Coventry's world-famous black cab firm is celebrating two major milestones – just months after it was on the brink of collapse.

The London Taxi Company has revealed a record-breaking March, with 243 new vehicles sold, registered and handed over to customers.

It takes the total new vehicles sold to an impressive 639 by the end of June – the company’s best performance since 2008.

London Taxi Company director of retail, Rob Laidler said: “It’s extremely encouraging that our vehicle sales are following the general trend for UK automotive sales. We absolutely believe that our focus on putting customer requirements at the core of our business, as well as the quality of our team, has been integral in ensuring that we experience the benefits of improving economic conditions.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/double-delight-coventry-black-cab-7405156?

WASHINGTON - A New York man visiting D.C. claims he was kidnapped by his Uber driver.

Ryan Simonetti tweeted during the experience saying quote, 'was just kidnapped by an Uber driver in D.C., held against my will, and involved in a high speed chase across state lines with police. Crazy.'

This allegedly happened on Tuesday when Simonetti ordered an Uber car near the National Mall.

When a D.C. Taxicab Commission inspector noticed the driver's Virginia license plate and came toward the vehicle the driver allegedly floored it speeding into the 9th Street tunnel and onto I-395 in Virginia.
Simonetti says he's safe and law enforcement is dealing with the driver.

Last month, Virginia banned Uber and Lyft saying they don't have the right licensing to operate.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/25985330/man-claims-he-was-kidnapped-by-uber-driver-in-dc
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A man dressed in women’s clothing who touched a taxi driver inappropriately is being sought by Humberside Police.

They asked anyone who can help identify the man to contact them.

The man, described as of large build, wearing women’s leggings and a red top with full-face make up, got into the taxi on Station Approach, Grimsby at around 3.45am on Saturday, June 28.

The man asked the taxi driver to head in the direction of Willingham Street and Hainton Avenue.
As the taxi driver travelled through town, the male passenger in the front seat inappropriately touched the male taxi driver.

The taxi driver asked the man to stop and then dropped him off in the vicinity of Willingham Street.
The taxi driver was not injured and no money was taken, and no threats were made. A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: “He was very distressed by the incident.

The offender was described to police as a white man, of a large build and he was wearing a red coloured top, leggings and he had a full face of make up. He was also wearing spectacles.


Read more: http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Man-women-s-clothes-touched-taxi-driver-Town/story-21447405-detail/story.html#ixzz378Uxar2h
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A TAXI driver whose car was stolen just yards from a police station while he was helping an elderly lady to her door says the ordeal will not put him off doing his job.

"It's just 21st Century Grimsby," said Karl Appleyard, whose grey Mondeo was tracked down by police five hours later.
The 56-year-old today tells his story for the first time after news of the incident spread through the Grimsby Telegraph website and social media.

The cabbie of 15 years told how colleagues rallied round and joined the search for his car after it was stolen from Laceby Road at about 1.45pm on Monday.

He had helped his customer to her door with her shopping.
He said: "I am just glad no one was hurt. The vehicle is a write-off and I still don't know if the insurance will pay for it as I had got out to help someone. I have lost the float, which was about £150 and a phone. But I am still here unhurt – shocked, but not injured.

"The job does not scare me. This is not going to put me off. It is 21st Century Grimsby. It is wrong but you have to carry on."
Married father-of-two Karl, who used to run the Etherington Arms in Holton-le-Clay, reported it stolen straight away and fellow taxi drivers scoured the streets looking for the grey Mondeo.

Messages were posted on Facebook and the Grimsby Telegraph website to encourage members of the public to report sightings of it, and an eagle-eyed taxi driver spotted it in the Grimsby town centre area later that day.

By chance, Karl, who works for Links Taxis, was shopping at B&Q at the time and walked around to the street just as police arrived.
A man was later arrested in People's Park.

Karl thanked a fellow taxi driver for lending him his taxi while he is on holiday.

He added: "Everyone at work has been brilliant."
Phillip Attwater, 29, of Byland Grove, on Grimsby's Nunsthorpe Estate, appeared before magistrates yesterday charged with a total of nine offences – dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, aggravated vehicle-taking, driving without insurance and other than in accordance with a licence, possession of a Class A drug, failure to provide a sample for a Class A drugs test, and two charges relating to an incident on Yarborough Road on Sunday – burglary and theft of a motor vehicle.

He was remanded in custody and will now appear before Grimsby Crown Court on Friday, July 18.


Read more: http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/TAXI-theft-DRama/story-21445086-detail/story.html#ixzz378UjPBUw

Deptford

A fake taxi driver who raped a woman in Godstone has been sentenced at the Old Bailey to 11 years in prison.Paul Michael Causer, of Barfleur Lane, Deptford, was found guilty last month of the serious sexual assault in Bone Mill Lane, Godstone on 3 August last year.

He picked up his 31-year-old victim from Shoreditch in east London in the early hours of the morning and drove her to the dead end road where he stopped after pretending his vehicle had a problem.
The 39-year-old then forced himself on the victim and after assaulting her, dumped her at the roadside.
Before the trial he admitted 3 counts of attempted theft after he tried to withdraw hundreds of pounds by using the victim’s bank card. He received an eight month sentence for the attempted thefts, which run run concurrently with the 11 years for the charge of rape.

The victim has warned others about staying safe on a night out following her ordeal."The past year has been a nightmare and I am now grateful it is all over but the message I would like to remind people is not to get into an unlicensed taxi.

"Despite being aware of the warnings, this was never something that I thought would happen to me. The horror of that night will affect me for the rest of my life.”

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2014-07-11/fake-taxi-driver-jailed-for-11-years-for-rape/

One Taxi driver. Two stories.

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/News/Taxi-Drivers-Fined-2000-After-Failing-To-Pick-Up-Passengers

Toussaint Badia

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/taxi-driver-who-pretended-to-be-a-woman-867389

Manchester UBER, Illuminated Signs.

The situation with Manchester's illegal illuminated signs on P.H. vehicles rumbles on.

It is 8 days since it was reported and apart from a single acknowledgement, Nothing.

The owner of UBER Travis Kalanick calls this;

“[I]f you have a policy of non-enforcement that goes 30 days, we call this ‘regulatory ambiguity,’ then we’re coming in too because we want to participate in this kind of innovation.”

That full statement can be read here;

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/xk8enzqt27dqp7n/ambiguatory.rtf

He is one third of the way there only 22 days to go.

The signs originated in San Francisco, have a 'butchers' at the attached video. Get used to this, it will be coming to you, very soon.

 http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/taxi-20-the-bumpy-road-to-the-future-of-cabs-video

Three men and a boy aged just 13 were arrested after an attempted car-jacking and robbery of a taxi driver.

A man flagged down patrols telling them a gang had tried to steal his car in Southport town centre.

He told officers that they had tried to drag him out off the vehicle on Hoghton Street just after 1am on Friday morning.

The victim managed to fend off the gang and sped away.

Shortly after, another police patrol was flagged down near Hesketh Park where a taxi driver reported a similar incident.

He told how a group of men had got into his taxi and taken a small amount of money from him.

Both men suffered minor received minor facial injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Officers conducted a search of the area and a short time later four people were arrested.

All four males, aged 13, 18, 24, 25 years, were arrested on suspicion of robbery and attempted robbery.

They were today in custody being questioned by officers.

http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/news/three-men-boy-13-arrested-7376236?
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Police are appealing for information after a taxi driver was robbed at a campsite by three customers.

The men visited a cab office in Seven Sisters Road, Tottenham, at 9.45pm on Thursday and asked to be taken to Chingford.

After requesting to be dropped off at the Lee Valley campsite in Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, they threatened and restrained the driver, before stealing two mobile phones, cash and keys.

They also attempted to steal the taxi, a silver Toyota estate.

The first robber is described as a 20-year-old black man of medium build. He was wearing a grey hooded top, blue jeans and trainers.


The second robber is described as a black man, about 18-years-old, with low cut black hair and a skinny build. He was wearing a light grey t-shirt and blue jeans.

The third is descibed as a lighter skinned black man, aged about 18-years-old, with a brown low cut afro hairstyle. He is of skinny build and was wearing a black hooded top and black jeans.

One of the men is described as having cornrows in his hair.

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/11322881._/

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A WHIFFLET man who assaulted a taxi driver by twisting his neck and repeatedly punching his head – while he was at the wheel – has been placed under supervision and told to pay compensation.

Ryan McCluskey admitted the attack on the driver, which also included placing his arms around the man’s neck, at Coltswood Road in Coatbridge on April 14 last year.

Procurator fiscal depute Liam Haggart told Airdrie Sheriff Court of the lunchtime incident: “Throughout the journey, the accused had begun to annoy the driver, touching him on the neck while he was driving.

“It was made clear that if he didn’t desist, he would have to leave the taxi, but the accused did not do so and assaulted the complainer while he was driving.

“He was able to get out of the vehicle and the confrontation continued on the pavement; the accused struck him and this was seen by a passer-by.”

Defence solicitor Jane Ferguson explained that the 25-year-old, who had been at a party through the night and whose “perception was skewed because of the influence of alcohol”, had felt concerned about the vehicle’s speed.

Sheriff Petra Collins interjected: “If he felt that he didn’t help matters by assaulting the complainer as he was driving.”

Ms Ferguson continued: “This is a serious offence and he apologises for his unacceptable behaviour; he can see the effect this would have on the taxi driver and that it’s not easy for him to put that behind him.

“He was consuming a lot of alcohol at that time, which caused his problems, but hasn’t had any since this.”

McCluskey, of Lees Court, was placed on a year-long supervision order and told to pay £400 compensation.

Sheriff Collins told him: “This is a direct alternative to custody – if you breach this order, the likely outcome will be a custodial sentence.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/jail-warning-coatbridge-man-avoids-3805285
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A Melbourne taxi driver says he feared for his life when two passengers attacked him, took his cab and tried to run him down before crashing the vehicle into a pole.

Victoria Police said a man and woman hailed the taxi at Brunswick Street, near Johnson Street, in Fitzroy about 1:20am (AEST) on Saturday.

The driver, a father of two named Hamid, took them to a block of flats in Heidelberg Heights, but the passengers said they needed to go inside for money for the fare.

When Hamid asked them to leave something as security, the man punched him in the face repeatedly and demanded his wallet, he said.

"They started punching on my face and on my head, and he tried to kill me," Hamid said.

The driver refused to give the man his wallet and fled.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-06/melbourne-taxi-driver-punched-in-the-face/5575020?section=vic

LONDON

TfL resort to blackmail to restrict in Taxi protest.

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BRISTOL 

A TAXI driver who groped a passenger as she paid her fare has been jailed.

Bristol Crown Court heard Maninder Singh put his hand down the off-duty nurse's top and squeezed her naked breast as she tried to hand over a £10 note.

Singh denied wrongdoing, claiming his little finger may have touched the woman as he tried to stop her leaving the cab before handing over the money.

But magistrates convicted him of sexual assault and yesterday the 30-year-old, of Royal Road, Mangotsfield, was jailed for nine months.

Neil Treharne, prosecuting, said the woman got into Singh's taxi in Colston Street and asked to be taken to Bedminster.

After stopping at two cash machines, at the end of the trip the woman went to give Singh £10 and he leaned over her and groped her.

Mr Treharne said she pushed his hand away and left the taxi, giving police a description of the driver and the vehicle.

The complainant gave a statement in which she described how the incident caused her stress and anxiety, knocked her confidence at work and how she could no longer face using taxis.

Giles Nelson, defending, said Singh was a father-of-two, with a third child due this month. He said Singh worked and sent money to his mother in the Punjab, who had suffered a heart attack.

Mr Nelson said: "He has gone to the council and handed in his licence.

"He's lost taxi work for ever and a day. He's lost his good name. He feels very strongly the disgrace this conviction brought to bear on his mother and the impact within the community, in which he is very closely involved."

Singh hung his head as recorder Adrian Palmer QC told him: "You were driving a taxi at 4am in Bristol. Your sole passenger was a young lady who was affected by alcohol.

"At the end of the journey she offered payment of the fare and you took advantage of the situation and placed your right hand down her top and on to her left breast, cupping and squeezing it.

"She got out in disgust at what you had done."

The recorder ordered Singh to pay his victim £250 compensation and a £100 victim surcharge.

He was told to register as a sex offender.