LONDON (AP) -- London's iconic black cabs, under pressure from taxi app Uber and other upstarts, got some good news Wednesday: They won't have to share their right to drive in the capital's bus lanes with rivals.

The city's expensive black cabs benefit from a rule that allows them to move around quickly by using lanes set aside for buses. Rivals, such as Uber cars or cheaper taxis known as minicabs, are banned from the lanes.

That rule was challenged by private taxi firm Addison Lee, which has long argued that it amounted to unfair state support.

But a European Union court sided with black cab drivers in a ruling, dismissing arguments that the bus lane policy violated European competition laws.

The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice said the policy did not use state resources to confer "a selective economic advantage" on London cabs. It also said that black cabs are not comparable to their rivals, because only black cabs can pick up customers without pre-booking.

"Drivers of black cabs are subject to strict standards in relation to their vehicles, their fares and their knowledge of London, whereas those standards do not apply to minicabs," the ruling said.

Transport for London, the authority overseeing public transport in the city, has argued that allowing tens of thousands of minicabs to drive in bus lanes would impact the reliability of bus services.

The ruling goes some way in protecting the traditional black cabs from competitors, especially smartphone-based services such as Uber and Hailo. London cabbies have reacted in fury to the apps' entrance into the market, staging noisy protests that brought traffic to a standstill.

Unlike their rivals, black cab drivers are self-employed, and most own their vehicle. Many cabbies take pride in their knowledge of London's streets — all cabbies must pass a test called "the Knowledge" — and most say that drivers from rival firms are not as professional.

Addison Lee can still appeal Wednesday's ruling in British courts.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/london-black-cabs-break-over-162218872.html#QiZ8lGB
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LEEDS

A TAXI driver killed a love rival in a savage knife attack after finding his wife in an intimate encounter with him, a jury heard.

Solicitor Kathleen Kilic told Leeds Crown Court yesterday their two children were in her husband Oktay’s taxi at the time he launched his ferocious attack on Mark Berney and were screaming.

She described how she had gone for a drink with her former schoolfriend Mr Berney before driving to the layby near Ripley on the evening of August 3 last year.

But he had been tracking her using an app downloaded on his phone which he had placed in the boot of her vehicle and suddenly drove up and parked almost opposite them.

Her husband got out and went to the passenger door after shouting something like “what are you doing with my wife?”

The two men tussled over the door as Mr Berney tried to keep it closed.

“I thought he had just punched Mark in the chest and then I saw the blood and it wasn’t just a punch, then I saw the knife.”

She told the jury she could not move her husband and the attack continued. “I was screaming ‘stop it, stop’ it repeatedly.” But he just carried on.

When the attack stopped she could not get through on her phone so drove back on to the main road nearby to summon help but the jury has heard Mr Berney died from catastrophic blood loss due to his injuries.

Oktay Kilic, 40, of Kent Drive, Harrogate, denies the murder of Mr Berney, 44, from Knaresborough.

Mrs Kilic told the jury she met her Turkish husband through a mutual friend and they were in contact over the internet before she went out to Turkey on several occasions.

He moved to England to be with her and eventually began driving a taxi.

Initially they were happy but then he started to gamble and that led to arguments.

There was also violence on a couple of occasions and she decided she wanted the marriage to end.

She received a message last June from Mr Berney via Facebook.

A relationship then developed between them.

She said she wanted out of her marriage but her husband kept returning to her and “I was slightly scared of him.”

Under cross-examination by John McDermott, QC, defending her husband, Mrs Kilic denied her husband had stopped gambling by August last year.

Under cross-examination Mrs Kilic told the jury she had never had sexual intercourse with Mr Berney but that their relationship involved sexual contact.

She accepted she was performing a sex act on him in the car when her husband drove up that evening.

The trial continues.

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/newS/11722424.Husband_stabbed_love_rival__jury_told/?ref=rss
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Black cab drivers are not happy about the influx of foreign private drivers in the city
Proposals for a deregulation bill which would allow drivers and vehicles from other parts of the country to complete journeys booked through Wolverhampton based operators have been criticised by Wolverhampton City Council.

The council has written to Oliver Letwin, minister for Government policy and the sponsoring minister for the deregulation bill, highlighting their concerns that the changes would make it impossible to ensure drivers or their vehicles meet required standards.

Councillor John Reynolds, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for City Services, said: “The council has serious reservations about the prospect of taxi journeys booked through local operators being completed by drivers and vehicles licensed in another area.

“We will have no enforcement powers regarding the conduct and behaviour of these drivers when they complete such jobs – and if passengers have a complaint there will be confusion about who they could complain to and what action, if any, could be taken by either of the licensing authorities involved.

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“The existing licensing framework gives councils control over the standard of drivers and their vehicles.

"For example, we require all our drivers to complete a safeguarding awareness course and know their way around the city, so for example they know how to get to the hospital if their passenger falls ill.

"The proposals will effectively negate all localised licensing requirements for private hire drivers and vehicles and act as a disincentive to licensing authorities to maintain high standards.

"Additionally in the absence of any electronic national database it will be almost impossible to validate the authenticity of vehicle licences from other areas and while this could be achieved retrospectively, in some cases it may be too late.”

Councillor Reynolds added that the Local Government Association has expressed similar concerns, and said: "While we accept that the existing licensing framework requires reform, we have grave concerns regarding public safety and our ability to effectively enforce the private hire licensing regime should the sub-contracting of private hire fares clause in the bill be agreed."

He also called on the Government to carry out a more comprehensive review of the licensing framework, keeping public safety at the forefront.

Taxi drivers in Wolverhampton are currently demanding a clampdown on the number of foreign cabbies being given licences amid concerns about their level of English and the level of background checks done.

Wolverhampton City Council has said it would refuse licences for cabbies who cannot speak adequate levels of English and revoked one licence last year because the driver could not speak English to a satisfactory level.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-news/2015/01/15/new-taxi-rules-could-put-passenger-safety-at-risk-claim-wolverhampton-chiefs/?