An Uber driver has called on the company to stop its "dangerous" UberPool car sharing service after he was forced to call police when a woman was attacked in his cab.
James Farrar, the co-founder of driver organisation United Private Hire Drivers, said the problem arose when he picked up two passengers in Cranley Gardens, Kensington, on Saturday evening, who were unaware they had ordered an UberPool service.
Mr Farrar said the two young men then set upon the female passenger who was already in the car.
He told the Standard: "When I got there these two guys were aggressive, they'd not realised they were in a shared service, the user interface is confusing.
"I took a decision for my safety and the safety of the other passenger that I would not carry them.
"There was an argument, they kicked her in the back and dragged her up against the wall.
"I tried my best to defend her and they set upon me as well.
"The police came, but the main attacker had left the scene. The other guy attempted to leave the scene in a cab but I stopped him."
Another motorist witnessed the incident, which happened at about 9pm, and said he saw the passenger turn on Mr Farrar.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Standard: "I was driving in my car from Gloucester Road towards Fulham Road and when I got to the bend I saw a guy standing in front of a car with his arms up.
"I saw a commotion going on in the road. It was a black guy, a young boy, I couldn't tell if he was punching him, he was wrestling him from behind and threw him on the bonnet.
"I asked what's happened, and he said 'he's just assaulted a girl in my car'.
"I pulled my car up and approached the guy. I asked what was going on and the guy said 'nothing, nothing' and stormed away, but the police caught up with him."
Mr Farrar is now calling on the company to stop the service, and for TfL to impose a ban.
"It absolutely should be stopped," he said. "In fact it should never have started.
"We told TfL this is a dangerous service, it's dangerous to drivers and it's dangerous to the public, especially late at night."
Mr Farrar has also criticised the company for asking its drivers to sign a letter to Val Shawcross, London's Deputy Mayor for Transport, asking her to review taxi regulations and to support Uber's ride sharing service UberPool.
In the letter drafted by Uber, the company claims that UberPool has saved 124 metric tonnes of CO2 due a million passengers choosing to share a mini cab in the past six months.
However, UPHD believes the figures are misleading as UberPool is drawing passengers away from public transport.
Mr Farrar said: "Uber must stop using the name of drivers to peddle corporate white and green wash. Uber doesn't bother to give a full accounting of its carbon emissions to independent bodies like the Carbon Disclosure Project and is now blatantly spinning the data to create a misleading picture.
"However, if Uber wants to work with drivers to secure worker rights, a cap on TfL licensing of private hire vehicles and to end UberPool and similar ride sharing services, then our door is wide open."
An Uber spokesperson said: “Londoners have chosen to share their journeys by choosing UberPool more than a million times, so we were extremely concerned to hear about this incident. We have been in contact with both the driver and passengers concerned and will assist the police with any investigation.
“We make very clear to passengers at the time of booking UberPool that they are opting to share their journey. It has proved to be a popular new choice for people in London as it allows them to save money, while also helping to cut emissions and congestion compared to taking the trip alone.
"Drivers can also make more money by having two fare-paying passengers in the car at the same time.
“Last week Uber gave its partners the option to sign a letter to the new Deputy Mayor for Transport to ensure the voices of private hire drivers in London are heard.
"This was completely optional and almost 9,000 drivers chose to sign that letter which pointed out the vital role they play in keeping London moving - especially at times of day, and in parts of London, where public transport is limited or unavailable.”
Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s chief operating officer for surface transport, said: “I am extremely concerned to hear of this incident and have launched an urgent investigation.
"We will be speaking to the police and to Uber about this particular case and we will confirm that Uber are ensuring passengers are made adequately aware that they are ride sharing with strangers when they book UberPool.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said officers had attended but the situation had been resolved amicably and no arrests had been made.
http://goo.gl/0vug1i
Monday, 13 June 2016
Sunday, 12 June 2016
E.U. Commission Back UBERK
Given the sheer volume of court rulings that have gone against Uber lately, it would be no surprise to find that the world’s judiciaries have been infiltrated by a cadre of disgruntled black cab drivers.
The California-based taxi app has now fallen foul of courts in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium – and that’s just in Europe. Judges in Brazil and India have also thrown brass tacks under the wheels of the Uber juggernaut, which has been rapidly gathering speed since the company was founded in 2009.
One of the chief complaints is that its lower-cost UberPop service – now banned in a handful of countries – relies on drivers who do not have a licence to operate private hire vehicles. This angered traditional taxi drivers, whose lobby groups have found allies among the political classes.
In France, Uber was found guilty of running an illegal taxi service, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of two years for executives held responsible. They avoided jail but, in a measure of the strength of anti-Uber sentiment in France, two executives had to pay combined fines of €50,000.
But there may be hope for Uber in Europe. The European commission recently issued guidelines stating that “sharing economy” businesses such as Uber and Airbnb should be banned only as a last resort. It hinted that it could call upon these guidelines when determining whether national legislation violates EU treaties.
So far, Uber has tended to drop its UberPop service rather than fight its corner: it relies for income instead on its more upmarket chauffeur-style services, which use fully licensed drivers.
But the company has many friends in high places and the thinly veiled message of support from the European commission may well embolden chief executive Travis Kalanick. If the commission continues to lean towards backing Uber, he will at some stage feel ready to test those bans in the highest European courts. And that could lead to a head-on collision.
https://goo.gl/4BRvZF
This is what the E.U. Back. £10 a mile fares on Saturday Night, here in Manchester.
http://goo.gl/KIx3jW
---------------------------------------------
STAFFORDSHIRE
A COUNCIL licensing officer has been suspended following allegations against the staff member.
Newcastle Borough Council has taken the action while an internal investigation into the issue takes place.
It is understood that the allegations against the officer relate to the borough council's issuing of licences to taxi drivers.
A borough council spokesman said: "We can confirm that a member of staff has been suspended while an investigation takes place.
"As this is still under way it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Newcastle-council-officer-suspended-taxi/story-29388986-detail/story.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mercedes-Benz Vans has launched its all-new Vito Taxi with prices started from £135 per week.
Vito Taxi offers space for the driver and up to six passengers, as well as being fully-wheelchair accessible.
Available initially in a ‘National’ specification, customers can choose from the front wheel-drive 109CDI model, with 88 bhp or the rear-wheel drive 114CDI with 114 bhp. Both come with manual gearboxes but an optional seven-speed automatic gearbox is available for the 114CDI models.
Later in 2016, a London specification version will be available, incorporating the rear steering axle that allows it to meet the famous 25ft turning circle rule as prescribed by the Public Carriage Office so it can execute a U-turn in London’s congested streets.
The London variant is offered with the more powerful engine as standard together with the 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic gearbox, which is now controlled using a steering column-mounted lever.
Standard equipment on both versions includes the fuel-saving BlueEfficiency measures which features engine Start/Stop function for the 114CDI models, air conditioning, electric folding mirrors, electrically operated sliding doors on both sides and electrical nearside step; London versions feature an additional off-side step.
Priced from £135 per week for the Vito Taxi 109CDI National variant, the Vito Taxi comes with a three-year, unlimited mileage manufacturer’s warranty and MobiloVan back-up, which includes free, round-the-clock emergency roadside assistance. Pricing for the London variant is still to be announced.
http://www.commercialfleet.org/news/van-news/2016/06/09/mercedes-launches-euro-6-vito-taxi
Given the sheer volume of court rulings that have gone against Uber lately, it would be no surprise to find that the world’s judiciaries have been infiltrated by a cadre of disgruntled black cab drivers.
The California-based taxi app has now fallen foul of courts in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium – and that’s just in Europe. Judges in Brazil and India have also thrown brass tacks under the wheels of the Uber juggernaut, which has been rapidly gathering speed since the company was founded in 2009.
One of the chief complaints is that its lower-cost UberPop service – now banned in a handful of countries – relies on drivers who do not have a licence to operate private hire vehicles. This angered traditional taxi drivers, whose lobby groups have found allies among the political classes.
In France, Uber was found guilty of running an illegal taxi service, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of two years for executives held responsible. They avoided jail but, in a measure of the strength of anti-Uber sentiment in France, two executives had to pay combined fines of €50,000.
But there may be hope for Uber in Europe. The European commission recently issued guidelines stating that “sharing economy” businesses such as Uber and Airbnb should be banned only as a last resort. It hinted that it could call upon these guidelines when determining whether national legislation violates EU treaties.
So far, Uber has tended to drop its UberPop service rather than fight its corner: it relies for income instead on its more upmarket chauffeur-style services, which use fully licensed drivers.
But the company has many friends in high places and the thinly veiled message of support from the European commission may well embolden chief executive Travis Kalanick. If the commission continues to lean towards backing Uber, he will at some stage feel ready to test those bans in the highest European courts. And that could lead to a head-on collision.
https://goo.gl/4BRvZF
This is what the E.U. Back. £10 a mile fares on Saturday Night, here in Manchester.
http://goo.gl/KIx3jW
---------------------------------------------
STAFFORDSHIRE
A COUNCIL licensing officer has been suspended following allegations against the staff member.
Newcastle Borough Council has taken the action while an internal investigation into the issue takes place.
It is understood that the allegations against the officer relate to the borough council's issuing of licences to taxi drivers.
A borough council spokesman said: "We can confirm that a member of staff has been suspended while an investigation takes place.
"As this is still under way it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Newcastle-council-officer-suspended-taxi/story-29388986-detail/story.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mercedes-Benz Vans has launched its all-new Vito Taxi with prices started from £135 per week.
Vito Taxi offers space for the driver and up to six passengers, as well as being fully-wheelchair accessible.
Available initially in a ‘National’ specification, customers can choose from the front wheel-drive 109CDI model, with 88 bhp or the rear-wheel drive 114CDI with 114 bhp. Both come with manual gearboxes but an optional seven-speed automatic gearbox is available for the 114CDI models.
Later in 2016, a London specification version will be available, incorporating the rear steering axle that allows it to meet the famous 25ft turning circle rule as prescribed by the Public Carriage Office so it can execute a U-turn in London’s congested streets.
The London variant is offered with the more powerful engine as standard together with the 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic gearbox, which is now controlled using a steering column-mounted lever.
Standard equipment on both versions includes the fuel-saving BlueEfficiency measures which features engine Start/Stop function for the 114CDI models, air conditioning, electric folding mirrors, electrically operated sliding doors on both sides and electrical nearside step; London versions feature an additional off-side step.
Priced from £135 per week for the Vito Taxi 109CDI National variant, the Vito Taxi comes with a three-year, unlimited mileage manufacturer’s warranty and MobiloVan back-up, which includes free, round-the-clock emergency roadside assistance. Pricing for the London variant is still to be announced.
http://www.commercialfleet.org/news/van-news/2016/06/09/mercedes-launches-euro-6-vito-taxi
Friday, 10 June 2016
MANCHESTER.
The Manchester Compliance Team have had a very good season, so far.
The first six months results have been released.
---------------------------------------
EIRE
Motor insurance has increased by more than 35% in the past year according to the CSO - but taxi drivers, who face losing their livlihood, say they are faring even worse than that.
Tower Cabs in Limerick own a fleet of eight taxis and paid €7,000 for insurance in 2013 and €16000 in 2014.
"Last year I got a renewal €56,000, I thought it was a misprint so I rang them,” Owner Tom Hannon explained.
“They said no, that's the way things are gone. From €16,000 the previous year. And no satisfaction, just, if you’re not happy, move on."
Tom ended up paying €31,000 to a different insurer for his eight taxis last year, but this year can't even get a quote.
"I have eight drivers losing their jobs now in August over this situation. It'll be a devastating blow to receive."
Jude Williams of Treaty and Expert Taxis in Limerick said "There's an increase in the taxi insurance of 200-300%.
“Going from €1100 up to maybe €4,500 in Limerick and even in Dublin they're getting quotes of €16,000 and these are taxi drivers with full no claims bonus. There's no explanation as to why it's increased so much, the only thing we can figure out is a lack of competition."
The insurance industry say claims volatility is to blame for rising premiums.
"We have called for our level of awards to be benchmarked against other jurisdictions,” Kevin Thompson of Insurance Ireland says.
“Because as a society we need to decide whether we can afford a level of awards or not, so we are urging the government to take action and we are urging other stake holders as well to engage in this process so we can bring affordability back in to the market."
Any measures to drive down the costs of insurance are unlikely to arrive on time for taxi drivers like Tom.
http://utv.ie/News/2016/06/10/Taxi-drivers-lose-jobs-over-soaring-insurance-costs-60239?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EVOLUTION
1980s: hailed or booked a taxi (from my home phone or a callbox), went where I wanted to go, kept an eye on the meter, and paid with cash.
1990s: same except that I paid by check.
Early 2000s: same except that taxi drivers had stopped taking checks because they bounced too often, so I was back with cash.
Late 2000s: found that some tax drivers would take credit cards. Of course they expected a bigger tip to cover their 3% processing fee. And they used a manual card reader, which was obviously not connected to any network, and then processed the credit card slips through their bank. I usually paid with cash.
Early 2010s: taxi drivers started to use Square (or similar) to process their credit cards. This made it really easy for me to give a big tip (and made me feel a bit mean for “only” doing 15%). It was also network connected so my balance was checked before payment completed. And I got my receipt emailed to me. Progress!
Mid 2010s: along came Uber, Lyft, etc. Suddenly, I didn’t really have to think about how I was going to pay, or whether I had the right cash, check or credit card with me. Instead, payment was an integral part of the transaction. Now, the mobile app that allowed me to see how close the nearest driver is, enter the destination, get an estimate of cost, track the driver’s progress to me, also automatically hit my credit card and allowed me to add a tip (or not) and rate the driver.
https://goo.gl/9h3wFU
------------------------------------------
A motorcyclist in his 20s has been involved in a serious collision with a taxi in Grimsby.
The incident occurred at around 10pm at the junction of Yarborough Road and Cross Coates Road.
Relatives of the male motorcyclist on the scene say they believe he has suffered broken legs after colliding into a wall and another parked vehicle. He was laid down on the floor and covered in blankets while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
An ambulance arrived on the scene shortly after 11pm.
The collision is between a private hire Citreon C5 taxi and a 125 Aprilia bike.
One police car was on the scene and traffic was being diverted around the where the collision happened.
One eyewitness on the scene said: "I am disgusted with the amount of time the poor lad has been on the floor - he could have died."
http://goo.gl/wqGS8Z
The Manchester Compliance Team have had a very good season, so far.
The first six months results have been released.
---------------------------------------
EIRE
Motor insurance has increased by more than 35% in the past year according to the CSO - but taxi drivers, who face losing their livlihood, say they are faring even worse than that.
Tower Cabs in Limerick own a fleet of eight taxis and paid €7,000 for insurance in 2013 and €16000 in 2014.
"Last year I got a renewal €56,000, I thought it was a misprint so I rang them,” Owner Tom Hannon explained.
“They said no, that's the way things are gone. From €16,000 the previous year. And no satisfaction, just, if you’re not happy, move on."
Tom ended up paying €31,000 to a different insurer for his eight taxis last year, but this year can't even get a quote.
"I have eight drivers losing their jobs now in August over this situation. It'll be a devastating blow to receive."
Jude Williams of Treaty and Expert Taxis in Limerick said "There's an increase in the taxi insurance of 200-300%.
“Going from €1100 up to maybe €4,500 in Limerick and even in Dublin they're getting quotes of €16,000 and these are taxi drivers with full no claims bonus. There's no explanation as to why it's increased so much, the only thing we can figure out is a lack of competition."
The insurance industry say claims volatility is to blame for rising premiums.
"We have called for our level of awards to be benchmarked against other jurisdictions,” Kevin Thompson of Insurance Ireland says.
“Because as a society we need to decide whether we can afford a level of awards or not, so we are urging the government to take action and we are urging other stake holders as well to engage in this process so we can bring affordability back in to the market."
Any measures to drive down the costs of insurance are unlikely to arrive on time for taxi drivers like Tom.
http://utv.ie/News/2016/06/10/Taxi-drivers-lose-jobs-over-soaring-insurance-costs-60239?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EVOLUTION
1980s: hailed or booked a taxi (from my home phone or a callbox), went where I wanted to go, kept an eye on the meter, and paid with cash.
1990s: same except that I paid by check.
Early 2000s: same except that taxi drivers had stopped taking checks because they bounced too often, so I was back with cash.
Late 2000s: found that some tax drivers would take credit cards. Of course they expected a bigger tip to cover their 3% processing fee. And they used a manual card reader, which was obviously not connected to any network, and then processed the credit card slips through their bank. I usually paid with cash.
Early 2010s: taxi drivers started to use Square (or similar) to process their credit cards. This made it really easy for me to give a big tip (and made me feel a bit mean for “only” doing 15%). It was also network connected so my balance was checked before payment completed. And I got my receipt emailed to me. Progress!
Mid 2010s: along came Uber, Lyft, etc. Suddenly, I didn’t really have to think about how I was going to pay, or whether I had the right cash, check or credit card with me. Instead, payment was an integral part of the transaction. Now, the mobile app that allowed me to see how close the nearest driver is, enter the destination, get an estimate of cost, track the driver’s progress to me, also automatically hit my credit card and allowed me to add a tip (or not) and rate the driver.
https://goo.gl/9h3wFU
------------------------------------------
A motorcyclist in his 20s has been involved in a serious collision with a taxi in Grimsby.
The incident occurred at around 10pm at the junction of Yarborough Road and Cross Coates Road.
Relatives of the male motorcyclist on the scene say they believe he has suffered broken legs after colliding into a wall and another parked vehicle. He was laid down on the floor and covered in blankets while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
An ambulance arrived on the scene shortly after 11pm.
The collision is between a private hire Citreon C5 taxi and a 125 Aprilia bike.
One police car was on the scene and traffic was being diverted around the where the collision happened.
One eyewitness on the scene said: "I am disgusted with the amount of time the poor lad has been on the floor - he could have died."
http://goo.gl/wqGS8Z
BANGKOK - An Uber driver trying evade authorities could have caused the bomb scare at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Thursday (June 9) night, say airport security officials.
As these drivers are illegal in the country, one of them could have left behind his two phones temporarily as his vehicle moved away within the airport's compound, as he tries to disguise his location from the authorities.
What he left behind - the two phones in a clear plastic bottle and connected by cable to a power bank - was found by a jogger at around 5.30pm, and alarm was raised.
For about half an hour, the road in front of the Novotel hotel within the airport compound was closed as explosives ordnance disposal experts and bomb sniffer dogs pored over the package and area.
"I think the driver was trying to hide his telephone," Suvarnabhumi's vice-president of security, Mr Kittipong Kittikachorn, told The Straits Times. "For sure it's not a bomb. It's not a fake bomb."
Airport staff regularly use the tracking feature on the Uber mobile application to locate and nab Uber drivers operating around the airport, he explained.
Uber is a mobile application that matches private drivers with potential passengers. Although there are reportedly tens of thousands of Thai motorists who have signed up as Uber drivers, their services remain illegal in the Kingdom. More recently, Thai authorities also outlawed the motorcycle taxi version of Uber, called UberMoto.
Mr Kittipong said he saw the Uber application open on one of the phones in the suspicious package.
The incident on Thursday had rattled nerves given the occasional political violence that has erupted over the course of the Kingdom's recent history. Explosions also took place during the last round of street protests which paralysed the then Puea Thai-party run government and led to the 2014 coup that ushered in the current junta.
While Thailand's southern border provinces have been battered by a largely localised separatist insurgency, the South-east Asian region as a whole has had to confront the growing spectre of terrorism.
A string of blasts took place last year (2015). In February, two small improvised explosive devices exploded in the walkway linking a skytrain station to Siam Paragon shopping mall in downtown Bangkok. In April that year (2105), a car bomb went off in the basement car park of Central Festival mall on the southern holiday island of Koh Samui. Seven people were injured in that blast.
The most deadly attack, however, occurred on August (2015) when a bomb that went off near the popular Erawan shrine in Bangkok's Ratchaprasong intersection killed 20 people, including one Singaporean.
Meanwhile, Mr Kittipong said that the authorities will be tracking the owner of the abandoned phone down. "He's in trouble for sure," he said.
http://goo.gl/MtkEVd
As these drivers are illegal in the country, one of them could have left behind his two phones temporarily as his vehicle moved away within the airport's compound, as he tries to disguise his location from the authorities.
What he left behind - the two phones in a clear plastic bottle and connected by cable to a power bank - was found by a jogger at around 5.30pm, and alarm was raised.
For about half an hour, the road in front of the Novotel hotel within the airport compound was closed as explosives ordnance disposal experts and bomb sniffer dogs pored over the package and area.
"I think the driver was trying to hide his telephone," Suvarnabhumi's vice-president of security, Mr Kittipong Kittikachorn, told The Straits Times. "For sure it's not a bomb. It's not a fake bomb."
Airport staff regularly use the tracking feature on the Uber mobile application to locate and nab Uber drivers operating around the airport, he explained.
Uber is a mobile application that matches private drivers with potential passengers. Although there are reportedly tens of thousands of Thai motorists who have signed up as Uber drivers, their services remain illegal in the Kingdom. More recently, Thai authorities also outlawed the motorcycle taxi version of Uber, called UberMoto.
Mr Kittipong said he saw the Uber application open on one of the phones in the suspicious package.
The incident on Thursday had rattled nerves given the occasional political violence that has erupted over the course of the Kingdom's recent history. Explosions also took place during the last round of street protests which paralysed the then Puea Thai-party run government and led to the 2014 coup that ushered in the current junta.
While Thailand's southern border provinces have been battered by a largely localised separatist insurgency, the South-east Asian region as a whole has had to confront the growing spectre of terrorism.
A string of blasts took place last year (2015). In February, two small improvised explosive devices exploded in the walkway linking a skytrain station to Siam Paragon shopping mall in downtown Bangkok. In April that year (2105), a car bomb went off in the basement car park of Central Festival mall on the southern holiday island of Koh Samui. Seven people were injured in that blast.
The most deadly attack, however, occurred on August (2015) when a bomb that went off near the popular Erawan shrine in Bangkok's Ratchaprasong intersection killed 20 people, including one Singaporean.
Meanwhile, Mr Kittipong said that the authorities will be tracking the owner of the abandoned phone down. "He's in trouble for sure," he said.
http://goo.gl/MtkEVd
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
ESSEX
A BUNGLING thief kicked open a taxi door and snapped it off its hinges after ordering a cabbie to hand over his takings.
The man, aged in his mid twenties, refused to pay for his fare after a Hackney Carriage driver picked him up outside Pitsea train station.
As the white and orange Peugeot Expert stopped in Sandon Road- less than a mile from the station- the passenger threatened the cabbie and demanded a wad of cash from him.
A scuffle is understood to have broken out, during which the the door of the taxi was ripped off.
The passenger, who was wearing a grey tracksuit and black trainer, fled the scene.
An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, took to Facebook to warn residents about the incident.
She said: "A man tried to mug a taxi driver, there was fighting and possible injuries.
"The man even ripped the door off the cab trying to mug him.
"Luckily the cab driver seemed ok, he was just shaken up."
Independent cabbie Ralph Morgan, 72, urged taxi drivers to be on their guard about who they pick up.
He said: "You have got to be aware of who you pick up and keep an eye out for warning signs such as the smell of cannabis or booze.
"At the end of the day, we are the only form of transport where you don't pay up front so we are put at risk.
"Be on your guard all the time and if it's a long journey, then ask for the money up front first."
The incident happened at about 11.30pm on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Basildon Council, the authority which issued the taxi driver with his license, said: "Basildon Council, as the licensing authority, condemns any attack on a licensed driver or vehicle going about their normal work.
"Should any police investigation highlight issues in relation to the personal safety of local drivers, we will ensure that this information is shared with the trade."
An Essex Police spokesman said: "We are investigating threats made to a taxi driver in Sandon Road, Pitsea.
"The suspect kicked the door of the orange Peugeot Expert taxi causing it to fall off after failing to pay for his journey from Pitsea train station.
"He is described as being aged in his mid twenties, wearing black trainers and a grey tracksuit."
So far, no arrests have been made and investigations are continuing.
Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
http://goo.gl/ToSAax
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
A taxi driver will appear in court charged with the murder of a prostitute who was missing for almost a decade.
The body of Becky Godden, 20, was found in a shallow grave at a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, eight years after she disappeared.
Christopher Halliwell, 52, is accused of murdering Miss Godden between January 1 2003 and April 4 2008.
He will appear before Bristol Crown Court for a plea and case management hearing.
Halliwell, a father-of-three, previously of Ashbury Avenue, Swindon, was charged by Wiltshire Police on March 30.
He appeared before North West Wiltshire Magistrates' Court in Chippenham the following day.
The last confirmed sighting of Miss Godden before her remains were found in March 2011 was by a police officer in Swindon in December 2002.
Her family thought Miss Godden, who had drifted into drugs and prostitution, was living in the Bristol area.
She had broken off contact with her family after saying she could not put her mother Karen Edwards through the pain of watching her succumb to drugs.
http://goo.gl/rWFo7m
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEVADA
The idea of personalized air travel aboard autonomous flying taxis sounds like a pretty fanciful transport concept, but it started to get some serious traction when Ehang's 184 drone landed at CES earlier this year. Many questions remain over how the human-carrying aircraft would function in the real world, but at least some of these may soon be answered with the company winning governmental approval to test the vehicle in Nevada airspace.
The single-seater electric drone is designed to offer an aerial transport option for people traveling short-to-medium distances. The idea is that passengers hop in, enter their destination on a 12-inch touchscreen and hit the take-off button. The autonomous flight systems handle the rest, including avoiding obstacles, communicating with air traffic control systems and navigating the flight path.
This all sounds pretty exciting, but the trouble is the drone on show at CES was just a prototype and, one short clip of it hovering aside, Ehang has never demonstrated its purported capabilities. It has, however, done enough to impress biotech firm Lung Biotechnology, which has teamed up with the Chinese drone-maker to adapt the vehicle for future organ deliveries. And now the US state of Nevada is looking to get onboard as well.
Both the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) have signed an agreement with Ehang to begin testing the aircraft. The program will take place at Nevada's FAA-approved test site, one of six such drone-testing locations across the US. There's no mention of whether this testing will cover the vehicle's capacity to carry humans, but the stated intention is to gain the Ehang 184 a Certificate of Airworthiness, an FAA document that gives it authority to fly.
http://www.gizmag.com/ehang-184-taxi-drone-testing/43760/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIDDLESBOROUGH
A TAXI driver who raped a drunkenly unconscious passenger has been locked up for ten years after being told: "You abused her dreadfully."
Naleem Nasleem, 48, picked up the student after he saw her slumped by the side of the road near Middlesbrough town centre in the early hours.
The cabbie drove her to a quiet spot not covered by closed circuit television cameras where he forced himself upon her in the back seats.
Teesside Crown Court heard that the "extremely drunk" 22-year-old victim was later driven home and staggered out of the car bare-foot.
She woke hours later and had no idea what had happened – but had a puzzling image of an Asian man leaning over her in the back of a taxi.
After bravely going to police with her suspicions, forensic tests were carried out on the college student which showed she had been raped.
Married father-of-three Nasleem claimed his passenger had made sexual advances towards him and they had consensual sex in his vehicle.
A jury of eight men and four women took three hours and 15 minutes to find him guilty of two counts of rape at the end of an eight-day trial.
Judge Simon Phillips, QC, told him: "You had no regard for her safety or her well-being whatsoever. You showed complete contempt for her."
The court heard how the student had flagged down a taxi earlier, but she passed out in the back and the driver took her to a police station.
The cabbie said in his evidence that touching a passenger was a "no-no" and wanted help from the officers to remove her from his vehicle.
She made her way back into town – appearing to have glazed eyes, stumbling and slurring her words – where she was picked up by Nasleem.
Judge Phillips told the shamed defendant: "What is clear is that she was extremely drunk. That was patently obvious to anyone who saw her.
"She was perhaps momentarily semi-conscious because the following morning the only image she had in her mind was of an Asian male.
"It was an image she could not understand. She had no recollection of being in either taxi. She may have been completely unconscious when you forced yourself upon her.
"What was clear was she was in no position to stop you . . . you abused her dreadfully and treated her with complete disregard."
The judge added: "The previous private hire vehicle driver had done the right thing by her. You did the opposite.
"This jury heard evidence about that and is in no doubt as to the abuse of trust that you have committed against this young woman."
Nasleem, of Oxford Road, Middlesbrough, will also be on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.
The court heard how his wife is standing by him, and in a letter to the judge she told of the "unimaginable" prospect of him being locked up.
http://goo.gl/Z098HV
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PRESTATYN
A TAXI driver who slapped a teenage girl’s bottom had now lost his job, a court heard.
And after hearing that the incident had occurred at a Prestatyn pub, District Judge Gwyn Jones said he was concerned that young children were on the premises at 10pm.
Last month Peter John Mealing, 45, pleaded guilty at Prestatyn magistrates’ court to sexually assaulting the 13-year-old girl at the Royal Victoria Hotel where his wife Diane is licensee.
Prosecutor James Neary said the girl and her young brother had gone to the pub with adults who were friends of the defendant.
Mealing, who knew the girl was 13, said to another man: “Guess how old she is...you’ll never guess.”
It was also alleged that he said the girl “had a nice a---“ and then slapped her on the bottom.
Interviewed later, the girl said: “It was really creepy.”
Mealing, of First Avenue, Prestatyn, accepted that he knew the girl’s age, and added: “It was a joke which went wrong.”
He told police he had received no sexual gratification from the incident.
Roger Thomas, defending, said that Mealing had lost his job as a result and would bear the stigma of his conviction for the rest of his life.
Describing his behaviour as “totally unacceptable”, the District Judge commented: “It is of concern that two youngsters are allowed on the premises at 10 o ‘clock. It is clear there were significant issues of a lack of supervision on the pre mises at that time.”
Mealing was ordered to carry out 175 hours of unpaid work and to pay the girl £200 in compensation. He was also ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £60 surcharge, and will be on the sex offenders’ register for five years.
http://goo.gl/tS2TWZ
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NOTTINGHAM
A taxi has crashed into the side of a city centre building just as rush hour begins.
The car was seen lodged into the the Apex office building on Lower Parliament Street, which plays host to BBC East Midlands studios, shortly before 5pm on Wednesday.
Both Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and Nottinghamshire Police were on the scene as traffic began to build up in the approach to the BBC Roundabout that joins with London Road and Canal Street.
A spokeswoman from the fire service told the Post they had one fire engine on the scene and were "making the vehicle safe."
She added: "One male patient is being assisted by East Midlands Ambulance Service and is conscious and breathing."
http://goo.gl/20x6j7
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