue with the age vehicles are allowed to be licensed from too.
Newcastle taxi drivers' issues with the new policy
Taxi drivers claim to have the following issues with Newcastle Borough Council's new taxi licensing policy for 2019/20:
Operators claim they will have to keep logbooks of service history for self-employed drivers - at a great cost of time and effort to their businesses;
Vehicles can't be licensed past four years old for their first time and beyond seven years in total;
Switching to electric vehicles is too expensive and they'll lose money when charging;
A new type of testing system won't be as efficient as the Stoke-on-Trent College BTEC qualification they already have;
They don't like the penalty points scheme;
They say they'll have to wait between five and eight weeks for an appointment to renew their licences;
It'll cost customers more;
It will reduce service and safety standards;
It will send drivers out of the borough for licences.
Previously, an eight-year-old vehicle could be licensed. Now, the council have 'moved the goalposts' to seven years - but will allow electric vehicles to be licensed that are up to 10 years old.
A vehicle cannot be older than four years before its first licensed either - it used to be five.
They also claim the council want operators to start keeping service history details for self-employed drivers - a task they say would be a mammoth effort and extra cost to their business.
Trevor Colclough, of Sid's Private Hire taxi firm, said: "This is ridiculous as cars are getting better, not worse. Even the Government want to bring the MOT down from every four to every three years.
From left, Trevor Colclough of Sid's Private Hire and Odgy Hammond, owner of Sid's Private Hire (Image: Joe Burn)
"It's not been a true discussion and we've not had enough time."
Mr Colclough added the new policy says drivers must complete a new kind of test - but there isn't any detail as to what kind of test - and drivers already have to complete a BTEC qualification with Stoke-on-Trent College.
He said: "This is the ancient borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme - it's not 1984. It's not some Orwellian borough, it's the ancient borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and it'll never be 'Victory Cars' - it'll always be Sid's."
Drivers have also taken issue with a new penalty points scheme and the way appointments are made.
They say they'll have to wait for between five and eight weeks - which potentially leaves drivers off the road for months waiting to get their licences renewed - although the council say they'll be notified three months in advance.
Shahraz Yaqub, who represents the Stoke-on-Trent Private Hire Drivers' Association, said:
"This is not London, this is not Birmingham, this is not Manchester. They really need to think about what they're doing.
https://bit.ly/2TDtFCZ
------------------------------------
PARIS
A Manchester United fan has been left fighting for life after allegedly being stabbed in the chest by a furious taxi driver in Paris.
The 44-year-old man, who has not been identified, underwent emergency surgery at the Georges Pompidou hospital on Thursday, following his side’s dramatic European Champions League win.
The United fan had been with a group of friends travelling away from the Parc de Princes on Wednesday night after their side beat Paris St Germain 3-1 to knock the home side out of the league.
According to Sky Sports News ‘the driver took offence to them singing in celebration of United’s dramatic late winner.’
The outlet added that ‘the driver pulled over to get them out of his taxi, before pulling out a knife and threatening the female passenger in the group.
A source said: ‘The victim tried to intervene to protect her, but the driver then turned the knife on him, stabbing him in the chest with what’s been described as a large blade.
‘He was left lying on the pavement fighting for his life, when one of the group was able to flag down a passing car and rush him to hospital.’
It is understood that that a suspect has since been arrested, and that the fan has had lung surgery.
https://bit.ly/2tZPJcp
--------------------------------
THE Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford could have his licence to drive taxis in the city revoked after he was given an order for domestic violence.
Taxi driver Sajjad Malik, 50, will be referred to a council committee that will decide whether he remains a ‘fit and proper person’.
Malik was given a 28-day domestic violence protection order (DVPO) at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Councillors urged him to resign as Deputy Lord Mayor and as a councillor.
The DVPO means he must not ‘threaten’ two people with violence, ‘behave in a way that would cause any other person to fear that violence would be used’ towards those two people or go within 50 metres of Emperor Gardens, Greater Leys, where he lives.
A city council spokesman said: “The city council, following liaison with Thames Valley Police, has considered the facts of the case and a referral will be made to the general purposes licensing sub-committee to determine Councillor Malik’s ‘fit and proper’ status.”
Andrew Gant, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: "It is not appropriate for him to continue representing our city or his ward residents."
He has asked the city council's leader, Susan Brown, to expel Malik and to strip him of the title of Deputy Lord Mayor before the council's next meeting on April 29.
He added: "I ask councillors of all parties and groups to join me in these calls, for the sake of the reputation and good governance of the city and community we share."
While he attacked Labour's handling, saying its decision to suspend him indefinitely rather than expelling him as 'weak and insufficient'.
Malik is currently an independent councillor following his suspension from Labour.
Independent councillor Mick Haines said Malik remaining a councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor was 'absolutely scandalous'.
https://bit.ly/2EV4wve
A total of 20 taxis have reportedly brought the whole of Birmingham city centre to a standstill - by parking under Smallbrook Queensway.
West Midlands Police has been made aware of the protest, but has not been called out as it is not a police matter.
A spokeswoman for the force said:
We are aware of the protests - we have just been made aware of the fact that it’s happening.
Around 20 have parked under Smallbrook Queensway tunnel.
A taxi protest in the heart of Birmingham has sparked huge delays, according to bus service National Express.
Bus services were held back by 60 minutes due to the congestion caused by the protests.
Witnesses have alleged that Smallbrook Queensway exits have been blocked as part of the protest over the proposed congestion charge.
National Express said: "Due to the taxi protest currently taking place, there is heavy congestion in Birmingham City Centre.
"Services are being delayed up to 60 minutes unfortunately."
This is a breaking news story.
Each day BirminghamLive journalists bring you the latest news on the roads and railways across Birmingham and the West Midlands and further afield to help keep you on the move.
https://bit.ly/2CcDnT4
-----------------------------------------
Newcastle Borough Council
Taxi drivers are planning a mass protest against licensing changes they say will drive cabbies out of town and leave customers forking out more per ride.
Newcastle Borough Council has been consulting on a new licensing policy for two years - but drivers say they weren't invited into the process for 13 months.
And even when they were invited, they were offered just a single two-hour meeting. They were told to put their issues with the 91-page document in writing to council bosses within six weeks.
After drivers then asked Newcastle MP Paul Farrelly to join the debate, they were offered two more meetings, lasting two hours each.
Now taxi drivers say they'll stage a mass protest outside the council's offices after March 14 if they are not listened to.
Newcastle-under-Lyme taxi drivers Murtaza Alam, Tariq Mahmood, Shahraz Yaqub, Mark Beardmore, Sam Hashmi, Paul Wilkes, Abid Hussain and Glyn Cross. (Image: Joe Burn)
Drivers also claim the changes will reduce levels of service and safety for passengers.
The new proposals include asking drivers to switch to electric cars, a move they say is too expensive and will see their hard-earned cash lost to charging times.
They've taken issue with the age vehicles are allowed to be licensed from too.
Newcastle taxi drivers' issues with the new policy
Taxi drivers claim to have the following issues with Newcastle Borough Council's new taxi licensing policy for 2019/20:
Operators claim they will have to keep logbooks of service history for self-employed drivers - at a great cost of time and effort to their businesses;
Vehicles can't be licensed past four years old for their first time and beyond seven years in total;
Switching to electric vehicles is too expensive and they'll lose money when charging;
A new type of testing system won't be as efficient as the Stoke-on-Trent College BTEC qualification they already have;
They don't like the penalty points scheme;
They say they'll have to wait between five and eight weeks for an appointment to renew their licences;
It'll cost customers more;
It will reduce service and safety standards;
It will send drivers out of the borough for licences.
Previously, an eight-year-old vehicle could be licensed. Now, the council have 'moved the goalposts' to seven years - but will allow electric vehicles to be licensed that are up to 10 years old.
A vehicle cannot be older than four years before its first licensed either - it used to be five.
They also claim the council want operators to start keeping service history details for self-employed drivers - a task they say would be a mammoth effort and extra cost to their business.
Trevor Colclough, of Sid's Private Hire taxi firm, said: "This is ridiculous as cars are getting better, not worse. Even the Government want to bring the MOT down from every four to every three years.
From left, Trevor Colclough of Sid's Private Hire and Odgy Hammond, owner of Sid's Private Hire (Image: Joe Burn)
"It's not been a true discussion and we've not had enough time."
Mr Colclough added the new policy says drivers must complete a new kind of test - but there isn't any detail as to what kind of test - and drivers already have to complete a BTEC qualification with Stoke-on-Trent College.
He said: "This is the ancient borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme - it's not 1984. It's not some Orwellian borough, it's the ancient borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and it'll never be 'Victory Cars' - it'll always be Sid's."
Drivers have also taken issue with a new penalty points scheme and the way appointments are made.
They say they'll have to wait for between five and eight weeks - which potentially leaves drivers off the road for months waiting to get their licences renewed - although the council say they'll be notified three months in advance.
Shahraz Yaqub, who represents the Stoke-on-Trent Private Hire Drivers' Association, said:
"This is not London, this is not Birmingham, this is not Manchester. They really need to think about what they're doing.
https://bit.ly/2TDtFCZ
------------------------------------
PARIS
A Manchester United fan has been left fighting for life after allegedly being stabbed in the chest by a furious taxi driver in Paris.
The 44-year-old man, who has not been identified, underwent emergency surgery at the Georges Pompidou hospital on Thursday, following his side’s dramatic European Champions League win.
The United fan had been with a group of friends travelling away from the Parc de Princes on Wednesday night after their side beat Paris St Germain 3-1 to knock the home side out of the league.
According to Sky Sports News ‘the driver took offence to them singing in celebration of United’s dramatic late winner.’
The outlet added that ‘the driver pulled over to get them out of his taxi, before pulling out a knife and threatening the female passenger in the group.
A source said: ‘The victim tried to intervene to protect her, but the driver then turned the knife on him, stabbing him in the chest with what’s been described as a large blade.
‘He was left lying on the pavement fighting for his life, when one of the group was able to flag down a passing car and rush him to hospital.’
It is understood that that a suspect has since been arrested, and that the fan has had lung surgery.
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THE Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford could have his licence to drive taxis in the city revoked after he was given an order for domestic violence.
Taxi driver Sajjad Malik, 50, will be referred to a council committee that will decide whether he remains a ‘fit and proper person’.
Malik was given a 28-day domestic violence protection order (DVPO) at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Councillors urged him to resign as Deputy Lord Mayor and as a councillor.
The DVPO means he must not ‘threaten’ two people with violence, ‘behave in a way that would cause any other person to fear that violence would be used’ towards those two people or go within 50 metres of Emperor Gardens, Greater Leys, where he lives.
A city council spokesman said: “The city council, following liaison with Thames Valley Police, has considered the facts of the case and a referral will be made to the general purposes licensing sub-committee to determine Councillor Malik’s ‘fit and proper’ status.”
Andrew Gant, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: "It is not appropriate for him to continue representing our city or his ward residents."
He has asked the city council's leader, Susan Brown, to expel Malik and to strip him of the title of Deputy Lord Mayor before the council's next meeting on April 29.
He added: "I ask councillors of all parties and groups to join me in these calls, for the sake of the reputation and good governance of the city and community we share."
While he attacked Labour's handling, saying its decision to suspend him indefinitely rather than expelling him as 'weak and insufficient'.
Malik is currently an independent councillor following his suspension from Labour.
Independent councillor Mick Haines said Malik remaining a councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor was 'absolutely scandalous'.
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