Council crackdown on "cherry picking" Taxi drivers, saying it can put people in vulnerable and dangerous situations

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Gwynedd Council are warning taxi drivers not to “cherry pick” jobs and have said they run the risk of having their licence revoked if caught doing so. The clampdown comes as more and more people are likely to require the services of taxi drivers over the festive season. According to the North Wales Chronicle, the council has stressed the importance of assuring everyone has access to a reliable taxi service which will get them home safely. Complaints have been received by the council about drivers who are refusing some of the more “local fares” in hope of nailing a longer, more profitable, fare, which according to the council, can leave some people, especially women, in vulnerable and dangerous situations. Councillor Dafydd Meurig said: “This illegal practice not only endangers the safety of customers but also undermines the efforts of private hire and taxi drivers who work hard and operate within the law to deliver a high-quality service in Gwynedd.” Council members have said that the majority of taxi drivers act in an honourable way and follow the trades rules and regulations. If a taxi driver is plying for hire with his light on, they are not allowed to refuse a job because the journey is not considered long enough. The council is asking anyone who experiences this unlawful act to take a picture of the registration plate or taxi licence plate, along with the location and time and send it to the licensing authority.

December 10, 2018 at 04:31PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Uber accused of failing to honour arbitration clause by 12,000 drivers

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It has been revealed by Business Insider that over 12,000 Uber drivers have filed a lawsuit accusing the private hire giant of ignoring their requests for arbitration.

The lawsuit, which was lodged in a California claims that a mere 47 drivers have been appointed arbiters and only six have seen any forward momentum in the process.

Many companies require wokers to sign an arbitration agreement that requires disputes to be resolved with the company, rather than through a courtroom. There is however an option for a company to opt-out of this process.

The case was initiaally brought as a class action in several U.S states regarding drivers status.. Their complaints centre around a failure to pay minimum wage, lack of compensation pertaining to overtime, no paid sick leave, plus a myriad of other rights that would be inotiated were drivers considered to be employees.

For any arbitration to proceed, Uber is required to pay a fee to an alternative dispute resolution provider. It has been alleged that Uber hasn't paid the fees required to begin arbitration, except in a small number of cases.

As of last Friday the case was moved to The US District Court in San Francisco. Uber now has 21 days from receivinv the original summons to enact some sort of response.

December 10, 2018 at 03:43PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Steve Kenton THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Minicab driver puts life at risk by delaying ambulance on emergency call

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A life was potentially put at risk on Saturday by a minicab driver who brought Euston Road to a standstill during an argument.

The driver of a Silver Prius, which according to the Daily Mail, was reported to be a minicab, was driving in the centre lane of the Euston Road in London, when he turned left into the path of an oncoming taxi which was using the bus lane.

An argument between the two men subsequently ensued, with the minicab driver blocking the centre and nearside lanes.

Unbelievably, an ambulance on an emergency call, with its lights and sirens blaring, became blocked by the minicab driver, who wouldn't move his vehicle out of the way.

An eye witnesses said that the taxi driver was travelling along the bus lane when the minicab approached and nearly hit the taxi, the minicab driver was also shouted at to move out of the way whilst he was arguing.

The minicab eventually moved and the emergency vehicle was able to proceed.

December 10, 2018 at 08:36AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Steve Kenton THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Private Hire Driver found guilty of sexually assaulting female passenger who got in the front to charge mobile phone

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A private hire driver has been found guilty of sexual assault of a female passenger following a trial at Kirklees Magistrates Court. 32-year-old driver, Ali Asim, who worked for Wakefield Cars, denied sexually assaulting his victim, but footage recorded from the woman’s mobile phone helped a jury convict him of the attack which took place when the woman ordered a minicab home after a night out with friends on February 5. Prosecutor Jill Seddon said: “The defendant was called to collect the two ladies from the pub and her friend was dropped off first. “At some point she(the victim) got into the front of the taxi (minicab), the reason being the driver offered her the opportunity to charge her mobile phone. “She says when she did that he reached across the seat and touched her between her legs and on her breasts. “She’s dropped off at home and tells her husband what’s happened. A short time later police are involved and the driver was traced through his taxi (private hire) information.” Footage from the victims mobile phone proved that she was highly distressed when she was dropped off at her home. During the footage the victim could clearly be heard crying as she arrived home and calling her attacker a ‘dirty b*****d’. The victim told the court: “he said: I’ve got a charger. Why don’t you jump in the front and you can plug your phone into my charger? “At Barnsley Road (Flockton) he stopped, pulled over and I went to the front and plugged my phone. “Nothing happened and I said: ‘I can’t believe it’s not working’. “We set off driving and a little bit further down the road his left hand came over and touched me and I said: ‘what do you think you are doing?’ “First he touched my breasts, he grabbed them both, and went down to my private parts. “He didn’t say a word. He just put his hands back on the steering wheel and carried on driving.” She then told the court that he groped her again a little further down the road. Asim denied the claims but was found guilty following a three hour trial. The Examiner Live confirmed that he will be sentenced on January 2.

December 10, 2018 at 10:07AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Two knife point robberies on taxi drivers in Bournemouth by man with “Liverpool accent”

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Detectives are appealing for information after robberies on two taxi drivers in Bournemouth. The first incident occurred just before 1am today, Sunday 9 December 2018. The victim - a local man aged in his 40s - picked up a man in Meyrick Road and drove him to St Clement’s Road near to the church. Upon arrival, the victim was threatened with a knife and was told to hand over money. The offender made off with a quantity of cash. The victim did not sustain any physical injuries. The offender was described as white, with a beard, brown hair and tattoos. He was wearing a grey tracksuit and had a muscular build. He also spoke with a Liverpool accent. The second incident happened at around 3.30am today. The victim - a man aged in his 50s - was approached by two men on Southcote Road shortly after dropping off another fare. The pair asked him if they could take them to Southbourne. As they drove, the men instructed the taxi driver to turn onto Knole Road and as they were opposite St Clement's Church they told the driver to stop. The men then threatened the taxi driver at knifepoint and demanded he hand over money. The victim managed to escape the taxi and run off. As he turned around he saw one of the men get into the driver seat and drive off onto Drummond Road. The victim did not sustain any physical injuries. A short time later the fire service was called to Aylesbury Road, where the taxi was located on fire and was extinguished. One of the men is described as five feet ten inches tall and of large build. He had short brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing a jacket and jeans. He spoke with a Liverpool accent. The second man is described as short in height and of thin build. He had dark hair and was wearing all dark clothing. He spoke with a local accent. Detective Sergeant Mark Portelli, of Bournemouth CID, said: "We are determined to identify and bring those responsible to justice and I would like to reassure the public that a full investigation is underway. "At this stage, we are keeping an open mind as to whether the two incidents are linked. "I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anyone acting suspiciously in the area around the time of either robbery or who has any information that could assist with the investigation to please contact Dorset Police. "The neighbourhood policing team can be contacted with any community concerns."

December 10, 2018 at 08:41AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Borough Enforcement of Speed Limits: “It Could Be a Big Money Spinner” says ABD

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At present only the police can enforce speed limits in London by the issuance of fines and penalty points to drivers who offend. The fines resulting from prosecutions are generally paid to the Treasury, although the police can obtain some money by using “waivers of prosecution” and diverting drivers to speed awareness courses. The Alliance of British Drivers (ABD) believes the latter is illegal. London Councils is the representative body for all 32 London boroughs. At a recent meeting of their Transport and Environment Committee the issue was raised of the lack of enforcement of speed limits, particularly 20-mph limits which are widely ignored. Could it be that they are inappropriate on many roads? Or that the police have decided they have better things to do with their limited resources? It seems some boroughs would like to acquire the power to enforce speed limits and effectively take over the role of the police. London Councils have commissioned their staff to “explore the feasibility of undertaking such enforcement”. That will include options “for the use and retention of any income from speeding fines”. Note that new legislation would be required, similar to the decriminalisation of parking offences. You can see just how attractive this could be to local boroughs in that it would enable enormous numbers of speeding fines to be issued, with only the poor appeal system that we have at present for parking fines.

This could be an enormous money-generator for councils who would be imposing 20 limits (or even 15 limits as proposed in the City of London) on all their roads, with thousands of hand-held speed cameras in use irrespective of whether there is any road safety benefit. Financial motives would take priority of whether this is rationally going to have any road safety benefit and we would see yet another step in the direction of making the use of cars so difficult that people will give them up – just what the anti-car fanatics would like to see.

December 09, 2018 at 05:14PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Roger Lawson - ABD THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Taxi driver who posted naked pics with his licence badge on a gay dating site fails to show for his licensing hearing

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A Dundee taxi driver who had his licence suspended for advertising sex in his taxi on a gay dating website failed to show for his hearing with the council’s licensing committee on Thursday December, 6. The 52-year-old taxi driver advertised himself on dating site FabGuys.com with naked pictures posing with his registered taxi badge. Along with his photo, he left a message saying that he could always be found at Dundee Railway Station’s taxi rank and said he enjoyed “quick meets” either outdoors or in his taxi. The courier had originally contacted the driver through the number given as his contact on the dating site but he said he had no idea what they were talking about and called the whole conversation disgusting before hanging up. Details of the drivers current licence status could not be revealed by the council. The police have also confirmed that they dropped the case against the driver because they could not prove that a criminal offence had been made. The advertisement on FabGuys.com has since been removed.

December 09, 2018 at 05:02PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Uber undertake recruitment drive by increasing fares in Nottingham

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Minicab giant, Uber, in a bid to recruit more drivers onto the platform, have increased fares in the Nottingham area.

The 9% upweight in Ubers fare structure comes at the same time as a taxi fare increase, which will see fares rise by 16.5% on daytime tariffs and 15.3% on evening tariffs.

Ubers fare increase comes on the back of a protest by the company's drivers, who went on strike last October, wanting better pay and working conditions.

Uber fares increased for trips taken in Leicester, Nottingham and Derby from Friday December 7.

Taxi fares will increase on December 17, the increases represents the first rise in seven years.

December 09, 2018 at 01:07AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Steve Kenton THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Uber file papers to go public

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It’s been revealed by Business Insider that Uber have filed an S-1 document in preparation of launching an IPO.

Uber may go public with a valuation of a staggering $120 billion, which is in stark contrast to an initial valuation of around $76 billion. The prospective IPO, which is being referred to as “Project Liberty,” may be launched as early as the first quarter. Lyft had announced, one day prior to Uber, that it had filed paperwork to launch an IPO. This leaves the two private hire giants battling against each other as to who will float on the markets first. Uber haemorrhaged nearly $1 billion in the third quarter of this year, whilst Uber have expanded their portfolio by moving into bike and scooter operations, as well as making further investments into its Uber-Eats food delivery arm. Uber, which has been beset by numerous scandals, is now trying to move on from its problematic past as it makes the move to go public.

December 08, 2018 at 07:13PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Steve Kenton THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Man dies after Manchester taxi collision

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A man has died following a collision with a taxi in Longsight.At around 2.10am on Saturday 8 December a man in his 60s was on the southbound carriageway of Stockport Road when a black cab collided with him.The man was pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics.The driver of the black cab – who is in his 70s - remained at the scene and spoke with police. No arrests have been made.The road was closed for several hours.Following enquiries, it was established the man who died had earlier been arrested on suspicion of committing a public order offence. He was released after being issued with a fixed penalty notice.As there had been previous police contact, the incident has been referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct in line with national protocol.Officers from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit continue to investigate the collision itself and are appealing to anyone who may have been in the area at the time.Sergeant Jon McColl said: “We have spoken to several people who stopped at the scene and have also recovered dash-cam footage as part of this investigation.“Our thoughts continue to be with this man’s family and our support will be offered to them.“Whilst we continue with enquiries we are still keen to hear from anyone that may have seen a man in the road earlier or has any information about the collision.”Details can be passed by calling SCIU on 0161 856 4741 quoting incident number 262 of 8 December 2018.

December 09, 2018 at 07:59AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Uber driver allegedly calls girls 'sluts' and pulls weapon on Black Taxi driver outside Peaky Blinders bar

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An Uber driver allegedly threw a punch at a black taxi driver in Liverpool and then went to his car boot and pulled out what some witnesses have said was a machete like weapon. According to a report in the Liverpool Echo, hackney carriage driver, Anthony Rimmer, was sitting outside the Peaky Blinders bar with his fir hire light on with an Uber vehicle parked in front, which had it’s hazard lights on. Rimmer said he watched has a group of girls tried to enter the Uber vehicle but the driver started shouting at them to get out. The girls then approached Rimmer’s black taxi and got in wanting to go to Aintree. The Uber driver then left his vehicle and made his way over to the taxi shouting towards the girls. Rimmer said he was calling them ‘horrible women’ and ‘horrible sluts’. When confronted for his abuse by Rimmer, he then allegedly threw a punch at the hackney carriage driver, which missed. According to witnesses, the Uber driver walked over to the boot of his vehicle and brandished a weapon which some say looked like a machete. At this point Rimmer drove away from the incident to avoid any dangerous confrontation. Merseyside Police have confirmed that they were called to the scene but didn’t see any weapons. The incident took place at around 9:30pm Saturday 1, on Parliament Street in Liverpool City Centre. Merseyside Police said that the private hire driver in question left the scene after the incident was reported but has since voluntarily attended the police station and spoken to the enquiries team. Investigations are still ongoing.

December 08, 2018 at 01:01PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

A number of new EU proposals could see Black Box systems fitted to all new cars to analyse incident data

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New EU proposals will see black box data recorders fitted in all new cars to log information such as the vehicle’s speed or the state of activation of the car’s safety systems before, during and after a collision, auto express have reported. If proposals are approved, the new laws will also require new car’s to have intelligent speed assistance systems fitted by manufacturers. The speed assistance system will prompt drivers of changing speed limits and warn them if they should be likely to exceed any. If used in conjunction with cruise control, the system will automatically assure the vehicle changes with any speed limit. Black box data will be unable to be accessed by the drivers and although they will be able to still exceed speed limits, the data log will record the vehicle’s details that would be analysed should a collision occur. Other proposals would see systems fitted for driver fatigue detection, reversing sensors, rear lights that flash during emergency braking, enlarged pedestrian impact zones and pre-wiring for alcohol ineterlocks, allowing the easy installation of such devices in the cars of drink drivers. According to reports, the new proposals are projected to save 25,000 lives over a 16 year period. The aim is to introduce the proposals and make them mandatory by 2021.

December 08, 2018 at 09:07AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Female passenger attempts to rob taxi driver with a knife in Nuneaton

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Warwickshire Police is appealing for witnesses following an attempted robbery in Nuneaton earlier this week on Wednesday evening. At around 4.55pm, it's reported a taxi was driving on Mallard Avenue when a female passenger threatened the driver with a bladed object and demanded money. An altercation took place and the passenger then ran off along a footpath towards Queen Elizabeth Road, Camp Hill. No money was stolen and the driver was not injured. The offender is described as white, short in height, in her mid to late thirties, with short dark hair. It's believed she was wearing a black jumper and black trousers.

December 08, 2018 at 08:38AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Plan Insurance and Family Business United have teamed up to help homeless this Christmas

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Plan Insurance Brokers and Family Business United have teamed up once again on a national campaign to help homeless this Christmas. The Family Business Santa Dash sees a decorated van tour the country to collect donations from generous family businesses across the UK, to help the Homeless and support national charity Emmaus. The trip began on December 3 and the Santa Dash van has already visited Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow, Hinckley, Colchester, and Chelmsford, with further plans to stop in Redhill and Cobham. Several donations have been gathered from numerous charitable family firms such as HMG Paints, Century Office, Thomas Graham and G Seller. The donations will be redistributed via the Emmaus UK network across the country, and the Taxi Warm Clothing initiative in London.

This year, the Santa Dash is going all the way to Scotland, to fill the van with warm clothing items. Here is a snippet of the itinerary:

With figures from Shelter showing that there are now more than 250,000 homeless people in the UK today, it is clear how important a campaign like this is, and how it can make a difference. If you would like to get involved, you can help by making a donation on the Santa Dash JustGiving page.

Paul Andrews, Founder of Family Business United shared his thoughts on this year’s Santa Dash: “We can all afford to miss out on a coffee and whilst the amount may not seem significant on its own, collectively the donations will mount up and help us to make a real difference to the lives of those more vulnerable. We plan to use the funds to buy more sleeping bags and blankets to distribute to the homeless and help them to keep warm in the cold winter nights.” Plan’s MD Grant said: “As a family and a family business, the plight of the homeless at this time of the year is something that we want to try and do something about and to make a difference through this campaign, however small, is something that we are passionate about. We are clear in our intentions to make a difference and the trip in the van around the UK will add some fun to the event, helping to raise awareness.” To find out more, follow @PlanInsurance and @FamilyBizPaul on Twitter, and follow the hashtag #FamBizSantaDash to keep up to date with all the latest.

December 08, 2018 at 08:29AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Plan Insurance THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Tappa emerge as new black cab app option for London

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An unexpected new taxi booking app is set to hit the streets of London called Tappa. The team behind the app, released on both Apple and Android platforms, have yet to release details of any official launch as yet. The ride-hailing startup has however opened up its driver recruitment section on it’s website. Tappa promotes itself as “London Black cab quality with the benefits of the low-cost taxi apps!”. They also offer an online booking option for passengers wishing to book a taxi from their desktop or website browser rather than the app. It is unclear who is behind the venture or how it is being funded at this point, but TaxiPoint hope to have more details soon.

December 08, 2018 at 08:07AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

The Waymo One driverless car service: How close are we to seeing this in the UK?

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December 07, 2018 at 08:23PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

November sees largest petrol price drop in four years – but retailers still didn’t cut far enough

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The price of petrol fell by more than 5p per litre in November, the biggest monthly drop since January 2015 and the first major price reduction since June as retailers finally reacted to falling wholesale prices. Data from RAC Fuel Watch shows unleaded fell from 130.61p to 125.43p (down 5.18p) in November and diesel dropped 2.5p from 136.93p to 134.42p. Petrol at the end of November was back to a price last seen in mid-May whereas diesel went back to its end of September level. Despite the positive news at the pumps the RAC’s analysis of wholesale fuel prices shows drivers have been overcharged on the forecourt to the tune of 10p a litre for unleaded and 7p for diesel, and average prices should still fall considerably over the course of the next fortnight if retailers play fair. RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “The oil price plummeted by 24% throughout November which proved to be positive for motorists – indeed we haven’t seen such a large drop in average prices in nearly four years. Having finished October at $75, a barrel of crude ended the month only costing $57 which sent wholesale prices tumbling even though the value of sterling dropped by 2%. “This should have translated to the average price of petrol being around 120p a litre, but retailers chose not to pass on the savings meaning the current average still remains unnecessarily high at 125.43p. While one of the big four supermarkets has consistently cut the price of unleaded the others haven’t by as much which has meant the UK average price didn’t drop as much as it should have done. “Based on our data, petrol still ought to come down by 7p a litre in the next two weeks and diesel by 5p. While this seems unlikely based on retailers’ current track record, we can only hope they are planning some cuts in the run-up to Christmas with a view to getting more shoppers into their stores. “In the last six years we haven’t seen retailers take this much margin from selling a litre of petrol over such a protracted length of time. Wholesale unleaded began falling from mid-October but retailers were reluctant to reflect this on the forecourt despite the RAC highlighting the issue on numerous occasions. For some time prior to this we had been happy to praise retailers for passing on wholesale savings on the forecourt and say there was little evidence of ‘rocket and feather’ pricing. Now, however, there is very clear proof that many retailers are operating ‘rocket and feather’ policies.” The cost of filling up a family-sized car with 55 litres of unleaded at the end of November stood at £68.98 – a saving of £2.85 on a month ago. The equivalent for a diesel vehicle is £73.19 which translates to £1.38 less for a tank since the end of October. On 29 November the average price at the big four supermarkets was 121.27p for petrol and 130.96p for diesel. Motorway services, which have been even slower to reduce their prices, were charging an average of 145.40p for unleaded and 153.70p for diesel. On 20 November, however, the average price of diesel at services reached 155.40p a litre which matched the previous high of April 2012 when average fuel prices across the UK were at record levels.

December 07, 2018 at 07:47PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

City Council weighs up pros and cons of same colour vehicles for entire Taxi fleet

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A Worcester City Council group are exploring the idea of introducing same coloured branded vehicles for all it’s taxi drivers. The idea, if implicated, would see the entire taxi fleet one colour with a Worcester City branded crest and livery on every single one of them. The council have been in heavy discussion with taxi drivers over the potential change, according to a report in the Worcester News. The idea of having a uniformed vehicle fleet of taxis was not supported by taxi driver representatives at a recent council taxi meeting, but will be further discussed at a scheduled council licensing committee on December 10. The main concern for taxi drivers who oppose the idea is the “unnecessary” and “additional” costs to them to have their vehicle wrapped and branded. The council group have priced up the potential cost to be between £250 and £300 per vehicle, which drivers are saying they do not want to have to fork out for. The condition of each vehicle once the branding is removed has also been brought up in the report. Concerns that the stickers could damage the paintwork which subsequently could lower the vehicle’s resale value have been highlighted. The idea behind having a uniformed fleet of taxi vehicles is that it will make them clearly identifiable which could boost public safety and security, the council has said. In turn, if customers feels more confident that it’s a licensed council city taxi, it will hopefully increase the work load for the taxi drivers. Should all licensing committees consider same coloured branded taxi fleets? What’s your thoughts....

December 07, 2018 at 02:55PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT