Cab drivers may be forced to breach disability legislation as London councils impose a ban on diesel taxis

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In January of this year TaxiPoint reported that both Islington and Hackney councils would be looking to ban motorists who drive petrol or diesel vehicles from a new "Green" zone within the Shoreditch area.

It has now been revealed that the new "Green" zone will go live on 3rd September 2018, with the operational hours being Monday to Friday, 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm.

All petrol and diesel vehicles will be excluded, including licensed London taxis. The exceptions to the exclusion will be all electric and hybrid vehicles, which includes the LEVC TXE taxi.

The fine for venturing into the "Green" zone during prescribed hours will be £130.

The "Green" zone will consist of nine streets:

Tabernacle StreetPaul StreetCowper StreetBlackhall StreetRavey StreetSinger StreetWillow StreetRivington Street Charlotte Road

A similar scheme is to be launched by the City of London Corporation in April, which will reduce access to Moor Lane, again only fully electric or hybrid vehicles will be allowed access.

The course of action being taken by Islington and Hackney councils as well as the impending action from the City of London Corporation has highlighted a rather interesting and potentially serious situation for the London taxi industry.

Nobody from any of the aforementioned councils seem to have given the first thought as to how this affects legislation surrounding both hackney carriage legislation and disability discrimination legislation.

According to hackney carriage legislation, a taxi driver must, unless there is a reasonable excuse, take a customer within a twelve mile radius or one hour journey time of their pick-up point.

This is a simple enough piece of legislation, until you factor into the equation the new "Green" zone. Islington and Hackney councils now expect a customer to differentiate between a zero emission capable taxi and a diesel taxi. This is all fine and dandy until you realise that around 2% of the entire fleet are zero emission capable, and at the moment, it will take around fourteen years for every taxi to be zero emission capable.

This therefore means that a driver could potentially be prosecuted, or have his or her licence suspended or revoked if they refuse to take a customer where they wish to go to or refuse to enter the "Green" zone.

Next we come to the next major issue, the disabled community. If a driver refuses or is unable to allow a disabled customer to alight within the "Green" zone, the driver can again potentially be prosecuted. Refusing to take a disabled customer on the aforementioned grounds could also see the driver prosecuted.

What also hasn't been factored in whatsoever is the fact that a wheelchair user may need collecting from the "Green" zone. When you consider that the London taxi industry is the only fully wheelchair compliant, door to door service available to the disabled, this scenario beggars belief.

The taxi industry, as confirmed by Mayor Sadiq Khan, is part of the public transport industry and is the only door to door service.The private hire industry, by very definition is not part of the public transport industry, it is, as the name suggests, private transportaion. This therefore means that out of all of the vehicles wich could need access to the "Green" zone, London taxis should be top of that list and should as a consequence have an exemption, regardless of the type of engine the vehicle possesses.

The streets that will be restricted are fairly inconsequential, they aren't major thoroghfares, in fact some of them you would be hard-pressed to drive along, Cowper Street is a blocked turning and Ravey Street has been partially closed for what seems like years due to building work. In fact only Tabernacle Street, Paul Street and Willow Street hold any significance, with the latter being the site of a major hotel, this hotel will become inaccessible if taxis cannot drive into Willow Street.

This therefore begs the question as to why these streets are REALLY being closed. Any pollution in the area will be coming from City Road, Old Street and Great Eastern Street, none of the roads being restricted have any real weight of traffic.

Could it be that "you smoke, I choke" is being used as an excuse to perform an experiment, with a view to expanding the scheme across roads that really are a major pollution problem, but which are also main thoroughfares?

So which of the three pieces of legislation should a taxi driver break, Islington and Hackney's emissions regulation, Transport for London's Hackney Carriage Act, or the Governments Disability Discrimination Act. Whatever the answer is, this one requires the wisdom of Solomon as well as a large helping of common sense.

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Algarrrrve...: Luxe 5* half board escape 5nts from £379pp - incl. wellness hotel & flights

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Arr mateys! Escape to one of Malta's most exclusive 5-star resorts, the Travellers' Choice awarded Radisson Blu hotel this winter! Boasting a popular spa, several swimming pools and a short stroll to the beach it's the perfect luxury getaway on the small amber coloured island in the Mediterranean. This package is totally flexible, and you… Castaway_Cee POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

London cabbie Joe Lewis takes to the West End stage supported by the Denmark Street Big Band

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The talented Joe Lewis will take centre stage at the West End’s Charing Cross Theatre alongside the reknowned Denmark Street Big Band on Sunday 16th September.

Joe Lewis, who is also a working London cabbie, became obsessed with Big Band & Swing Jazz sounds whilst siting at his father’s knee where they would constantly listen to LPs by Sinatra, Davis Jr, Bennett & Darin. The timeless, inspirational sound of these artists became the soundtrack to Joe’s life, and his dedication and superb vocal technique have created stunning tributes to his idols.

Earlier this year, Joe met a fellow obsessive in Paul Burch, Leader of the Denmark Street Big Band. They joined forces and began a series of intimate gigs, performing classic Big Band Swing numbers. These sellout shows and ecstatic audiences marked the arrival of a major new force on the British swing scene. The Charing Cross Theatre is delighted to present the West End Premiere of Joe Lewis and the Denmark Street Big Band’s “Great American Songbook Show “. With only 265 seats available and the theatre anticipates another sellout, so make sure you are one of the few who will always be able to say: “I was there“, and book early!

For more information and to book your tickets click on the poster below!

August 24, 2018 at 10:47AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

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Teenager jailed for stealing Taxi driver's cab and false teeth during late night robbery

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Teenage thug Conner Kelly, 18, broke into the home of a taxi driver in Liverpool, stealing his false teeth before driving off and crashing his cab earlier this year.

The robbery took place late at night while the victim was at home asleep. The unnamed taxi driver was left unable to work for more than a week as his taxi was being fixed from all the damage caused by the crash, but it was the theft of his false teeth that caused him most problems, as he was left toothless for months while a new pair of dentures were being made. Judge Steven Everett said to Kelly in court:

"You had a huge effect on him [the victim]. He would have had to around for months and months without teeth in his mouth and it isn't funny, it isn't funny at all. You had a real effect on his life."According to the Liverpool Echo, Kelly had a number of previous offences including robbery, attempted robbery and battery. Judge Everett added that Kelly's record was as bad as he's ever seen for an 18-year-old. Kelly, who has a young daughter, was sentenced to two years and eight months at Liverpool Crown Court and was disqualified from driving for five years and four months.During sentencing, Judge Everett said:

"If you had been thinking about your daughter on that night you would not have committed these offences. These are terrible offences."

August 23, 2018 at 10:58PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Winter sun: 5* Tenerife family half board holiday 7nts from £440pp - incl. flights & Melia resort

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Metrocab’s Frazer-Nash to be wound up putting taxi project in jeopardy

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A winding up order has been allowed against the Metrocab manufacturer Frazer Nash over unpaid debts.

An order was made against the company last month, but it returned to court to ask for more time to pay £1,555,942 to the HMRC.

A High Court judge dismissed an appeal to give Frazer Nash more breathing space in which to raise the money to pay.

The firm was due to launch a new zero emission cab to compete with the TXe, the only other cab on the market that meets the mayor’s clean air requirements, but has been bound up in a string of complex legal battles.

The latest ruling could put the launch in jeopardy as it could now have to call in receivers, who will endeavour to see the debts are paid off by selling any assets available before bringing the business to a close.

Lawyers for the company sought a further seven-day’s breathing space to give Frazer Nash more time to pay the money owed in full. “In the light of that amount, it is taking some time to obtain funds to pay,” counsel told Chief Registrar Judge Nicholas Briggs, one of the country’s senior insolvency judges.

However, lawyers for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs successfully opposed the application.

Refusing to grant the application, Judge Briggs said the money owed was a “judgment debt” and continued: “No payment has been paid and HMRC opposes the application. The application fails.”

He added that there was no evidence that Frazer-Nash would be able to pay the debt. After the hearing, lawyers revealed outside the court that the original petition debt was £1,671,611 but that this had been reduced to £1,555,942.

In February this year Mychett, Surrey, based Frazer-Nash warded off moves at the court by Italian company, SALT S R L to wind them up.

In another case last year, which began in the High Court and later moved to the appeal court, TXe manufacturer LEVC (formerly LTC) suffered a double defeat a complex trade mark dispute with Frazer- Nash.

LEVC, took Frazer-Nash Research Ltd and Ecotive Ltd, to court over the new Metrocab. Lawyers for the company claimed that the Metrocab design infringed its trademark and amounted to “passing off.”

The company had claimed among other things that it owned the goodwill in four styles of Fairway taxis and that the new Metrocab infringed its design.

But Lord Justice Floyd said in dismissing the case in the appeal court that the new Metrocab was “strikingly different” to the LEVC taxis and found there had been no “passing off.”

August 23, 2018 at 08:30PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI LTDA THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

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Gett Joins Ex-Military Coaches in One-Day 'Big Build' Challenge at London Primary School

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Employees from black-cab booking firm Gett joined ex-military coaches and mentors from Fusion Community Initiatives to build an outdoor space for the children of Hague Primary School in Bethnal Green. Only two miles from Gett’s London office, Hague Primary School’s project build was seen as the perfect corporate responsibility scheme for Gett to participate in. Gett’s team worked collaboratively to successfully build a new outdoor play area for the children of Hague Primary School, including a covered walkway, raised planters, benches, insect house, and a mud kitchen. Gett’s UK CEO, Matteo de Renzi says “At Gett, we are continuing to give back to our community with local initiatives like the one-day build at Hague School. As a global corporation, we feel that it is our responsibility to participate in these projects. As well as a great way for the team to build internal values, we like to focus our efforts in helping the community.”

August 23, 2018 at 07:49PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Lush 5* Dom Rep all inclusive break from £657pp - incl. 7nts resort, flights, bags & transfers

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Uber’s New CFO Suggests Next Years IPO Won’t Happen

Incoming Uber CFO Nelson Chai has suggested the company might not go public in 2019.

The $69 billion transportation firm has been aiming for a 2019 IPO for a while - Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even reiterated that plan earlier this year.

But Chai said that "I can't say I'm on board yet with going public next year," suggesting there may be further delays.

Uber's incoming chief financial officer CFO Nelson Chai has suggested the transportation firm may not go public in 2019 after all.

On Tuesday, Uber announced that it had appointed Chai, a Wall Street veteran, to the long-vacant post of CFO as it gears up for a long-awaited IPO in 2019, a stated goal of the company. But speaking to Axios, the new executive implied that the timing of the IPO wasn't a done deal just yet.

"The company has made comments about it, but I can't say I'm on board yet with going public next year," he said. "I've been impressed with the information I've seen, but I don't have enough insight until I really get in there to make sure we have the right processes and controls to be a public company."

Reached for comment, Uber spokesperson Matt Kallman downplayed Chai's remarks and said Uber is still "on track" to go public in 2019.

"As you might expect (and hope), Nelson was taking a conservative approach in his first interviews, as he hasn't started yet (his first day is Sep 10)," he told Business Insider in an email. "We're on track for an IPO next year."

Uber has been working hard to resuscitate its public image in recent months, after a chain of bruising scandals - from a culture of sexism to allegations of trade secret theft - that culminated in an executive exodus and the ousting of founder and then-CEO Travis Kalanick.

Kalanick's replacement as CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is attempting to right the ship, and said the company is aiming to go public in 2019 as recently as May of this year.

"I'm incredibly excited to bring on someone as experienced and thoughtful as Nelson,"Khosrowshahi said in a statement when Chai's hire was announced. "He will be a great partner for me and the entire management team as we move towards becoming a public company."

With a $69 billion valuation in its last venture capital investment round, Uber is the most valuable privately owned technology company in the word today, and investors have been awaiting the inevitable IPO for years.

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