The Wolverhampton Private Hire Drivers Association (WPHDA), which also represents drivers from Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley, claim they have had to drastically drop prices to hold on to customers in the face of increasing competition from rival firms.

Fares between Wolverhampton to Birmingham had fallen by a quarter - from £25 to around £17- £18 following the arrival of taxi-hailing firms such as Uber on the scene, they claim.

Ebrahim Suleman, WPHDA chairman, said drivers were effectively earning £3.50 an hour after taking out expenses. "I may as well pack up and work in a factory, or Sainsbury's - at least then I will get the minimum wage.

"This is 21st century slavery. We have bills to pay and families to look after like everyone else."
He warned that Black Country private hire drivers would liaise with colleagues in Manchester and London to 'put the pressure on' politicians at both local and national level.

At a meeting last week they urged Wolverhampton's three Labour MPs Emma Reynolds, Pat McFadden and Eleanor Smith to lobby Parliament on their behalf.

Many members and elders of the local Muslim community also attended the meeting to given their support. One said Uber was 'killing the taxi industry all over the country.'

The move was the latest action by WPHDA which in October brought the city to a near standstill with a 'go slow' by around 200 drivers, causing delays for motorists in evening rush-hour traffic.
They were highlighting what the association sees as lenient tests for new taxi drivers and too many licences being given out by the Wolverhampton Council, which has taken advantage of new government deregulation allowing drivers to shop around for their licences.

The council is planning to reduce the cost of a taxi licence by between 12–15 per cent. Councillor Bolshaw, licensing chairman, has said the authority simply acted quicker than its neighbours to ditch red tape that was holding up the service.

The WPHDA also launched a petition, signed by 800 people, to reintroduce harder tests which they said was in the interests of public safety, to raise standards and raise the profile of the trade.

Uber does not employ drivers or own vehicles, instead relying on private contractors with their own cars, allowing them to run their own businesses.

Critics say this allows it to dodge costly regulations such as stringent licensing requirements for taxi drivers, who undergo hundreds of hours of training.

http://bit.ly/2rQJ0kP 
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EDINBURGH

Police are appealing for witnesses, especially an Edinburgh taxi driver, who may have information about a serious sexual assault on Saturday morning near Leith.

The suspect, who was carrying a skateboard, hailed a black taxi on Ferry Road just after Friday night, at around 12.15am on Saturday morning.
A 33-year-old woman was returning home via Bonnington Road and Anderson Place on Friday evening into Saturday morning.

At this time a male, who had been walking in the same direction as the victim, asked her for directions to Ferry Road and then ushered her onto the path leading to the Water of Leith Walkway and attacked her.

The suspect then made off from the area and the woman sought assistance from a passing motorist who contacted police.

Officers are now urging anyone who can assist in identifying the male responsible to come forward.
He is described as male, white, between 18 and 24-years-old, around 5ft 8ins tall with a slim build with short brown hair that was close cropped at the back and sides, dark stubble, prominent dark circular earring in one or both ears.

In addition the male was wearing a camouflage patterned hooded jacket, blue jeans and trainers. He had earphones and was wearing a rucksack on his back and was carrying or using a skateboard.
The suspect is thought to have an accent, possibly Irish, although this is not certain, and he seems not to know Edinburgh well.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin MacLean said:”This was and remains a terrifying ordeal for this woman. Specialist officers are providing her with support and assistance while detectives conduct a rigorous investigation into this incident.

“I would urge anyone who recognises the description of the suspect, or who was in or around Bonnington Road, Anderson Place or the Water of Leith walkway at Anderson Place on Friday evening into the early hours of Saturday morning and remembers seeing anything suspicious to contact us immediately.

“The suspect is distinctive as, unusually for that time in the morning, he was seen both on his skateboard and carrying it.

“I also now know that our suspect hailed a black hackney taxi on Ferry Road shortly after the attack at around 12.15 a.m. on the Saturday morning, and headed westwards.

“The taxi driver might remember the male carrying his skateboard, and I urge that taxi driver to come forward.

“I appeal to anyone with any information they might think is relevant to this investigation to get in touch.”

If you have information, contact the Public Protection Unit on 101 and quote incident number 124 of June 10.

http://bit.ly/2ss55rc

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The Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] board of directors has voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations from a report stemming from allegations of sexual harassment at the company and other employee concerns, a board representative said on Sunday.

The board, at a meeting on Sunday, adopted a series of recommendations from former U.S Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Uber's cultures and practices.

The recommendations will be released to Uber employees on Tuesday, the representative said.

Holder's recommendations included imposing new controls on company spending, human resources and other areas where executives had wide discretion.

Also at the meeting on Sunday, board members were expected to discuss Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and other changes to executive leadership.

http://reut.rs/2s18Y3K 

------------------------------------

NOTTINGHAM

The controversial penalty points scheme for taxi drivers in Nottingham city centre is not being enforced after midnight – despite being launched two months ago.

Under the city council scheme, introduced on April 1, taxi drivers face penalty points for flouting parking laws or having unroadworthy cars.

Four specialist staff will eventually enforce the scheme but the first two are under training and the others have yet to be appointed.

In the meantime, about 100 community protection officers (CPOs) enforce the scheme between 7am and midnight, helped by police and CCTV monitoring.

But that leaves midnight-7am uncovered – when, it is claimed, the more dangerous breaches happen, such as unauthorised drivers picking up fares.

Kaleem Ashraf, of Broxtowe, has been driving a hackney cab for eight years and says the scheme should be "void" because it is not changing the unsafe behaviour of drivers at night.

"The purpose was to improve standards. They should be checking drivers, headlights, tyres, licences, etc," he said. "We are now in June and after midnight there is no enforcement in the city at all.

"This is when more dangerous events happen like illegal pick-ups."

"CPOs are apparently trained but they only work until midnight, so that is when the monitoring stops – this is the most important time of the night that needs monitoring. People are currently unsafe after midnight.

"The first week it was launched, we did notice a difference. Taxi ranks were moving more fluidly and we physically saw people patrolling round. But after a week, everything went back to normal."

Mr Ashraf said he had been in touch with the council in early May to raise his concerns but nothing had come from it.

He added: "I have raised the issue with several senior people in the department.

"We were assured when the scheme launched that four officers had been recruited and it was ready to go. This was a false promise.

"We were told we would be introduced to them, and get to know them but, clearly, no-one has been hired, as we have met or seen no-one. We have been told many times 'recruitment is under way' but the scheme should not have been launched if the staff weren't in place. This scheme has already failed before it started."

http://bit.ly/2rNUAf2 

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Carpooling is coming to New York City’s yellow cabs.

A pair of local ride-sharing apps is teaming up to give customers a 40-percent discount metered taxi fares for rides they’re willing to share with another passenger.

To make it happen, Curb — a ride-hailing app operated by Verifone that’s used by roughly 65 percent of the city’s 13,500 green and yellow taxis — is teaming up with local ride-sharing app Via, whose algorithms are adept at mapping out efficient routes for picking up and dropping off multiple passengers.

The new service, which launches Tuesday, kicks in when a rider using either the Curb or Via app expresses a willingness to share a green or yellow taxi in exchange for a discount of 95 cents off the standard $1.95 booking fee.

Then, as the taxi takes off, Via’s matching-and-routing algorithm will seek out convenient real-time pick-ups along the way.

“Just as we route the vehicle in the most efficient way, we’ll route an additional passenger,” says Daniel Ramot, Via’s co-founder and CEO. “For example, if a passenger’s on 45th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, we might say walk to the northeast corner of 6th Avenue, and we’ll pick you up there.”

Once sharing a taxi, the pick-up and original passenger each pay only 60 percent of the metered fare for their time together. If no additional passenger gets picked up, the original customer pays the fare in full but still benefits from the reduced booking fee.

For drivers, the Via-Curb partnership could deliver what Verifone marketing VP Jason Gross calls “an endless fare.”

“Drivers spend about 50 percent of their time looking for fares,” he explains. “This allows them to string those fares together in a very efficient way.”

Initially, the service will only be offered for routes between 32nd Street and 110th Street in Manhattan, but plans are afoot to expand it throughout Manhattan and into other boroughs.

The carpooling idea — which mimics similar services on tap from Uber and Lyft — is getting touted by the likes of Meera Joshi, chair of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.

http://nypost.com/2017/06/06/nycs-yellow-cabs-are-adding-a-carpooling-option/
-------------------------------------

CHICAGO

Ride-hailing apps are getting a one-star rating from the Chicago cab drivers whose livelihood they're challenging.

As Uber and Lyft expand, taxi revenue has fallen by 40% over the past three years, while 42% of cabs in Chicago aren't even operating, according to a study published by the city's taxi driver union and reported by USA Today.

This dropoff can be seen in the average monthly income being brought in by each active medallion — or the permit needed for drivers to pick up passengers who hail them on the street. The measure has dropped to $3,206 per medallion, down from $5,276 in January 2014, the study showed.

It's a direct result of a declining number of riders. The number of taxi passengers is now roughly 1.1 million a month, less than half of the 2.3 million figure in early 2014.

As such, it's getting more difficult to not only afford medallions, but also pay off the loans taken out to finance purchases. More than 350 foreclosure notices or foreclosure lawsuits have been initiated against medallion owners already this year, compared to 266 last year and 59 in 2015, according to the union report.

The re-sale value of medallions also reflects waning demand. They're fetching about $50,000 apiece in Chicago at the moment, down from roughly $350,000 a pop as recently as five years ago, according to data from the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. The lowest price paid for a medallion transfer this year is $35,000.

In order to fight mounting costs and competition, the taxi union recently asked the city to consider allowing older cabs to stay in service, waive a ground transportation tax of $98 per month, and get rid of a $1,000 fee to renew medallions every two years, according to the Chicago Tribune.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uber-lyft-destroying-chicagos-cab-165100571.html

UBERK READING

TWO private hire drivers who tried to take advantage of an Uber incentive encouraging drivers to operate in Reading have been prosecuted for illegally plying for hire.

Bruno Cardoso, of Portlock Road, Maidenhead and Abrar Hussain, of Cannon Gate, Slough, were fined a total of £475 and ordered to pay costs of £700 after admitting to licensing offences at Reading Magistrates Court on Friday 26th May 2017.

Both drivers are licensed by Transport for London and worked for private hire operator Uber when they responded to the company’s incentive scheme called the ‘Reading Reward Zone’.

The initiative guaranteed that the first 150 drivers to log on in the Reading Reward Zone would be guaranteed between £15 and £25 per hour, depending on which hours they worked.

This encouraged Uber drivers to ply for hire in Reading where the company was refused a Private Hire Operators licence in March 2016.

Mr Cardoso, 35, admitted plying for hire in Garrard Street, in Reading Town Centre, on 27th October 2016. He was fined £155 and ordered to pay costs of £200.

Mr Hussain, 38, admitted four offences of plying for hire; twice in Valpy Street on 27th October 2016, and once in Valpy Street and once in Victoria Street, off King’s Road, on 28th October 2016. He was fined £80 for each offence and ordered to pay costs of £500.

Councillor Sarah Hacker, Reading’s Lead Member for Consumer Services, said:
“I would like to congratulate the Council’s Licensing and Legal teams for these successful prosecutions.

“The licensing regulations for taxi and private hire operators and drivers are there to protect the public and it is absolutely right that action is taken against those who flout the rules.

“I hope these prosecutions send a loud and clear message to private hire drivers and operators licensed outside of Reading that they cannot come into town and operate illegally.”

Notes to Editors

Reading Borough Council refused an application for a Private Hire Vehicle Operators Licence for Uber in March 2016 on the ground that the Sub-Committee did not consider the applicant to be a fit and proper person to hold such a licence by reason of:

a.      Not being able to manage the operation within the standard conditions that were attached to private hire vehicle operator’s licence;

b.      Not being able to show that he could comply with current conditions that could lead to vehicles not operating according to the Council’s private hire operator conditions;

c.      There being insufficient evidence as to the demand for the service in Reading;

d.      There being no clear evidence as to the number of vehicles needed to operate the service

e.      There being no clear evidence as to how the Uber office was to be manned on a daily basis.

http://news.reading.gov.uk/uber-court/

Parklife 2017 - Manchester Hackney Carriage Arrangements

Dear All,

This year's Parklife Event will take place at Heaton Park on Saturday 10 June and Sunday 11 June. 

  Maximum capacity for each day of the event is
75000.

Please find below proposals in respect of Manchester Licensed Hackney Carriages for this year’s Event.

You are probably aware by now, in response to Trade Representation, this year the Council & Parklife organisers have arranged for a rank within the park for Manchester licensed Hackney carriages.

The rank will be situated in the same area as the private hire operation that has operated there in
previous years - for clarity, Streetcars have been licensed to provide the private hire facility.

Vehicle access to the Rank - see attached map
The entertainment within the park is scheduled to finish at 11:00pm on each night, however we know from experience that there is a steady egress from the event from around 7.00pm onwards, obviously with peak time being 10pm-12midnight.

During  the egress phase of the event, Sheepfoot Lane is closed and Manchester licensed Taxis (and Streetcars private hire) will be directed in via Bury Old Road, right onto Park Road, right onto Windsor Road, left onto Meade Hill Road and across Sheepfoot Lane into the park
(please see attached map).

Event staff will be directing the access to
enable both Taxis and private hire vehicles to service the waiting customers. There will also be a prepared queue and holding area stewarded
along Windsor Road (closed off to passing public during the egress).

Manchester Licensing Unit officers will be working throughout the whole egress period to ensure the arrangements are running as smoothly as possible and to assist in dealing with any issues, as well as enforcing against any illegal ply for hire.

Queueing System

Customers within the park will be signposted to both the Taxi & Private Hire waiting area if these are the methods of transport they are choosing -
they will access a queueing for either facility by exiting the park at the Sheepfoot Lane entrance immediately adjacent to both operations and
re-entering via a marshalled queue entrance (see attached map).

At the entrance, there will be a clear choice for customers with signs for either 'Taxi' or 'Private Hire'.

Marshalls present will be able to advise
customers of the potential waiting time dependant on numbers of vehicles available at either the Taxi Rank or the Streetcars booking point.

Marshalls & Licensing Unit officers will be ensuring that this system is operated fairly and monitoring Streetcars staff, to ensure they do not
approach customers in the Taxi Rank queue.

Vehicle egress

Having collected passengers, all vehicles will exit back onto Sheepfoot Lane towards Middleton Road and be directed to turn North. Event Staff on
each night will gradually lift the road closures as becomes practically necessary.

Other information

There will be no other rank provided for Manchester Licensed Hackney's.

Bury Hackney vehicles will be picking up from the Woodthorpe Public House.

Following the difficulties experienced during egress at last year’s event when Sheepfoot Lane was closed to all traffic for safety reasons, new
arrangements have been agreed this year with GMP & Event organisers aimed at ensuring a continual and steady flow of licenced vehicles across Sheepfoot Lane into the park throughout peak egress.

Additional signage and improved briefing of event staff and marshalls has also been organised to
help better manage the arrangements within the park.

Following feedback from Trade Representatives in regard to the 2016 event, we consulted with Highways & TfGM to look at possible alternative access routes for Manchester Hackney's to the rank in the park.

Unfortunately we were unable to find any suitable alternative routes that allowed for safe management of other transport arrangements, although it has been recognised that the closure points needed amending along the route.

Our message to the Hackney Trade following some of the difficulties experienced last year, is
that we have worked hard to ensure that access to the rank is much improved this year by planning:

• earlier attendance by compliance officers at the rank

• improved briefing of Marshalls & Event Staff on site and along the route to the rank

• clearer signage to festival goers which will indicate 'Taxi / Pre-Booked Private Hire'

• even tighter management of Street Cars compliance with regulations

• continual and steady access to the rank throughout each night

Please note, it is still anticipated that delays may be experienced exiting the park during peak egress.

All other private hire operations have been directed to Sainsbury's car park via Heaton Park Road West - which will also be stewarded. Manchester Licensing Officers will also be at this location.

We would like to remind Hackney Carriage Drivers that:

• They are only permitted to ply for hire within the confines of Heaton Park as this lies within the boundaries of the City of Manchester. 

The approach route from Bury Old Road to access the rank in the park is located in Bury and the driver of any Manchester Hackney Carriage plying for hire in this area is not licensed to do so and will be committing criminal offences.

You are also reminded that Sheepfoot Lane and the area outside the Woodthorpe public house are also located within Bury. Dropping off passengers within the Bury area is an acceptable practice.

Bury Licensing Officers will also be working over the weekend.

• Set fares can only be negotiated with passengers for ‘out of area’ journeys, all other fares must be Taximeter fare in accordance with the current city council fare tariff.

Evidence of illegal practices will result in Manchester licensed drivers facing prosecution and/or appearance before the Licensing & Appeals sub-committee.

Taxi Licensing Team
Manchester City Council
E-mail: taxi.licensing@manchester.gov.uk

LEICESTER

The father of a cyclist who died in a ‘car-dooring’ incident last July has slammed the government for trivialising the offence after a Leicester taxi driver was fined £955 for his son’s death.

Sam Boulton, a school teacher, was cycling past Leicester train station on July 27, 2016, when passenger Mandy Chapple opened the car door which hit Mr Boulton and knocked him into the path of a Citroen van; he was taken to hospital but died later that day.

Car-dooring is an offence but is only punishable up to £1000. Both the person who is operating the vehicle and the person who opens the door can both be charged.

Ms Chapple pleaded guilty in court in March and was fined £150, butdriver Farook Bhikhu pleaded not guilty.


At Loughborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday (June 5), though, the taxi driver was convicted of the crime and given a £955 fine.

£625 goes towards court costs, £300 for the offence and £30 for victim surcharge. He will pay the money in £20 weekly instalments.

Jeff Boulton, Sam’s father, said. “It’s heartbreaking that an offence which has ended a life and caused untold trauma for my family be treated so lightly under current legislation.

“Car-dooring must be taken more seriously, and the only way to do that is to change the law. Only then will we see people taking the time to think before they act.

“Until we have an appropriate offence in law, I call on the government to start investigating how they can better educate and train drivers about the dangers of car-dooring and the techniques that can prevent it from happening.”

Cycling UK – formerly the CTC – has also called on the government to introduce tougher penalties and better educate people.

“How many Sam Boultons have to die before the government takes note, and stops treating avoidable deaths as ‘accidents’?

“A maximum £1,000 fine is derisory, and trivialises these preventable tragedies,” Duncan Dollimore, the organisation’s road safety and legal campaigns offer said.

“Cycling UK wants to see the government introduce a new offence of causing serious injury or death by car-dooring, with tougher penalties. It is not right or just that tragic cases, such as Sam’s, see inadequate penalties handed down.

“Tougher penalties, including the option of custodial sentencing, should be an option for the court in life-changing or fatal cases, which in turn would hopefully encourage the police and CPS to prosecute.”
http://bit.ly/2syeCu4 
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MANCHESTER ONE LOVE

A taxi driver confronted a warden who was giving out parking tickets outside the One Love Manchester tribute concert, in aid of victims' families of the terror attack.

Robbie Aden was one of the many cabbies who rescued people from the terror-hit concert last month and gave people free lifts to the One Love Manchester gig at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on Sunday night.

But while the drivers were waiting outside the concert so that they could escort people home again for free - they noticed parking wardens handing out tickets to those attending the benefit event, the Liverpool Echo reports.

In the video - which has been viewed nearly 30,000 times on Facebook - scouser Robbie can be heard telling a parking warden - who is wearing Let’s Stand Together Manchester stickers - he is “not human”.

He said: “This is not doing a job, there is doing a job and having compassion - this isn’t having compassion.”

He added: “You are giving out tickets to people who were terrified to come here. People died down the road a couple of weeks ago and you are giving them tickets - you are not human.”

Robbie said: “The police had actually told us to park there, around the back of the ground while we waited to take people home again.

“We couldn’t believe it when they started ticketing people’s cars - and neither could the local residents living there who were also having a go at them.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/taxi-driver-confronts-warden-handing-10567402

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A taxi driver took Dundee City Council to court over claims that officials are discriminating against his disability.

Muhammed Azhar has been driving taxis in Dundee for more than seven years but suffers from a chronic back problem as a result of arthritis in his lower spine — which he says classes him as disabled.

Mr Azhar says his pain is exacerbated by the posture he has to adopt when driving a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV).

Through the council he had requested a licence to instead drive a standard saloon car to help his condition.

But he claimed the council had refused his request in order to maintain a policy of keeping 60% of Dundee’s fleet of taxis operating as WAVs.

Mr Azhar took the council to court and Sheriff George Way found in his favour, insisting the council reconsiders the evidence and its obligations under the Equality Act.

Mr Azhar declined to comment but his solicitor Ken Glass claims the council has become “fixated” on its policy and has failed in its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person.

He told the Tele: “Frankly, it was a surprising decision not to grant Mr Azhar’s request, especially as it would be less than 0.2% of a switch in the balance of WAV vehicles.

“The council can apply its policy but must not do so in an irrational or unfair way.”

The council told the court that Mr Azhar’s application was not refused because of his disability but in order to maintain its WAV policy.

The local authority said any change to that would set a precedent.

But Mr Glass denied that was a valid argument. He said: “Each case must be viewed on its own merit.”

A council spokesman said: “We are currently studying the court’s decision.”

https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/dundee-taxi-driver-discrimination-claim/

WIRRAL 

A taxi driver ran from the scene of a five-car crash in Wirral this afternoon.

The Ford Mondeo, which had an Argyle Taxis car magnet on the door, was involved in the multi-vehicle pile up on Storeton Road, Oxton , at about 2.45pm.

Police say the driver fled the scene but was later detained and found to have a head injury so was being assessed by paramedics.

The taxi and a Vauxhall Astra van were badly damaged in the collision and had to be recovered by police after the incident.

A number of other stationary vehicles were also damaged.

http://bit.ly/2rmuShl 

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LIVERPOOL

A Delta passenger screamed at a cabbie to ‘f****** drive lad’ as he was brutally attacked by two men wielding a hammer and pliers.

On board cameras captured an unidentified man and 24-year-old Daniel Leith smashing a window on the cab and landing “sickening” blows on the passenger, who refused to speak to police.

Terrified private hire driver Michael Hesketh had been blocked in by Leith, who was driving a black Ford Focus, on Townsend Avenue in Walton, late on April 30.

Mr Hesketh’s passenger was struck to the head with the hammer, wielded by the unidentified man, and hit in the back by Leith, who was armed with pliers, before managing to escape on foot.

Leith, of Landford Avenue in Walton, was jailed for two years at Liverpool Crown Court today after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm, dangerous driving and possession of an offensive weapon.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said Mr Hesketh had pulled into Stainburn Avenue to drop the victim off, when the Ford Focus began following him and flashing its headlights.

He said: “At this point the Ford Focus pulled in front of the taxi on Sedgemoor Road, near the junction with Townsend Avenue, and the front passenger door opened and a male got out of the vehicle with a hammer.

“The passenger in the taxi shouted at Mr Hesketh to reverse, which he did. The male stood on Sedgemoor Road with the hammer then got back into the Focus which reversed, following the taxi onto Townsend Avenue.”

Mr Blasbery played CCTV footage from the taxi, which showed the passenger shouting: “Don’t let them get you, reverse the f****** car lad.”

Mr Hesketh could be heard shouting: “I can’t he’s in the way.”

The footage showed the second suspect, who has not been traced, approach the rear of the taxi and smash the passenger window with the hammer, as Mr Hesketh shouted: ‘f****** hell’.

The passenger can be seen desperately trying to hold the door closed but the attacker pulled it open and launched a series of blows, one of which audibly connected with the back of his head.

Leith, who could be seen opening the boot of his Focus to retrieve the pliers, then opened the opposite door and launched at least two blows on the man before he managed to escape.

The footage continued, capturing the audibly terrified Mr Hesketh breathing heavily and telling his control room about the incident.

But his encounter with the attackers continued as they pull up to his car and say: “We’ll get you a new window, just no police.”

Mr Hesketh is offered £60 but replies: “That won’t be enough.

The men can be heard saying: “Give us your number you’ll have a new window tomorrow.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/f-drive-lad-man-jailed-13119985

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Durban – The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday threatened to shut the country down if Toyota – the manufacturers of the Toyota Quantum minibus preferred by government - didn't respond to their grievances within the next seven days.

The taxi operators brought traffic to a standstill on major Durban routes and surrounding areas on Wednesday morning while on their way to a Toyota plant in Prospecton, Isipingo.

They were protesting “over the escalating cost of the Toyota Quantum since it was introduced in the country 10 years ago”.

When it was introduced, it was at a fully imported price of R220 000. It is now however locally produced at R450 000 before interest which the industry feels is too expensive, Santaco said.

According to the organisation’s calculations, one Toyota Quantum costs more than R1m when the deposit, interest rate, instalments, premiums and insurance have been considered.

Santaco KZN chair Boy Zondi told News24 that they want Toyota to decrease the minibus price to R350 000.

“We also demand that Toyota stops supplying SA Taxi Finance with Toyota Quantums because of the high interest rate they charge us,” he said, adding that they suspect that banks, Toyota and SA Taxi Finance are colluding to cheat taxi operators.

Zondi said they gave the minibus manufacturer seven days to respond to their grievances.

“If they don’t respond, we will shut down the whole of South Africa,” he threatened.

http://bit.ly/2qDa8oJ

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A Pendle taxi firm has been ordered to pay over £2,000 after hiring a known sex offender.
The Borough Council won an appeal to stop the operator from letting the the man work as a dispatcher.

He was responsible taking bookings and sending out taxis to customers in that role while he was working for the firm.

The Crown and Greenline taxis' licence holder took that decision to Burnley Crown Court.
That appeal from Mohammed Sajid Khaliq was heard last Thursday (25th May) but it was unsuccessful and the company was ordered to pay £2,033.26 in court costs.

http://bit.ly/2rWA5iV

Northumbria police have today warned people of the behaviour of a certain taxi driver in Newcastle.
It comes after messages were posted on social media relating to the behaviour in the east end of Newcastle.
The posts suggested that a male taxi driver has been locking vulnerable women in his vehicle.

It's understood an upfront payment has been demanded from passengers and that they have been locked in unless they agree to pay the fare - an investigation is now underway.

There have also been reports of passengers being sick in a taxi and being locked in the vehicle until they hand over property or payment as a fine.

Both male and female passengers have reported these types of incidents and we do not believe that vulnerable women are being targeted or that a driver has ever intended to harm them.

A local taxi company has dismissed an employee in connection with the reports and a police investigation is ongoing to see if any criminal offences have been committed.

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man has been arrested by police and his taxi licence has been suspended by the local authority. His vehicle has also been seized to avoid him driving for another company.

http://bit.ly/2scGCmI

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Taxi drivers in Spain are striking today in cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia to protest at what they see as the exploitative practices of ride-hailing transportation apps Uber and Cabify.

Cab drivers in Barcelona are staging a 24 hour strike and will be taking their distinctive black and yellow cars to Madrid to take part in a demonstration in the centre of the city planned for midday, according to El Pais. A shorter taxi strike also took place in Valencia this morning.

It’s the second such anti-Uber demonstration in Spain, and follows the company’s limited re-entry into the market last year in Madrid, with a version of the Uber service that uses only licensed drivers. Uber has not sought to reintroduce the ability to hail a ride from non-professional drivers in the market. Nor does it currently offer its carpooling service, UberPool.

But it looks to be playing a longer game of attrition in the market — focused on lobbying for regulatory change so that it could reintroduce other services in future. In the first instance Uber is seeking to get a cap removed on the number of licenses for private hire vehicles — currently set at one per 30 taxis — to enable more Ubers to operate. Hence taxi drivers being angry.

Anger has also apparently been directed at Uber rival Cabify, which has claimed it’s been the target of various acts of aggression in the market — including having nine of its cars set on fire in Sevilla earlier this month.

In a blog post on its Spanish website yesterday Uber argued that eliminating the cap on the VTC licenses necessary to rent a vehicle with a driver would “reduce urban transport prices, create thousands of jobs and favor more sustainable cities”. Earlier this month it also published a report it commissioned which claims there would be “significant economic and environmental benefits” flowing from the liberalization of VTC licenses.

http://tcrn.ch/2skCdNR 

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