LONDON

New cab sales of TXE's are at record levels, with 154 joining the ranks in June

I keep thinking the used cab market cannot get any crazier and then every single week it does. The wilding fluctuating market may look like a textbook lesson in economics, but it’s actually an accurate detail of the roller coaster that cab prices have been riding over the past six months.

Back in December, before the proposal to reduce vehicle age limits to 12 years was first mooted, Euro 5 cabs were unwanted and un- loved; early ones were changing hands in the early £20,000s. After the age limit announcement, the prices shot up, in some case by 40%, fuelled by short supply and increased demand.

Euro 5 values were suppressed by the fear that they would only get 12 years. Oversupply and re- duced demand forced these prices down dramati- cally. At one-point early EU 5's were only fetching £11- £13k. Then came the decommissioning scramble. Thousands of older TXIIs and early TX4's disappeared from the ranks in exchange for a £10k pay-out from the mayor.

Many of these owners saw this as an opportunity to then buy a cheap EU V cab for not a lot more than the £10k (plus whatever they got for the cab on eBay) they had received for their TXII or early TX4. Very quickly this demand kicked in and prices for EU5's started to rocket, in some cases by 50%! 

As some of the drivers who had decommis- sioned their own cabs returned to renting, demand for rental cabs, and thus rents, started
to go up. This became the perfect storm, with fleets also taking the opportunity to get rid of older cabs and decommissioning hundreds of vehicles themselves. The result of this is that it’s now extremely difficult to find a cab to rent, and the few that are available are now more expensive.

It’s now coming full circle, as the shortage of cabs for sale and rent is forcing up the price of older cabs to above that of their decommissioning value (currently at £8k). Many owners are now pulling out of the decommissioning in favour of a quick cash sale to a fleet with a waiting list of drivers.


Things have got so bad that some of the traders have resorted to hanging around outside Brewery Road and approaching drivers going into the showroom offering to beat any trade-in price for their cab against a new one; this has not happened since the 1960s.


On the new cab front sales of TXE's are still at record levels, with 154 joining the ranks in June. It means we are on target to have 2,000 on street by mid-July which is just over 10% of the entire cab fleet in London. 

If market force economics, which have dictated second-hand cab prices over the past six months, continue to apply it will be at least a year before the supply of new cabs coming in at the top of the market catches up with, and then overtakes, the loss of cabs from the bottom of the market.

 This means that second-hand prices will stay at their current levels and we will finally see an end to the prices roller coaster and we will get some stability in the market again, I certainly hope so.



LTDA

https://bit.ly/2LTgR7g
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 GLOUCESTERSHIRE

TAXI and private hire drivers are receiving training to identify signs that a young or vulnerable person is at risk of exploitation.

The free training is being delivered by the Gloucestershire Child Sexual Exploitation team on behalf of Cotswold District Council and is mandatory for all drivers licensed by the authority. 

Cllr Mark MacKenzie-Charrington, the CDC cabinet member responsible for licensing, said: "Taxi drivers have an excellent opportunity to help prevent young people from exploitation.

"They know their communities well and, given this new training, they will be better able to spot – and report – issues which could put vulnerable children and adults at risk."
CDC senior licensing officer Michelle Bignell, added: "We recently started these briefings for taxi drivers and they will continue through to early October.
"The drivers learn to look out for warning signals when they are out and about, and the reports they make should help to create a safer environment for vulnerable people across the district.”

“Taxi drivers are ideally placed to be the ‘eyes and ears’ in the fight to protect our young people against exploitation.
“They are in a privileged position of knowing a lot about the communities that they work in and sometimes they by the authority.
Cllr Mark MacKenzie-Charrington, the CDC cabinet member responsible for licensing, said: "Taxi drivers have an excellent opportunity to help prevent young people from exploitation.

"They know their communities well and, given this new training, they will be better able to spot – and report – issues which could put vulnerable children and adults at risk."
CDC senior licensing officer Michelle Bignell, added: "We recently started these briefings for taxi drivers and they will continue through to early October. 

"The drivers learn to look out for warning signals when they are out and about, and the reports they make should help to create a safer environment for vulnerable people across the district.”

“Taxi drivers are ideally placed to be the ‘eyes and ears’ in the fight to protect our young people against exploitation.

“They are in a privileged position of knowing a lot about the communities that they work in and sometimes they are witness to issues relating to vulnerable children and adults.
“With this training they’re able to spot the signs and report any issues.” 

Any taxi or private hire driver who needs to book a place, call the licensing team on 01285 623000 or email licensing@cotswold.gov.uk

https://bit.ly/2LV404r
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 DEWSBURY

Taxi driver finds man's body in car park

A town centre car park was taped off after a man's body was discovered .
The man's body was found in a car park, off South Street, in Dewsbury town centre , this morning.

The car park to the rear of Fultons Foods is across the road from Dewsbury Bus Station.

The incident was attended by uniformed police, detectives and paramedics while the scene was sealed off.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "Police were called to South Street, Dewsbury, at about 8.16am today after a male’s body was found by a member of the public.

"Emergency services attended and initial enquiries into the circumstances are underway, but the death is not being treated as suspicious at this time."

The car park was reopened to the public at around 10am.

https://bit.ly/2YO0f4A
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 POLICE SCOTLAND

Scammers sent a taxi to take a Tayside pensioner to his bank in an attempt to steal a four figure sum of cash from him and his wife.

The fraudsters had already lured the Angus couple in on the phone and had asked the elderly woman to go to a TSB branch in Dundee as well.
Quick thinking staff at the TSB in Forfar realised something was amiss when the local man showed up and they alerted the police before any funds were transferred.

Now officers are warning the public and taxi drivers to be vigilant.
Sergeant Andy Sheppard, of Police Scotland’s Tayside Division said the incident would spread fear among the community.

“This demonstrates the lengths fraudsters will go to,” he added.
The couple, who live near Forfar, were targeted by a man who claimed to be from the bank and said their account had been compromised.

The caller urged them to use the 1471 facility to call the bank back immediately.

This directed them to another man, claiming to be from the fraud section of the business.

He asked them to transfer their money to a “safe account” with another bank and urged the couple not to disclose any of the information.

The fraudsters then ordered a taxi to take the man to the bank to carry out the function.

Wendy Boath of the Forfar Taxi Company, took the call from the scammer who booked the ride on behalf of the elderly couple.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk