Licensing authorities in London are not allowed to carry out background checks on asylum seekers and refugees in case it damages their case.
The gap in the rules is spelled out in a Transport for London document on “private hire driver licensing” applications.
The form states: “With regards to overseas criminal records checks, no such checks will be made in respect of those applicants who declare that they are in possession of or who have applied for refugee or asylum status.”
Conservative MP Nick de Bois told the Daily Express: “They should not be offering licences to those they can’t check on. They could be putting vulnerable members of the public in the hands of thieves, murderers and rapists. It beggars belief.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11518708/Foreign-convicts-allowed-to-work-as-taxi-drivers-without-disclosing-crimes.html
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Business travelers are bypassing the taxi queue with greater frequency, choosing instead ride-hailing services like Uber Technologies.
A new report by expense management system provider Certify shows that 47 percent of the ground transportation rides by its users in March were through Uber. That's more than tripled from the 14 percent of rides that Uber had just over a year ago in January 2014.
In a few cities, Uber now tops taxi rides for business travelers.
"While we often see noteworthy market shifts — leading restaurant chains and hotels exchanging leadership positions, for example — it is unprecedented to see one vendor grow to take such a commanding market share within one year's time," says Certify CEO Bob Neveu.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ubers-popularity-surges-business-travelers-040212674.html
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EIRE
More than 100 taxi drivers have been prosecuted for operating a vehicle without a driving licence within the past five years, making it the most common prosecution the National Transport Authority has taken.
The authority, which is the regulatory body for small public service vehicles and handles taxi complaints, took 80 prosecutions against drivers last year.
The body also referred 208 complaints to an Garda Síochána, the bulk of which were connected to road traffic matters which come under that organisation’s remit and complaints against taxi drivers who were not operating the taxi as a public service vehicle at the time.
Last year the authority took 21 prosecutions against drivers without a valid driver licence while a further 16 related to drivers without a valid vehicle licence. Six prosecutions were taken against drivers who had neither licence.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/over-100-taxi-drivers-prosecuted-for-having-no-driving-licences-1.2166705
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Lynk, Ireland's answer to the Hailo taxi app, is set to make a massive push into the UK market with €25m in private funding as early as next year.
The app, which was developed by taxi fleet management company Global Taxis, employs more than 170 people at its Dublin base.
It has seen phenomenal growth since its February launch and recently merged with Dublin's third largest taxi firm, Blue Cabs, to add 200 new drivers. Lynk now has around 2,800 drivers signed to its fleet.
The app allows bookings in advance of journeys and customers can also make multiple bookings at the same time.
Founder Noel Ebbs, pictured, said the company aims to have 5,000 drivers signed up by the end of the year. He said the company aims to be nationwide by the end of the year and will then focus on expanding abroad.
"We started up with €2.5m of seed capital which came primarily from the host company, which is Global, and private investors. That is enough to take us through Ireland [but] moving abroad we will need more."
When asked where the money would be sourced, he said: "Private funding. I reckon we would need at least 10 times what we had [for Ireland] for the UK."
He added: "By the end of this year we'll be moving into the UK. If we meet targets here, which by all accounts we seem to be well ahead of, we have undertakings that funding will be there."
He said that the backers would be based mostly in Ireland or the UK.
Unlike Hailo, which takes a percentage of every cab fare, Lynk currently makes the majority of its revenue from membership fees paid by drivers who sign up to the service.
The fees are currently in the region of €70 per week, although drivers can reduce this by measures such as signing up a friend to the service.
The company is expecting to hit a turnover of €10m by the end of its financial year, which will be next March. Mr Ebbs said the company is currently on target to achieve that aim.
He admitted that he does not expect the UK expansion to be as rapid as the Irish one, saying that he would be "very happy if we were turning over €25m by the end of the first year".
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/taxi-app-lynk-to-get-25m-in-backing-for-uk-launch-31122191.html
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