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
------------------------------------