FINLAND. UBERK FIND 30,000 Euro, for 3 illegal trips, they have done at least 500,000 trips.

Translation :

Uber drivers have in 2014 and 2015, driven over 500,000 trips in Denmark and since Uber has just paid 30,000 in fines for piracy drive in three trips, a huge fine be heading to the company for new trials, evaluates expert. Prosecutors excludes nothing

http://finans.dk/erhverv/ECE9477910/nye-retssager-kan-udloese-kaempeboeder-til-uber/?ctxref=ext
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UBERK USA.

The promises Silicon Valley makes about the gig economy can sound appealing. Its digital technology lets workers become entrepreneurs, we are told, freed from the drudgery of 9-to-5 jobs.

Students, parents and others can make extra cash in their free time while pursuing their passions, maybe starting a thriving small business.

In reality, there is no utopia at companies like Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Handy, whose workers are often manipulated into working long hours for low wages while continually chasing the next ride or task. These companies have discovered they can harness advances in software and behavioral sciences to old-fashioned worker exploitation, according to a growing body of evidence, because employees lack the basic protections of American law.

A recent story in The Times by Noam Scheiber vividly described how Uber and other companies use tactics developed by the video game industry to keep drivers on the road when they would prefer to call it a day, raising company revenue while lowering drivers’ per-hour earnings.

One Florida driver told The Times he earned less than $20,000 a year before expenses like gas and maintenance. In New York City, an Uber drivers group affiliated with the machinists union said that more than one-fifth of its members earn less than $30,000 before expenses.

Gig economy workers tend to be poorer and are more likely to be minorities than the population at large, a survey by the Pew Research Center found last year. Compared with the population as a whole, almost twice as many of them earned under $30,000 a year, and 40 percent were black or Hispanic, compared with 27 percent of all American adults. Most said the money they earned from online platforms was essential or important to their families.

Since workers for most gig economy companies are considered independent contractors, not employees, they do not qualify for basic protections like overtime pay and minimum wages.

This helped Uber, which started in 2009, quickly grow to 700,000 active drivers in the United States, nearly three times the number of taxi drivers and chauffeurs in the country in 2014.

http://nyti.ms/2oZmdjy

LONDON LPG TAXI ON FINAL TEST STAGE

Low emission taxis in London has moved a step closer after a programme to re-power them from diesel to LPG entered its final phase.

If successful, the programme would enable an immediate switch to LPG, providing a cleaner, interim solution before the full introduction of electric taxis.

The programme, from Autogas, is now in the final assessment stage with Transport for London, which includes a 10,000-mile technology assessment to recreate the same conditions and typical drive cycles it will eventually encounter when in–service.

‘Entering the final phase of its assessment by TfL is a significant milestone for our TX2 cab and brings the prospect of LPG taxis on the streets of London one step closer to reality,, said Paul Oxford, business development manager at Autogas. ‘London, like many other cities and towns across the UK, has a major air quality problem, largely as a result of NOx emissions and particulate matter from diesel vehicles. Giving taxi drivers an immediate and viable opportunity to switch to a fuel source that is much cleaner than diesel will not only help improve local air quality, but it will also extend the usable life of their cab for another five years and save them around £200 a month in fuel costs, so it really is a win-win situation for everyone.’

Under the scheme, older TX2 taxis will have their diesel engine replaced with a General Motors sourced, 2 litre petrol engine with full LPG conversion. The engine mapping is designed to mimic the characteristics of the original diesel engine, providing complete familiarity for drivers, yet reducing harmful NOx emissions by 80% and particulate matter by 99%.

Paul continued, ‘If successful, London will follow the lead of Birmingham who has already introduced more than 60 LPG powered taxis onto its streets in a bid to clean up air quality. With many private and public sector organisations such as the Metropolitan Police stating that they will no longer add diesel vehicles to their fleet, I’m sure many other councils around the country will be watching with great interest our taxi project developments in both Birmingham and London.’

http://www.bodyshopmag.com/2017/news/clean-taxi-solution-enters-final-phase/

The Technical details of the Engine Conversion can be found here :

http://autogaslimited.co.uk/taxi-technical-details
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Daimler - the owner of Mercedes Benz - has acquired a raft of taxi app companies in recent years in the belief that driverless travel will come to dominate a quarter of the market within the next 10 years. It purchased My Taxi in 2014.

Daimler spent over €7bn on research and development last year, with the company one of many automakers to have entered the taxi market in recent years. General Motors has invested more than €450m in US group Lyft, while Volkswagen has taken a stake of around €280m in the Israeli-made Gett.

My Taxi says nearly all of its 10,000 Irish drivers have migrated over to the new service from Hailo already. Around half of the 850,000 registered Hailo users have so far signed up to the new service. My Taxi said it will intensify its customer conversion push over the coming weeks.

My Taxi's chief marketing officer Gary Bramall told the Irish Independent that the company was looking at innovative new ways to make drivers' lives easier in the near term.

"Drivers have got specific overheads such as petrol, car and insurance-all of these things. What we are looking at the moment is to build packages that provide better deals on those costs," Bramall said.

A specialist in disruptive technology, Bramall - who previously worked at Apple, Skype and Microsoft - believes the amount of data the company has at its disposal will allow it to offer a "surgically" tailored service to its customers and drivers.

In a thinly-veiled swipe at its main competitor Lynk, Bramall said that it went against the company's ethos to charge drivers a fixed price to use the service. "You shouldn't have to pay €200 or €300 a month to use a bit of technology. We believe if drivers don't work then we don't get any money. Our model is more flexible," Bramall added.

While Hailo has been the dominant force in the Irish market since it was launched in Ireland back in 2012, the company has come up against a formidable rival in recent years in the form of Lynk.

Founded in 2015, Lynk is led by Noel Ebbs, a veteran of the taxi business who has acquired a sizeable number of cab firms in recent years that now operate under the Lynk umbrella. His firm has gone from strength-to-strength in the past two years, with a major expansion in the UK and the US following a successful €25m funding round.
The two companies are the undisputed market leaders in the book-a-ride space in Ireland, operating a much larger market share than the globally-vaunted Uber.

Bramall admits the decision to rebrand such a well-known app was a difficult decision.
"Hailo had become a verb here in Ireland. So it was the biggest challenge we had from a rebrand perspective," he said.

"So it wasn't an easy decision, but we are now part of a bigger play. When you look at the footprint now, you can see that we can scale much quicker and we have a lot more resources to be able to do things and to win the hearts and minds of drivers and customers," he said.

The rebranding from Hailo to My Taxi began last month and follows the merger of the two firms which was overseen by Daimler. As part of the deal, Daimler is to invest hundreds of millions of euro across Europe as the merged company bids to compete in an increasingly fast-paced market.
While the future of the taxi business remains unclear, My Taxi is forging ahead with plans for the present.

Next on the agenda is to get the remaining 400,000 or so Irish Hailo customers to use the new app. While short-term solutions for drivers are likely to be welcomed, the inexorable rise of technology makes the future a lot more uncertain.

http://bit.ly/2nMJbcp
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READING

THE TOWN'S taxi drivers came out in full force on Tuesday to protest the closure of a key station rank.

Hundreds of placard waving drivers lined the entrance to the Reading Borough Council officers to deliver a petition to the strategic environment, planning and transport committee.

Their anger arose following a traffic-management sub-committee meeting in November, when councillors approved plans to remove the Horseshoe Rank at the south side of the station and the Garrard Street link that feeds into it.

Mizra Beg is one of many drivers who believes the council are not doing enough to protect Reading's taxi trade.

He said: “They have closed Garrard Street and the Horse Shoe rank. The Horse Shoe rank was the main rank for the station. They have taken away all the main ranks now.

“Reading is supposed to be an integrated transport system, but unfortunately it's not.

“We know the council owns the busses but to the Trade it seems like there is either a conflict of interest, mismanagement or an abuse of power.”

http://bit.ly/2ocikda
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SOUTH OXHEY

A group of taxi drivers fear for their livelihoods as developers prepare to build on their taxi rank.

As part of the South Oxhey Initiative, a regeneration scheme by Three Rivers District Council and Countryside Properties, a taxi rank in Station Approach will be reduced from eight bays to four.

But Eddie Steel, who has been a taxi driver for 36 years, says he and other drivers fear this could impact their business.

The 70-year-old said: “The people of South Oxhey need this taxi rank and so do we – there’s always a stream of people queuing at it.

“This project is all about corporate greed. So many people’s lifelong businesses are being destroyed by the development; they’re just being shoved out. But the council and developers don’t care.

“Most people on the estate never wanted the development in the first place; most would have been happy with the shop fronts being re-done. But instead, they’re kicking people out their homes – they might be offering them a new house, but people have lived here for years; these are their homes.”

Work on the £150m regeneration scheme started in December. Over the next five years, the South Oxhey estate will be demolished to make way for 514 new homes, a supermarket and retail space.

Current businesses have been forced out of their properties and residents have been moved to nearby satellite sites.

http://bit.ly/2oFUAyG

UBERK POOL CHICAGO

A woman who was attacked with a knife in an Uber car is suing the ride-sharing company.
Chicago resident Jennifer Camacho says another passenger slashed her face several times while using Uber Pool.

The service lets strangers share a car to reduce the cost of a trip.

But Uber said the "altercation" did not involve the company and its insurance provider has refused to compensate Ms Camacho because the assault was not considered accidental.

Ms Camacho had ordered a shared vehicle in January after a night out celebrating with friends.
But as she climbed into the back of the car, another passenger who was already in the front seat slashed her face with a three-inch blade, according to her lawyer Bryant Greening.

Ms Camacho had to fight off her attacker, a 34-year-old woman, until the police arrived.

The case against Uber and the alleged attacker claims the car-hailing firm was negligent and Ms Camacho is seeking more than $150,000 (£120,000) in damages.

Uber has previously declined to comment, telling local media that the incident was "an altercation between two riders that didn't involve Uber".

However, Mr Greening said the ride-sharing company should take responsibility.

"The way Uber is promoting a safe riding experience, they should have solutions and remedies in place for when things go wrong," he told the BBC.

"The difference between Uber and a city bus or train is that Uber is consciously deciding who is put in a car and who people are sharing a ride with.

"Uber has control over the process and should be training drivers how to deal with situations, to protect passengers."

Uber has been encouraging people to use its Pool service, rather than booking a private vehicle. The ride-sharing company makes more money when passengers choose to share a car with strangers.
It told the BBC it could not comment on the case because it was "pending litigation".

But a spokeswoman told the BBC: "Whenever an incident is reported to Uber, we look into it to help ensure the safety of everyone who uses the Uber app."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39502326

Welcome to Manchester where everybody sells them selves.

Manchester United played at home tonight.

Not the worse game I have seen, but close to it.

After a shit night when Fans have traveled from all over Europe, (yes they still have that audience)
Uberk still decided to tear them a new Ar*e

To get a Taxi from the Ground back to the Airport, involes a journey of 9.6 miles.

To round it up lets call it 10 miles. Greater Manchester Rates are approx £2 per mile
plus a step of double for the first mile, so that makes it 11 miles at £2 quid,
with me so far? after 10 p.m, that is plus 33%.

The Max you can be charged is £22 (before 10)  to £29 quid (after 10).

Tonight UBERK surpassed themselves  £37 to £49 quid for 4 Passengers, or, a mere £61 to £81 quid if there were 5 of you.

Get a fu*king grip, surge pricing, when the BIGGEST football ground in the Country lets out. ?

UBERK.. Man United and Helen Mirren, are taking the P*ss, and all for money.

But Please...do not forget UBERK are cheap.

NOTTINGHAM

Taxi drivers in Nottingham fear for their jobs and livelihoods after a new scheme was launched which could see their licences revoked if they rack up enough penalty points.

Under its new Driver Improvement Penalty Point Scheme, Nottingham City Council will hand out points for a range of offences, including parking a vehicle in contravention of parking restrictions.
This weekend, during the first days of the scheme, the city council said three penalty point notices were issued for this offence – meaning three drivers were handed four points each.

Cabbies claim there is a major shortage of parking bays in the city and say it would be very easy for them to rack up points while waiting for one to become available.


Each offence would be worth between four and six points and any Hackney cab driver who reaches 12 in a three-year rolling period could see their licence revoked.

Other offences include driving a vehicle that is in an unroadworthy condition, failure to convey passengers in a safe and responsible manner and failure to use a taxi meter for journeys within a prescribed distance.

Around 100 community protection officers will help to enforce the scheme, as well as police officers.

It comes at a time when taxi drivers say that trade has fallen by nearly 40 per cent in the city following the pedestrianisation of Station Street, which has seen the taxi rank relocated to Trent Street.

Umar Mahood, 33, chairman of the Hackney Taxi Association, told the Post: "The first weekend has been shambolic. The council is only targeting Hackney carriages and we have limited spaces already. Drivers are having to go round and round rather than pull up.

"As soon as Saturday came they were standing in Market Square and just targeting Hackney drivers. There are 90 spaces across the city, only 33 at the train station, and 411 Hackney cabs. Parking is the biggest problem. When the bays are full, drivers will be waiting for a space in the rank.

"The council wants to leave us with empty pockets. They are promoting trams and buses, they want them to be successful, but they need to think of this trade and the drivers' families."

Other taxi drivers working at the Wheeler Gate taxi rank have also expressed concerns.
Ghulani Jelani, 53, from Aspley, has been driving a Hackney cab for 12 years.

He said: "This will have a negative effect and put people out of work. It is hard to find a spot – 411 Hackney taxis and less than 100 spaces, you do the math. The council says move around but if we move around we are causing pollution and we are losing fuel. The city council is against us."

http://bit.ly/2o41qNJ 
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THIRSK

A TAXI driver has lost his licence to operate after an investigation into complaints he was aggressive, verbally provocative and abusive towards other drivers.

Hambleton District Council’s licensing appeals panel decided the only action they could take was to revoke the man’s hackney carriage and private hire licence after the incident at the taxi rank in Thirsk Market Place in December last year.

It followed previous complaints in March 2016 when the man’s licence to operate was suspended for three weeks and he was given a formal warning. The taxi driver was not identified, nor were five witnesses who gave evidence to the hearing which was held behind closed doors and the press and public excluded.

A report on the hearing identified the driver as D and the panel said it was satisfied he had acted in an aggressive manner towards two taxi drivers, that he was verbally provocative and abusive with one taxi driver and that he made unwanted physical contact with one taxi driver.

It also found he had provided an inaccurate account of the incident to the licensing team in order to give the impression that his conduct appeared less aggressive and that he had acted in self defence.

“The panel considered the character references provided by D and the oral backing provided by W during the hearing,” said the report.

“The panel accepted that D will have customers and friends that have had positive experiences with him.

“However, having considered the outcome of the hearing before the panel in March 2016, the panel was satisfied that D had demonstrated a propensity to lose his temper.”

The report added: “The panel noted that taxi drivers must behave in a civil and orderly manner at all times in order to protect the public and themselves.”

The hearing also heard allegations that the driver had threatened another driver’s relatives in Turkish, however that was not substantiated after other witnesses failed to understand the words.

The driver told the panel he himself had been assaulted after the other driver’s phone was damaged - that alleged assault is understood to be the subject of a separate investigation.

http://bit.ly/2nRy96y

OUT OF AREA CARS, ARE NOT INSURED BY TRADEX

THE TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE TRADES LEADING UK TAXI INDSURER.
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Tradex Conditions of Use.

Page 11 (ii)

The Policy Booklet can be Downloaded Here.

http://bit.ly/2ntVsli

Thanks to Taxi Alliance Liverpool for giving us the Info.