And the nomination in the UK Cabbie of the Year awards couldn’t have come at a better time for charity champion John Rogers, who recently suffered a family loss.
The 47-year-old has made it into the top three of the national event, following town cabbies Stephen Picton and John Osborne who are the previous two years’ winners, and it is hoped John can keep the cabbie crown in the town.
John has dedicated the past few years helping local and national cancer causes.
These include raising funds for tragic Hartlepool youngster Becky Bell, who died from brain cancer aged just seven in 2012, and Josh Dawson, seven, also of the town, who is in remission from an ependymoma, a tumour of the brain’s support cells.
http://tinyurl.com/m42mq8e
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Bolton
A TAXI driver found hanging from Barrow Bridge took his own life, a coroner has ruled.
The body of father-of-two Asif Policewala, aged 38, was found at the beauty spot, off Barrow Bridge Road, by a passer-by just after 7am on Wednesday, March 12.
Bolton Coroners Court heard the death of Mr Policewala, a Metro Cars driver, came as a shock to his family who had no idea of his intentions.
Salma Patel, Mr Policewala’s sister, said: “This is such a shock to us. It is just unbelievable that he has done that without any indication whatsoever.”
She added: “There was no indication he was feeling down. He was his usual happy self. He made no contact.”
Statements read by coroner Alan Walsh revealed Mr Policewala had made two previous suicide attempts.
He took an overdose in 2007 and in 2012 he raised alarm with friends after attempting to gas himself at Rivington Reservoir.
A statement by Dr Eve Howarth, a general practitioner at Lever Chambers in Ashburner Street, Bolton, said Mr Policewala did not suffer from mental health illness and his suicide attempt two years ago was down to pressure he felt to pay money back due to gambling debts.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/11197853._/?
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Wirral
Local taxi drivers have successfully taken part in ‘Wirral Welcomes’ WorldHost Ambassador training and were presented with their WorldHost certificates and badges by the Mayor of Wirral, Dave Mitchell, on Wednesday, April 30.
As part of preparations for the International Festival for Business and the Golf Open in June and July this year, the taxi drivers have been honing their customer service skills, to provide outstanding first impressions to visitors to the area.
Supported by Margaret O’Donnell, licensing manager from Wirral Council, with training provided via Wirral Met College which has been funded through the Skills for Growth Bank, the taxi drivers have taken part in training over the past month.
They are the first group of taxi drivers to take part in this training and further groups will follow in their tracks.
http://tinyurl.com/nh7n6z4
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One Year on, Cornwall’s Electric Nissan LEAF Taxi Fleet Have Driven 150,000 Miles
There are many myths surrounding electric cars. One is that electric cars aren’t suitable for life outside of the big city. Another suggests that electric cars aren’t useful for fleets which cover high numbers of miles per year, like delivery firms and taxi cabs.
Cornish taxi firm C&C Taxis proves both those notions wrong. Based in the beautiful Cornish countryside in the South West of the UK, C&C Taxis was the first taxi cab operator in the UK to add an all-electric Nissan LEAF hatchback to its fleet a year ago.
With a DC rapid charge station located at the company headquarters, the firm, which operates in and around St. Austell, soon found the LEAF was a perfect fit for the majority of its fares. While the company initially started with just one electric LEAF in its fleet of ten cars, today it has five — and plans to add Nissan’s all-electric e-NV200 Evalia minivan to its expanding electric vehicle fleet when the minivan goes on sale later this year.
In the past twelve months, its fleet of LEAFs have clocked up more than 150,000 miles, carrying more than 37,000 individual fares in and around the Cornish hills.
“When we took our first LEAF a year ago we could never have imagined how successful it would have been,” said Michelle Willaims, owner of C&C Taxis. “The fact we now have five and have hit the 150,000-mile mark says it all. Investing in the LEAF has probably been the best decision we’ve ever made as a company.”
Compared to its previous vehicles, Williams says the company has saved in excess of £40,000 from its fleet-wide fuel bill. At an estimated cost of two pence per mile, C&C Taxis has the lowest running cost of any taxi company for miles around.
http://tinyurl.com/k97skwe
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Birmingham
A wife falsely claimed responsibility for her taxi driver husband’s speeding offence – and later attended a speed awareness course.
Naveed Ali was caught doing 39mph on the A4040 Bromford Lane, Birmingham Road which has a 30mph limit.
But his wife Rashaeda Ghafoor, 27, later claimed she was behind the wheel and even attended a speed awareness course.
The deception came to light once taxi licencing inspectors examined Ali’s driving records for that date and found he was actually working and on his way to collect a passenger.
The couple had appeared at Birmingham Crown Court charged with perverting the course of justice.
Ali, 27 and from Wills Street in Lozells, was sentenced to 15 weeks jail and ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge. His wife was sentenced to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and also ordered to pay £80.
PC Steve Jevons from the Camera Enforcement Unit said: “Had Naveed Ali admitted to the driving offence he would have been offered a speed awareness course.
"At worse, he would have received three penalty points on his licence and a £100 fine. Instead he chose to run the risk of gambling it all and putting his wife in a terrible position.
“That has now backfired and got him a worse punishment than he could have imagined. While he is serving his sentence he cannot provide for his family.’’
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