BOLTON

 A TAXI driver who was caught overtaking a car stopped at red traffic lights by driving on the wrong side of the road while carrying a passenger has had his licence suspended.

The offender, who admitted his 'foolhardy' decision had been unsafe, apologised for his actions at a town hall hearing last week.

But councillors on the licensing sub-committee decided to suspend his licence to drive a private hire vehicle for a period of six weeks.

They concluded that the driver is not a fit and proper person to hold such a licence at this time, according to minutes from the private meeting.

They said: "Members were concerned that the driver had carried out an extremely dangerous manoeuvre that could have put himself and members of the public in danger."

Dashcam footage catching the accused driver in the act was sent by a member of the public to Greater Manchester Police.

After being informed about the complaint by the police, the council's licensing unit conduced a telephone interview with the driver who said he had no knowledge of the incident.

However, when he was shown the footage in a meeting that followed, he agreed that it was his vehicle and that he was the driver at the time.

The police offered him the option to attend a training course as an alternative to a conditional offer of a fixed penalty.

www.theboltonnews.co.uk
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Uber have revealed that they have lost billions after their second quarterly figures were published by the tech giant.

Uber posted a $5.24bn loss, which represents the largest quarterly loss in the company's history.

The losses have been accrued after Uber paid nearly $4bn in expenses and stock based compensation during that quarter. They also paid out just under $300mn to drivers relating to its IPO. 
Uber have been haemorrhaging money in its quest to expand its customer base. Marketing, promotions and sales have all had an adverse impact on its revenue stream.

Although the company's revenue has increased to $3.17bn its expenses grew by 71% compared to the previous year, this is in part due to competing against other app-based rivals. As a result, Uber's ability to become a profitable entity has been seriously impinged.

According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi the company may continue to lose money at a slower rate over the next two years.

www.theguardian.com
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IPSWICH


Decision notices published on Ipswich Borough Council's website revealed the council suspended one private hire licence as a result of allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Meanwhile a combined hackney carriage and private hire licence was revoked altogether while a police investigation was underway on a different matter.

According to the council, the private hire vehicle driver was suspended due to "two allegations of inappropriate conversations with females".

The other is a licensed hackney carriage and private hire driver who is "the subject of a police investigation for a serious offence" and has had their licence revoked entirely.

A council spokeswoman said: "The council places public safety at the forefront of any taxi and private hire licensing matters.

"It would be inappropriate to comment on the licence revocation where the matter is being investigated by the police but the allegation was not made in relation to their work as a licensed driver.

"In the case of the licence suspension, the driver appeared at the hackney carriage and private hire enforcement sub-committee because of allegations that he had offended passengers by questioning their gender and relationship status.

"All taxi and private hire drivers are expected to act in a civil and orderly manner, which includes having appropriate conversations with passengers that do not cause offence.

"The sub-committee suspended the driver's licence whilst the driver goes for re-training."

The spokeswoman confirmed that police were not involved with the suspended licence, as the alleged comments were not a criminal offence.

Both licence decisions were made by council officers, with the decision on the allegations of inappropriate comments having been made on July 9, while the licence revoked for the police matter was determined on July 7.

It has not been made clear what offence the police matter is investigating, although the council confirmed it was not something that was related to their work as a licensed driver.

www.ipswichstar.co.uk
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