Allerdale.

A taxi driver says cabbies will have to make hundreds of fares to fund a change to their meter to accommodate a 10p price hike.

Allerdale’s full council voted to increase journeys by 10p this week – making it the first price change in four years.

However, cab driver Ray Cottier said that every taxi must now have its meter “calibrated” as a legal requirement to keep in line with the new fares.

And he said it will cost around £20 for the changes – all for the sake of a small increase which will be funded from the extra 10p of 200 journeys.

At a time when trade is “extremely low” and fewer people are using taxis, Mr Cottier said the “unnecessary costs” are something they could all do without.

“It’s a waste of time increasing it by just 10p, all it means is that the first mile goes up from £2.90 to £3,” he said. “It will cost between £15 and £20 to have our meters calibrated which is going to take a lot of fares to get the money back. We will have to take 200, before making any profit.

“Trade is poor at the moment and money is short. I have sat at the rank for one hour and 15 minutes – it’s soul destroying.”

The changes, which are expected to come into force next month, will see the price for the first mile of a hackney carriage journey, or the whole journey if it is less than a mile, go up from £2.90 to £3 with the cost for each extra mile or part mile remaining at 39p.

When plans were first revealed about a possible fare increase, Mr Cottier warned it could spell disaster for the already troubled trade.

The council has been consulting with taxi drivers about what changes, if any, should be brought in. Four traders replied to the authority – all of them backing a price hike.

But self-employed Mr Cottier said that there was a constant fall in the number of customers and he fears if people are asked to pay even more, they will boycott taxis.

An Allerdale council spokeswoman said: “The decision by the council’s licensing committee followed a consultation with the hackney carriage trade, and this is the first such increase in four years.

“The fare change will be advertised in the local press next week and drivers will have the opportunity to submit any objections to the chief executive by March 31, 2014.”
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Chicago

A taxi industry trade newspaper has threatened to out five 'secretly gay' Chicago City Council officials unless they ban smartphone ride-sharing services which it says are threatening drivers' jobs.

Publisher of The Chicago Dispatcher, George Lutfallah, said the industry was under siege and, in an editorial in his latest issue, set out a list of 10 demands.

Mr Lutfallah said his trade publication 'has learned that five of the city’s 50 aldermen are closeted homosexuals. In the next issue of this newspaper, set to be published early next month, we will disclose their names unless our demands are met'.

A Chicago taxi industry official has threatened to out council bosses if his demands are not met

'The city is moving forward and will steamroll our industry if we don’t act in earnest,' he said.

'They did it to my grandfather more than 100 years ago when they destroyed his horse-drawn-carriage business by allowing horseless machines to carry people around the city.

'The five aldermen we will expose next month will only include those who have concealed their gay lifestyle to their constituents.

'They are public servants who have a duty to truthfully disclose their sexuality to the voters. They are living a lie.'

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's moves to change the city's taxi industry are proving unpopular

He added that if the city does allow ride-sharing - when fares are booked using apps such as Uber, Lyft and SideCar - cars would require GPS tracking 'so that our informant can keep telling us when Aldermen are taken from their homes and dropped off in Boys Town'.

Bizarrely, Mr Lutfallah also urged the city to ban the internet and rename the landmark Willis Tower the Sears Tower, prompting suspicion his threat may not be serious, according to CBS Chicago.

He said ride-share drivers should be required to get annual chest X-rays, 'like the city-endorsed doctor had me do to renew my chauffeur’s license last month. The riding public has no idea if ride-share drivers have tuberculosis'.

Also on Mr Lutfallah's hitlist were female ride-share taxi drivers, who he said should not be allowed behind the wheel.

'One company boasts that 40 percent of its drivers are women. Taxi driving is a male-dominated profession and it should remain that way,' he said.

'The last place for a woman is behind the wheel. If a woman needs a ride somewhere, she will only feel safe if the driver is a man.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2579228/Chicago-taxi-official-threatens-city-chiefs.html
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Birmingham

 Taxi driver has lucky escape after car smashes through Birmingham wall almost landing on pavement

The car crashed through the brickwork and struck a bridge over the road and footpath in Holliday Street below

A taxi driver escaped serious injury when his private hire vehicle smashed through a wall bordering a Birmingham city centre side street - and ended up perched precariously above a busy walkway and road below.

The driver of the Volkswagen Passat saloon car appeared to have misjudged the bend on the elevated section of Gas Street and crashed through the wall which runs parallel to the road.

The car crashed through the brickwork and struck a bridge over the road and footpath in Holliday Street below. There were not thought to be any passengers in the cab.

The incident occurred at 2.10am this morning and Holliday Street was closed while the scene was made safe.

The road opened again at about 5am, but Birmingham City Council engineers and police were still at the scene during rush hour.

The taxi driver was taken to hospital, but his condition is not known.

Enquiries are continuing into the cause of the collision.
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Bolton

TRIBUTES have been paid to a Metro taxi driver who was found hanged from Barrow Bridge.

The Metro Cars driver — named locally as Asif Policewala — and his abandoned vehicle were found by a passer-by off Barrow Bridge Road at about 7.30am this morning.

The man had worked for the Bolton firm for more than 15 years and is believed to be a father to young children.

Nick Astley, owner of Metro Cars, said staff and fellow taxi drivers are “devastated” about the loss of Mr Policewala.

Mr Astley, who lives in Darwen, added: “It is an extremely upsetting time for all of us. Asif had been driving with us from the very beginning.

“None of us can believe what has happened. It has come as a terrible shock to everyone at the firm and he will be greatly missed.

"I cannot imagine what his family must be going through and my thoughts go out to them as this very sad time.”

Friends also paid tribute to Mr Policewala on Twitter.

Imran Patel wrote: "Sad news about a dear friend Asif found hung in #bolton. Will never forget our trip to #Palestine. Rip brother."


Police condoned off Barrow Bridge for an hour while firefighters and ambulance crews attended the incident.