"Talk about Smart City means first urban mobility in Florence will bring to 250 the charging stations for electric vehicles and in a few years all taxis will be electric." He said Dario Nardella, deputy mayor of Florence, speaking at the first stage of the Smart City tour in Florence.
http://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2014/04/04/news/palazzo_vecchio_e_enel_costruiscono_la_smart_city-82751855/?
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GRANGEMOUTH
A convicted killer tried to strangle a taxi driver while he was at the wheel of his vehicle in a bid to rob him of his taking bag.
He got into the private hire vehicle at a taxi rank in Bo’ness and asked to be taken to an address in Grangemouth.
During the journey, Davies, who was previously jailed for nine years for culpable homicide, put a belt around 60-year-old William McDonald’s neck and made a bid to throttle him.
However, the driver managed to bring his taxi to a halt in Esslemont Road, Grangemouth and a struggle broke out as Davies tried, but failed, to grab the takings.
Mr McDonald then opened the rear door, seized the accused and ejected him before driving off.
At the High Court in Edinburgh today Davies admitted assaulting and trying to rob Mr McDonald while he was working as a taxi driver by demanding money, attempting to strangle him with a belt in a moving vehicle, biting him and struggling with him on July 31 last year.
The court heard that unemployed Davies, of Clydesdale Street, Bo’ness, had 45 previous convictions, including culpable homicide, assault, fire-raising, public disorder and drugs.
Judge Lady Scott deferred sentence on Davies until next month and ordered a background report be prepared looking at the risk he poses.
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DERBY
TAXI drivers who cannot speak English well enough to pass Derby's "knowledge" test have allegedly been registering in Gedling instead.
To become a driver in Derby, you have to take a tough exam which tests knowledge of places and routes in the city.
But taxi drivers who have already achieved the grade say others unable to do so are registering in Gedling and coming and then taking customers in Derby.
They say some drivers go to Gedling Borough Council because getting a licence there has not involved taking a knowledge test about the local area.
Mark Keenan, manager of Derby-based Western Cars, said some drivers "don't understand the language well enough to pass the knowledge test in Derby so they go elsewhere".
Derby City Council says there is a public safety issue to Hackney carriage drivers getting their licences outside the city.
This is because it has no powers to do safety checks on the vehicles and drivers, the cabbies do not have to comply with the city council's conditions and the authority has no powers to investigate complaints against them.
And the practice has meant Gedling gets the benefit of the licence fees.
Mr Keenan said his private hire firm did not employ drivers not licensed in the city.
Mr Keenan said: "I'm upset for the drivers of Derby. They are paying good money to go through stringent tests here.
"Then these people are disrupting their living – coming through the back door by getting easier licences from other places. I have every sympathy for the council. Their hands are tied."
Mr Keenan said he believed that there could be "80 to 100" drivers with licences from outside Derby operating in the city at any one time.
He said he had heard of people travelling to Gedling for a licence from as far away as Portsmouth – 200 miles away.
http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Derby-cabbies-avoiding-stiff-test-city-passing/story-20907815-detail/story.html#ixzz2xrCHUeUM
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NEWCASTLE
A MAN has appeared in court accused of sex attacks on two females who wrongly thought his car was a taxi.
Sail Uddin faces two charges of sexual assault and one of possessing amphetamine.
The 41-year-old, of Churchill Street, Hendon, was not asked to enter pleas during a short hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, where he appeared via videolink to HMP Durham, yesterday.
He will be back in court on May 14 for a plea and case management hearing.
Judge Paul Sloan QC remanded Uddin in custody. No application for bail was made. during the hearing.
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/all-news/sunderland-man-in-court-accused-of-sex-attacks-after-taxi-mix-up-1-6475950
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LEICESTER
A bogus taxi driver who terrified passengers by swerving across motorway lanes and appearing to fall asleep at the wheel has been banned from driving and given a suspended jail sentence.
A court heard Hamza Afzal Sacranie was reported by a woman passenger who abandoned a trip back from Gatwick airport.
Sacranie (24) of Broadway Road, Leicester, terrified passengers so much that they ordered him to stop the Ford Galaxy at a motorway services last June.
They rang the police saying he was a danger on the road.
Checks of the registration and other details revealed Sacranie wasn't licensed to be a taxi driver at all, and the vehicle wasn't insured or licensed for private hire use.
Leicester Magistrates were told on April 2 that when the taxi arrived at the airport for the pick up, its seats were not in the correct position and not all the passengers had seatbelts.
The court heard the complainant and her fellow passengers felt very unsafe during the journey as Sacranie appeared to be falling asleep at the wheel and the vehicle swerved across the carriageway of the motorway.
After persuading Sacranie to stop at a hotel, the complainants noticed that he didn’t have any licence plates on his vehicle. When they pointed this out to him he claimed he'd forgotten to put them on.
The passengers refused to pay him and made alternative arrangements to get home.
Sacranie had claimed to be the owner of a company called S7ven Seat.
But checks revealed that neither the vehicle nor the company had a licence allowing them to trade as a private hire provider.
The court heard how he had previously applied to Leicester City Council for a taxi driver licence in October 2011 but had been refused after failing to meet the required standards.
He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to five offences which included acting as a taxi driver and using a vehicle as a private hire vehicle without a licence, operating as a private hire operator without a licence, fraud and driving without insurance.
He was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He was also disqualified from driving for a year and ordered to pay £759 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
After the hearing Leicester assistant city mayor for culture, heritage, leisure and sport Piara Singh Clair, said: "This case shows the importance of ensuring that journeys are only booked through fully-licensed private hire operators.
"We carry out stringent checks and balances before giving anyone a licence to be a taxi driver, so passengers know they are in safe hands when they book or catch a taxi in the city."
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EIRE
A MAXIMUM extra fee on taxi passengers paying by credit or debit card will be introduced, as part of a new set of regulations to be introduced next month.
At present, taxi drivers can set their own administration fee for customers who choose to pay by card and can refuse to take a fare under a certain distance.
But under new rules, a flat 5pc fee will be introduced for passengers who pay by plastic and drivers will not be able to reject small fares.
The new regulations will also include mandatory area knowledge tests for drivers with a history of poor local knowledge as well as continuous tax compliance monitoring.
"The taxi market relies on consumer confidence in a safe, reliable and high-quality SPSV (small public service vehicles) service," Public Transport Minister Alan Kelly, who announced the new regulations, said.
"I believe the regulations will ensure consumers will have that confidence in the sector and the taxi drivers that do their jobs professionally will be rewarded by the market."
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/maximum-5pc-fee-for-paying-taxi-fare-by-card-30151164.html
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NATIONAL
The use of mobile apps within the Chauffeur and Private Hire industry is being questioned after fears some of them are not legal and any driver downloading one could find themselves uninsured, operating illegally and potentially having their PHV Licence revoked, points on their driving licence and a hefty fine – that’s according to lawyers and major industry trade bodies.
The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) is currently in the midst of lengthy discussions with Transport for London, the Department for Transport and others as it is certain that some apps are categorically breaching not only Private Hire Regulations that cover Minicab, Chauffeur and Executive Drivers and Operators, but are also potentially breaching Taxi regulations.
In the Chauffeur and Executive world, apps can enable customers to book cars, the same applies to taxis, but whilst this is all hi-tech, questions are being asked whether it is legal for the PHV driver and safe for the customer.
The Taxi industry and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) recently highlighted in its Taxi newspaper that some app providers could be operating in contravention of the laws that regulate the minicab industry.
The LTDA goes on to explain “Some of these apps are in fact ‘metering journeys’ which is absolutely illegal”. Others in the industry have said some apps are effectively ‘street hailing’, which is the domain of taxis only because PHV drivers have not done the ‘Knowledge’ tests that taxi drivers have to undergo to earn the right to become available on the streets.
The LPHCA goes further and a spokesperson told TheChauffeur.com; “PHV Drivers are being seduced into joining a new breed of operators’ that work ‘in the cloud’. Some of these operators in our view are compromising safety because they are not taking the full booking details at the point of booking, which is illegal and has several safety implications.”
“Drivers who receive such bookings via apps are potentially committing a serious offence and compromising themselves and public safety. Operators sit between the travelling public and drivers for good reasons both regulatory and safety. If a driver is found receiving bookings in such a way these app Operators are likely to ‘walk away’ and deny any liability as they have done in the USA citing their terms and conditions.”
The Association is advising any PHV drivers to take caution before downloading and using some very high profile apps. “Drivers should be aware that they may be aiding and abetting illegal activity, which could put them in the dock and not the app provider”, it warns.
Drivers are being urged to contact their local licensing office to make sure they are operating within the law if they are using apps to generate work. Traditional Private Hire Operators, in light of the serious risks of being associated with unlicensed activities, are likely to dismiss any driver found to be working with rogue apps and may even take legal action if such services are found to have been provided within a company vehicle, which may very well become uninsured.
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LONDON
Transport for London’s (TfL) Board has agreed a well below inflation taxi fare increase for the coming financial year (2014/15). The 0.7 per cent average increase is the lowest since TfL took over responsibility for licensing taxis in 2000 and will take effect from Saturday 5 April 2014.
The new fares seek a balance between maintaining income levels for drivers while ensuring passengers still get a fair price for the high quality service provided by the capital’s taxi drivers. The Board approved the changes following consultation by TfL with the taxi trade and others, including London TravelWatch, London Boroughs, London Assembly and London MPs.
Helen Chapman, TfL’s General Manager of Taxi and Private Hire, said: “This year’s increase in taxi fares is the lowest since TfL took on responsibility for licensing taxis and seeks to cover any changes in the costs of running a black cab while continuing to provide passengers with value for money.
Helen Chapman, TfL’s General Manager of Taxi and Private Hire, said: “This year’s increase in taxi fares is the lowest since TfL took on responsibility for licensing taxis and seeks to cover any changes in the costs of running a black cab while continuing to provide passengers with value for money.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to licensing a world-class taxi service, we will be conducting a number of reviews over the coming year, including whether increases in taxi fares and tariffs should be introduced at the start of each year, in line with London’s Tube, rail and bus network.”
There will continue to be no extra charges for additional passengers or luggage and all taxis will continue to carry assistance dogs at no extra cost. The Board also approved the extension of a special provision linked to diesel prices. Since July 2008 a special provision has been in place to allow taxi fares to be increased if diesel costs increase drastically. The Board approved an extension of this provision for the coming year and a 40 pence increase to all taxi fares will be implemented if diesel reaches 175.48 pence per litre.
Taxi journeys booked by telephone can be subject to a £2.00 maximum surcharge which has been extended to cover taxi journeys booked using mobile phones, smart phones, mobile applications and online services. This is to ensure consistency for passengers and stops any excessive charges for taxi booking services.
A further change will see the £4.00 Christmas extra charge automatically added to fares over the festive period from December 2016, which is currently added manually by the driver.
The Board also endorsed a review of card acceptance in taxis as TfL research has indicated that an overwhelming majority of passengers feel that they should be able to pay for any a taxi journey by debit or credit card. There is currently no requirement for all licensed taxis to accept card payments. In addition to the review the existing card payment surcharge will be reduced from the current 12.5 per cent to 10 per cent or £1.00, whichever is greater, to reduce costs to passengers
The Board agreed to review the date when taxi fares and tariffs are reviewed with the possibility of aligning changes with those made on London’s bus, rail and Tube network – so from January each year, rather than April.
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