Black Taxi numbers rapidly dropping in Liverpool since the rise of Uber

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Liverpool's black taxi trade has seen a decline in licence numbers since the arrival of ride-hailing app Uber.

New government figures show a rapid increase of private hire licences that have been issued as drivers flock to join the tech giants from Silicon Valley.

Figures show that private hire licences now outnumber hackney carriage licences, with many taxi drivers pointing the finger at the lack of regulations put in place to cap the amount of Phv licences that are issued.

Surrounding areas have also seen a major increase in Phv licences with Sefton being the most notable. Figures have grown from 3,399 in 2017 to 4,286 the same time this year.

Many taxi drivers say that drivers licensed outside of Liverpool drive into the city centre to pick up work from ride-hailing apps making it even more difficult to earn a living.

According to a report in the Liverpool Echo, there are now, across Merseyside, three private hire drivers to every one hackney carriage.

All fingers point towards the Deregulation Act 2015 which has left loop holes allowing “out of town” drivers pick up work in areas that they are not licensed in.

Taxi drivers in Liverpool claim they are now not only competing with private hire drivers from Liverpool, but also from areas as far afield as Birmingham and Manchester.

The Mayor of Liverpool is a big advacote of having a specific Liverpool City Region licence that all private hire drivers would have to adhere to.

Taxi drivers are now deeply concerned that the industry is being eroded by the huge amounts of private hire licences that are being handed out.

Uber has said that although cross border hiring is not an illegal process, it has put into place a geofencing system in certain locations to help eradicate drivers picking up work in areas they are not licensed.

November 04, 2018 at 06:14PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Uber owes struggling drivers £720 million as it drags out tribunal appeal

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Tech giant Uber owes a staggering £720 million to its work force after a court ruling entitled them to holiday pay, a minimum wage and rest breaks.

But it could be years before the company who lost a tribunal two years ago could be forced to pay up – if at all. The San Francisco headquartered company which has 40,000 drivers registered in the UK and uses EU loopholes to avoid paying tax is refusing to honour the ruling made at the central London employment tribunal in 2016. Lawyers from Leigh Day, acting for the GMB union, says each of the 40,000 drivers are all owed almost £11,000 in wages and more than £8,000 in holiday pay. But Uber is refusing to pay up as it racks up tens of thousands of pounds in an appeals process which is unlikely to be settled any time soon. It comes as a survey from Ridester showed drivers in the US are not satisfied with their Uber earnings. “These figures lay bare the human cost of Uber continuing to refuse to accept the ruling,” said GMB legal director Sue Harris. “While the company is wasting money losing appeal after appeal, drivers are up to £18,000 out of pocket. “That’s thousands of drivers struggling to pay their rent, for feed their families. “It’s time Uber admits defeat and pays up. “The company needs to stop wasting money dragging its lost cause through the courts.

“Instead, Uber should do the decent thing and give drivers the rights to which those courts have said they are legally entitled.”

Fareed Baloch of zoom.taxisaid the numbers “highlighted that drivers are not better off working for Uber despite the claims made by the company.” “Uber have used some unsavoury working practises to try to dominate the market and now instead of looking after its drivers – after that big campaign in Westminster Magistrates Court about how they were a ‘different’ kind of company – they are avoiding paying them basic rights by using their financial clout in a long drawn out legal process. But consumers have a really important role to play if they want to put an end to the dubious ethics of the gig economy: they have to use local companies who provide rights to their workers.” Last year politicians slammed Uber who they accused of ‘free riding’ on the welfare state after more and more evidence was uncovered of drivers requiring benefits to top up their incomes. Frank Field MP, Work and Pensions Committee chairman, accused the gig economy of “free-riding” on the welfare state and “avoiding all their responsibilities to profit from this bogus ‘self-employed’ designation while ordinary taxpayers pick up the tab.” He added: “This inquiry has convinced me of the need to offer ‘worker’ status to the drivers who work with those companies as the default option.

“This status would be a much fairer reflection of the work they undertake, which seems to fall between what most of us would think of as ‘self-employed’ or ’employed’.

“It would also protect them from some of the appalling practices that have been reported to the committee in this inquiry.” Uber has also been avoiding VAT by exploiting a loophole in how the tax is collected for business-to-business sales across EU borders. It treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT.

The global company, which claimed to make revenues of £1.9 billion in the first three months of 2018, paid just £411,000 in tax in the UK in 2016.

November 04, 2018 at 02:41PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Fareed Baloch - zoom.taxi THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

“Cabbies failed by the Met” says LTDA

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Cabbies are being left at the mercy of a prolific gang of thieves operating in West London because the police are refusing to investigate their crimes. Dozens of victims have been posting their stories online and contacting the LTDA to speak of their experiences at the hands of the thugs who prowl the Edgware Road and Lisson Grove. In the last few weeks alone, Gary Illidge was left “terrified” after being targeted by the gang, which escaped with his money bag after surrounding him in Piccadilly. Fellow driver Ray Coggin was forced to flee from the gang as one of them reached through his window – “ I didn’t care if I took his arm with me,” he said, “it’s scary out there.” Steven Van Gelder was also targeted twice, once in Lisson Grove and another time by what he believes to be a different gang in Stanhope Place. And trade stalwart George Vyse was seriously injured when he was targeted by the gang. In virtually all the cases the police have basically said that they will not be investigating further despite having reams of evidence, photographs and even CCTV footage, that could help bring the culprits to justice. The gang struck in Piccadilly after hailing Gary Illidge’s taxi in Edgware. Four of them left the cab and two walked, while a third approached the passenger window and pulled out a credit card. Gary opened the window and told him he had to use the machine in the back of the cab, but the thief pretended not to understand while his accomplice walked round the front. As Gary looked round to see what he was up to the other thief leaned into the cab and stole the money bag. Gary, who has been a cab driver for seven and half years, said the incident left him frightened of going to work by the incident. He said: “I’m literally terrified and look for any excuse not to go to work but I have to. What worries me the most is the fact the police are not going to investigate or to check CCTV so that even if they don’t catch them now they could so in the future. I went to West Central which was closed, and the sign basically says that if you are not being attacked report the crime online. “Then basically they came back to say they will not be pursuing the investigation. It scares me to think what might happen if someone tries to stop them.” The gang often asks to be taken to Church Street, which is a dead end. They claim that a wheelchair using relative will be joining them and while the driver sets out the ramp, one of them steals phones, wallets and money bags. The gang used the ramp story when they targeted TAXI columnist Al Fresco last month, escaping with cards, his cab licence and cash. Al was left dismayed by the lack of concern from the police and depressed by the incident which took place on the day he returned to work after a lay off for an operation. The LTDA has written to complain to Commissioner Cressida Dick and is also in the process of raising the issue with the Home Secretary, Sajid David.

November 04, 2018 at 07:58AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI LTDA THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Permission granted by High Court to review Judge’s decison to relicense Uber in London

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Taxi drivers in London have moved a step closer to legally action against Judge Emma Arbuthnot’s decision to relicense ride-hailing firm Uber earlier this year. The group working under the name United Taxi Action Group have been granted permission by the High Court to Judicially Review the decision taken by Judge Emma Arbuthnot to grant Uber a 15-month operators licence. The action spearheaded by taxi driver representatives United Cabbies Group has instructed senior commercial QC to provide a legal opinion on taking legal action against Transport for London, Westminster Magistrates Court and Uber along with support from from other keys members of the London taxi industry. The UCG say it is now time for drivers to support action for the right earned by completing the Knowledge of London, abiding by strict regulations enforced by TfL and being forced to drive a prescribed purpose-built vehicle which is both Wheelchair Accessible and subject to very rigorous Conditions of Fitness. “This is an unprecedented legal challenge against Uber, Transport for London and Westminster Magistrates Court. It will shock many how Uber operate and are allowed to operate under the watchful blindness of the regulatory body there to protect” says the legal team working on the action Robert Griffiths QC and Barrister Stuart Jessop of 6 Pump Court, Temple. In a statement made the UCG in September they added: “It has long been known by members of the trade that Uber operates a model which is identical to hailing and therefore infringes London taxi drivers’ exclusive right to ply for hire. This action will seek to address that injustice. “In this action we will forcefully pursue the argument that TfL knew or ought to have known that Uber is not and has never been a fit and proper person to hold an Operators’ Licence. “One of the many reasons why it will be argued that Uber is not a fit and proper person includes issues relating to its corporate structure and fiscal operations. “This is a concerted, comprehensive and unprecedented action against key parties including the regulatory body (TfL) and will seek to bring each and all parties to account for their part in the damage caused to our 360-year-old trade. “Other similar actions are exclusively seeking damages, but this action will seek more than damages for any previous loss. It will seek to protect our exclusive right to ply for hire and ensure that PHV drivers and London Taxi drivers compete fairly. “It will seek to protect the trade from current and further threats to its exclusive right to ply for hire and ensure that the distinct Two-Tier System is restored and not eroded.” “We will seek to protect and preserve your exclusive right to ply for hire from current and future threats, the two-tier system has to be restored” added Darren Rogers from Chiltern Law Although the initial instructions have been given by UCG, this is not a singularly UCG action. The United Trade Action Group (UTAG) is made up from a “wider group of taxi supporters”. The UTAG will rely on donations made via a crowdfunder to proceed.

November 03, 2018 at 03:14PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Waymo hits 10 million miles of self-driving as they move closer to a fully autonomous Taxi service

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Autonomous tech giants Waymo recently celebrated hitting a new milestone when it completed 10 million miles driving on public roads.

As it continues its pursuit to offer a fully self-driving taxi service to the world, they released a video that features a lot of new footage of how it's vehicles operate without a human driver.

Can a fully autonomous taxi service really work? Can technology really replace the instinctive nature of a human? Do we even really need a car to drive itself?

These are all questions that will no doubt rumble on even when driverless cars start to roll out on a larger scale across the globe.

November 03, 2018 at 01:16PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

London Mayor will not change taxi delicensing payments despite poor take up

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The London Mayor will not make changes to delicensing payments offered to taxi drivers despite its poor uptake.

Currently taxi drivers in the capital are offered between £1,200 to £5,000 to delicensing their diesel taxis and make the change to a cleaner electric taxi. Taxis between ten and eleven years old are offered the maximum £5,000 which some drivers argue is well below the market value of the taxi. Drivers owning vehicles fourteen to fifteen years old, which are in their last year of service, are offered just £1,200. As of 7th September 2018 only 129 Taxi delicensing payments have been made to drivers since the electric taxi was launched at the start of the year. London Assembly member Keith Prince asked the London Mayor Sadiq Khan whether he would review the structure of the scheme to encourage increased uptake at the recent Mayors question time session. The London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “London's filthy air is a public health crisis and taxis are a major contributor to pollution, especially in central London, because of the very limited choice - until recently - of only diesel vehicles available for use. “That's why I have put in place a range of measures to help our world-famous trade become the greenest by giving drivers the financial support, priority and charging infrastructure they need to switch to cleaner models. “I will continue to keep this package of measures under review to increase the uptake of zero-emission capable taxis in London to contribute to my wider air quality plans.”

November 03, 2018 at 09:01AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Police warn drivers not to accept payment for a trip that exceeds the fuel cost, even if it's from a friend because you could be considered as an unlicensed Taxi driver

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Drivers all over the UK undoubtably offer rides to friends and family who throw a few quid into the “petrol pot” so-to-speak, but how many are actually aware that if they accept payment that exceeds the cost of the fuel used for that trip may land them with a hefty fine and even a driving ban. Only licensed taxi drivers and private hire drivers are legally allowed to make a profit from lifts, so technically, if you’re taking more cash than you’re spending you could be considered an unlicensed taxi, which could come with a heavy fine of over £2,000. As highlighted originally in The Mirror, it can obviously be very difficult for the authorities to know if someone without a valid licence to do so is making an extra few quid from any given journey, but social media groups that advertise local lifts in exchange for fuel have given them a platform to track down offenders. A Facebook group created in Bournemouth and Poole was investigated by Dorset Police after it was reported that up to 5,000 people were involved in the illegal lift service. A spokesperson for the police stressed their concerns surrounding the safety of such groups that offer rides in exchange for cash. Even if the driver doesn’t accept payment that exceeds the fuel cost you have to take into consideration the fact that you are entering the vehicle of a stranger. Major implications involving insurance issues need to also be considered by anyone considering paying for a trip by someone who doesn’t hold a valid taxi or PHV licence. Advice from the police is for the driver to get confirmation from their insurance company before accepting “fuel money” from a passenger because it may in fact invalidate the vehicles cover. As we know, driving without insurance is illegal and may result in the vehicle being seized, a fine, points on your licence and even a driving ban. If an accident was to occur, both driver and passenger could find themselves having to cover any of the implications that come with being involved in a serious collision. The general rule is; if you’re unsure of whether or not you are paying more than the fuel cost of a journey, don’t pay at all. Or even more so, if you require a trip somewhere then leave it to the professionals and use a licensed taxi or pre-book a private hire vehicle from a reputable operator.

November 03, 2018 at 08:41AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Motorists lose out as retailers refuse to cut petrol prices in October despite drop in wholesale cost

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The price of petrol remained unchanged in October despite a drop in wholesale costs which should have been passed on to motorists at the pump.

RAC Fuel Watch data shows there was a 3.5p fall in the wholesale price yet unleaded started and finished the month at 130.6p a litre. This means the average cost of filling a 55-litre family car with petrol has stayed at £71.84 when it should have been nearly £2 less had retailers done the right thing and reflected the lower wholesale price on the forecourt. Even though conditions were ripe for a petrol price cut from the middle of the month the big four supermarket fuel retailers – which play a vital role in setting the market for fuel prices across the UK – refused to lower the price for drivers. It was not until the end of the month that Asda finally reduced unleaded by an average of 2.4p across all its forecourts. But this has sadly not led to other retailers following suit by lowering their prices and has therefore had little effect either on the average price of unleaded at the supermarkets, or on the UK average. The average price of petrol at Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons actually increased by 0.6p a litre in October (126.88p to 127.48p) despite the drop in the wholesale cost. Diesel, however, suffered its fourth consecutive monthly price increase, rising by 2.38p from 134.50p to 136.88p, making the cost of a 55-litre tank £75.28. Buying it at a supermarket saves 3p a litre with the average price standing at 133.67p a litre at the end of October, having risen 2.35p from 131.32p. Refilling with petrol at a motorway service area, however, now costs an average of 149.32p – a slight reduction of 0.3p a litre on the start of the month when it was 149.62p. Frighteningly, a litre of diesel at a motorway forecourt is an average of 155.22p – an increase of 2.7p in October. A tank of petrol is therefore £82.29 while diesel is an eye-watering £85.37. RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “Every motorist driving a petrol car should feel aggrieved that the price of a litre stayed the same in October when it should have fallen by more than 3p. The biggest retailers who are responsible for selling the most fuel have taken drivers for a ride. “In doing so they have inadvertently but categorically proved that ‘rocket and feather’ pricing does exist. Had wholesale costs increased at the same rate the supermarkets would have passed these on at the pump straightaway just as they did in April and May this year. “Unfortunately, other retailers that don’t buy wholesale fuel as frequently are just as guilty as they have now had plenty of time to cut their prices. They were, more than likely, waiting for the supermarkets to lead the way, but this surely isn’t a valid excuse. “So while there are times when fuel pricing in relation to wholesale prices does operate transparently, sadly October just wasn’t one of those months. “We strongly urge all retailers to lower their petrol prices in line with the reduced wholesale cost of unleaded. And, with the pound gaining strength against the dollar on 1 November, there will be even greater scope for a cut.”

November 03, 2018 at 07:58AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Driver sacked for refusing to transport poppies

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A taxi driver in Birmingham has been dismissed after refusing to take boxes of Remembrance poppies it was alleged.

The driver who was working for KMR Cars was involved in the incident with a passenger at the Perry Common Royal British Legion. The car company said an allegation was then made which involved the drivers refusal to accompany a passenger who wished to transport poppies. After an investigation into the incident KMR Cars confirmed the dismissal of the driver. A spokesperson from KMR Cars said: “Due to this gross negligence of the driver and incompetence by not alerting the office of him not picking up the passenger KMR Cars have dismissed the Driver who cannot be named (due to Data Protection Act) and he shall no longer be representing KMR Cars any longer.” “All drivers are vetted and Licensed by their local council, therefore this matter has also been reported to Enforcement at Birmingham City Council (the identified drivers council) and the drivers’ details such as Badge Number, Vehicle Details have now been passed on to them and they are looking into this as a matter of urgency. We are now working with the Birmingham City Council regarding this issue and are assisting them in any way possible.” “KMR Cars would like to apologise for the outrage that has been a result of this incident whilst we have needed time to gather information.”

November 02, 2018 at 08:52PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Taxis set for busy day as strikes set to hit Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines next week

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TfL today advised customers that a planned Tube strike will affect the Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines from Wednesday 7 November.

Demand for taxis is expected to be high.

This will mean no service on the Central and Waterloo & City lines all day on Wednesday 7 November. On the Piccadilly line, the action starts later on Wednesday 7, so customers should complete journeys by 13.30. There will also be no service on the Piccadilly line on the morning of Thursday 8 November, with trains resuming at around 15.00. The action is being carried out by members from both Aslef and RMT on the Central and Waterloo & City lines and by RMT members on the Piccadilly line. Further talks with both unions are planned, but should the action go ahead some stations on the Tube network will be busier than usual; all other lines will operate as normal. These include central London stations like King's Cross St Pancras, Liverpool Street, Green Park, Bond Street, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road, as well as hubs outside central London such as Stratford, Finsbury Park, Leytonstone and Ealing Broadway. Nigel Holness, Director of Network Operations for London Underground, said: 'The strike action called by both RMT and Aslef on 7 November is totally unjustifiable. 'We will keep customers up-to-date with the latest travel advice to help them re-plan their journeys, and will continue to talk to the union leadership in order to try and resolve these disputes. 'I urge the unions to call off this entirely unnecessary action, which will only cause disruption to our customers, while those discussions are ongoing.'

November 02, 2018 at 04:51PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Nicklas Bendtner jailed for assaulting taxi driver

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Former Arsenal striker, Nicklas Bendtner has been jailed for 50 days after being convicted of assaulting a taxi driver.

The assault, which in Copenhagen last Spetmeber, left the taxi driver needing surgery on a broken jaw.

The taxis video footage showed the striker punching the cabbie, before kicking him as he lay on the ground, after refusing to pay for a €5 fare.

The Danish forward issued an apology three days after the incident Bendtner, who now plays for Norwegian side, Rosenberg, was named as the attacker by the communications manager of DanTaxi.

Bendtner not only received a 50 day prison sentence, but was also ordered to pay over €1000 in compensation.

It has been revealed in The Mirror that 30 year old Bendtner has lodged an appeal against his sentence The incident took place at around 2.40 am local time on Sunday.

Bendtner, who played 171 times for Arsenal, scoring 45 goals is one of Denmarks most capped players, making 81 appearances and scoring 30 goals

November 02, 2018 at 04:28PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Steve Kenton THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

“Heathrow don't care about lowering emissions” says cabbie as sky high charging price announced

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Taxi drivers in London are angry at sky-high electric charging prices announced by Europe’s biggest airport Heathrow.

The airport have revealed the cost to charge an electric taxis at the feeder park rank will be a whopping 31p per KW. Currently it is possible to plug-in on street with competitors Polar for as little as 0.09p per KW. Dedicated Transport for London taxi chargers charge 22p per KW respectively. The price now makes Heathrow more expensive than the notoriously inflated motorway fuelling options. Cliff Mahoney, a London Taxi driver who has purchased the new LEVC TX electric taxi and works from Heathrow said “Heathrow don't care about lowering emissions” He went on to say “Having know the price for months it appears they have left the announcement to within days of the implementation. “This will make it not cost effective to charge these expensive Zero Emissions capable vehicles at the airport whilst going through the taxi feeder park. The general census of opinion is that drivers will not use the chargers at that price. This means that these iconic vehicles will be leaving the airport on range extender petrol engines rather than clean electric they were designed to use. “Heathrow say these prices are cost and set by the CAA however Gatwick Airport who seem committed to lowering their emissions offer drivers not only free charging but up to 4 hours free parking,”

November 02, 2018 at 11:18AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

$1 billion Class Action lawsuit will see Taxi drivers go head-to-head with Quebec government over the licensing of Uber

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Taxi drivers in Quebec are pursuing a $1billion law suit against the provincial government for, how they describe, standing by and allowing Uber to move into their market. If drivers were to win the case, it could cost the government $1 billion to compensate them for loss of earnings and the devaluation of their taxi permits. Accusations have been made by drivers towards the government claiming they failed to act as Uber moved into the province without being subjected to the same rules that are imposed on traditional taxi drivers. According to the Carlyle Observer, taxi drivers argue that the government sanctioned a pilot project with Uber in October of 2016 which further devalued their costly permits. Drivers now want answers, none more so than why the government chose to treat Uber differently, arguably more favourable, than taxi drivers who essentially offer the same service. Lawyers will now set out their claims to present in court to try and prove that the government may of indeed demonstrated differential treatment caused by bad faith. The class action lawsuit will cover all taxi drivers who have held a permit since October 2013, both before and after the pilot project imposed certain restrictions on Uber.

November 02, 2018 at 10:30AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Uber offering monthly fare discount subscriptions for passengers in some cities

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Uber customers will now have the opportunity to pay a monthly fee for discounted rates on Uber’s, UberPool and Uber Express Pool rides in select cities. Uber have said that customers can save up to 15% on each ride they take and offer protection against any unwanted sudden surge pricing. The new offer, which will cost $14.99 per month has been rolled out in five US cities, Austin, Orlando, Denver, Miami and Los Angeles - where the monthly fee is at a higher rate of $24.99. According to a report in The Verge, Uber have said their latest service, named Ride Pass, won’t be subject to any typical external events like weather, traffic, or surge pricing, eliminating any nasty unwanted increased fares. There is also no limit to the amount of trips a customer can take in any given month. Uber are following in the footsteps of its main rival stateside, Lyft, who earlier this month introduced its own monthly subscription plan which offers passengers the opportunity to purchase 30 rides for an all-in cost of $299. Uber drivers won’t find themselves any more out of pocket from the new plan, with Uber confirming that they will still be paid based on time and distance. Any discounted fares will indeed, once again, be subsidised by Uber. If the new service is successful, there’s no reason to believe it won’t be rolled out in many more cities and even across the globe including the UK.

November 01, 2018 at 10:05PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Michael Murphy THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Teenager arrested after breaking jaw of Burnley Taxi marshal

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A man has been arrested following a public appeal for information after an alleged assault in Burnley.Around 12.45am on September 9, a 61-year-old man had been marshalling taxis in St James Street when he was approached by another man and allegedly racially abused and attacked, suffering a broken jaw.Following enquiries, an 18-year-old man from Burnley has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated wounding and released under investigation pending further enquiries.

November 01, 2018 at 08:16PM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Caroline Pidgeon Interview: Pricing out vehicles would help thin out traffic

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Today we had the opportunity to speak the Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, Caroline Pidgeon. Always insightful and accomodating, Caroline gives us her views on pollution, congestion, cycling as well as a number of other issues. TaxiPoint would like to welcome CarolineSteve Kenton - TaxiPoint

There have been ongoing problems at TfL regarding the processing of taxi license renewals, including horrendously long waiting times to speak to somebody as well as DVLA codes to access driving licence details timing out after three weeks, can you, as a London Assembly member assist in highlighting these issues to TfL? Caroline Pidgeon - London Assembly I am aware of both taxi drivers and private hire drivers having to wait months and months for their licences to be renewed and in one case a driver has been out of work for 6 months because of it, so I am fully aware of the situation. I've heard from a number of drivers about the difficulties in getting through to TFL on the phone, this is something we can pick up in our final report because they have to carry out their licensing duties properly.

That being the case, assuming that any given delay is a TfL issue and not a driver issue, will TfL allow a driver to keep working after the licence expires or issue a temporary licence until the licence has been renewed, assuming of course that the licence hasn't been revoked?

TFL should be able to process licences in a timely manner, but they are going to have to look at issuing a couple of weeks extension if that is what is needed, as long as there have been no issues arising surrounding the driver having a licence renewed.

Why TFL does not do this in a timely manner is something that even I don't understand and maybe this is something we will pick up at our next hearing as we have Helen Chapman coming in.The main part of the problem seems to be that the DVLA code is timing out after 3 weeks, although you have 4 months to renew your licence, so would this be directly down to TfL, or could it be argued that there is a fault in the system with the DVLA in respect of the fact that there isn't enough time for TfL to process a licence if the code expires after 21 days? You have to have the resources to process those licences in good time so if that means employing extra staff or having staff do over time to facilitate that, then so be it. Drivers should not be put out of work through no fault of their own.Could the problem be solved by TFL along with all of the other licensing authorities across the country lobbying government to force the DVLA to increase the length of time that the driver licence codes should remain valid? Well that may well be a solution, Helen Chapman, along with other heads of licensing ahould be able to do that, it would be a sensible way forward.Whilst it should be applauded that action is being taken to reduce pollution in London, and given that roughly 2.5% of the London taxi fleet is zero emission capable at the moment, what are your views on both Hackney and Islington councils imposition of their own "low emission areas," given that certainly for the taxi industry, there could be two clear breaches of legislation, which may cause conflict, those being the Hackney Carriage Act and the 2010 Equalities Act? We haven't looked in those areas as a transport committee as yet, i think generally the assembly, overall, is in favour of the mayor's initiative to clean up London's air.

If there is a conflict of legislation it's for the taxi industry to raise with those specific boroughs because they are borough initiatives.

Generally we do support the initiative to clean up London’s air as this is not just for the general public but also for the drivers after all you're sitting in pollution all day long, what is it doing to your life, it's shortening your life as well. I know there is an issue with the new taxi in relation to costs, but all the drivers I've spoken to who have driven them say they are lovely to drive. They are a premier vehicle but its getting enough of them out on the streets and available for drivers to rent as well as buy which is an issue.What is your response to criticism surrounding the levels of congestion in London being artificially created in the quest to tackle pollution? We spoke about this on the committee and we agreed the London is grinding to a halt because of congestion so we do need to tackle that congestion.

We would like to see a "smart" road pricing scheme brought in for London which will ultimately see vehicle excise duty devolved from government, so that you could have that funding to invest. Ultimately if you drive lots you will pay more, but if you're an occasional driver then you will pay a lot less.

We have to get people out of cars and we have to get people to stop taking unnecessary trips on our roads because otherwise nobody will be able to get about, so if you want to take a taxi to go from A to B and you're in a hurry there's no point because London is gridlocked.Bearing in mind that taxis are part of the public transport system would they also be liable to pay into any road pricing initiative? They could be, but this is something that they would have to work out. If you didn't have vehicle excise duty and you had lower running costs, bearing in mind the new vehicles are electric, then we would need to look at that.Do you envisage that the current taxi lifespan will be reduced from 15 years to 12 years to facilitate speeding up cleaning Londons air? I think the Mayor needs to look into what extra subsidy can be provided to clean up London’s taxi fleet, because thats the only way that you will get more drivers into electric taxis. I don’t know whether you should shorten the diesel taxi lifespan because some drivers may want to retire after 15 years, and bought a vehicle to last until then.

Now that the cycle superhighway has been here for a while do you think that it has been a good idea, badly implemented amd could have been designed in a way which was more sympatheitic to other road users? To be honest, no, our committee were very strong on cycling, and we pushed Boris Johnson to stop just putting a bit of blue paint on the tarmac, and do segregated cycle lanes and give cyclists the width of the lane to allow them to make mistakes.

Listening to the evidence that we learnt from Copenhagen and the Netherlands showed that you needed a dedicated cycle lane.

Roadspace is a limited resource and I'm afraid I would rather have a lot more cyclists and a nicer environment for the pedestrians to walk, I'd like to have a lot more vehicles priced off of the road through road pricing. All of these things are our suggestions so as to "thin-out" the traffic so that more people can cycle in a safe way, that's the only way to make it easier to move across London in a bus or taxi.Do you think that more responsibility should be taken by cyclists, such as cycle-marking, insurance etc, will cyclists face more accountability?

There are very different views on the committee as to whether you should have bike registration, insurance, required to wear a hi-vis equipment or just be able to hop on a bike and go. Personally I wear hi-vis and a helmet, I have also done the TfL scheme when you sit in the cab of a lorry and have a cyclist come alongside you, I discovered that if you are wearing for Instance a dark jacket, you couldn't be seen, but if you wore a hi-vis jacket you could be seen clearly. It was really interesting. We haven't got a position or a view as a committee on whether they should be extra cycling legislation. When I have suggested that cyclists should wear hi-vis I've had a lot of the cycling community raise concerns on Twitter. Personally I think you need to be seen, you need lights on your bike and you need high vis. TfL do fund training for adults and children across boroughs in London to improve peoples ability on a bike. Could I add, we are now looking at taxi and private hire services, picking up from our previous future-proof report, and what we are looking at is that we have now got a new Mayor, he put in a taxi action plan, we are trying to work out where we are with that, what he's actually delivered, looking at some of the changes brought about in 2015, and looking at how can we drive up standards in this sector rather than to have a race to the bottom. We are concerned about drivers with excessive hours to make ends meet, we are seeing a large number of accidents because drivers are tired. We had one hearing and we've got another one coming up in November, and then we are going to be doing another round table with other stakeholders to get their take on taxi and private hire. If there are any drivers that want to feed into that, they can send that to the assembly. We want to look at how we can support and improve the quality of this whole sector. Taxis have their high standards already but we need to see how we can make Black taxis sustainable in this current environment. Yes there are apps to help the taxi industry but the Black taxi sector has to help itself as well.

As you know, I’m a big supporter of Black taxis, but twice in recent months I have been turned down because they didn’t want to go where I was going, some drivers just don’t help themselves nor the industry itself.TaxiPoint would like to thank Caroline and her team for granting us this interview.

November 01, 2018 at 07:32AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Steve Kenton THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT

Council pays out £11,000 to cabbies after losing multiple court cases

via taxi-point https://ift.tt/2AEPjMU

Three taxi drivers were awarded over £11,000 of taxpayers' money after Stoke-on-Trent council lost an appeal made by local cabbies at North Staffordshire Justice Centre. The cabbies appealed decisions made following meetings with Stoke-on-Trent City Council's licensing committee. The four court appeals included:

One taxi driver awarded £8,215 costs after the council refused his request to licence a saloon vehicle and no longer transport wheelchair users;One taxi driver awarded £1,262 costs after the council withdrew his licence for allegedly breaching conditions;One taxi driver awarded £1,800 costs after the council withdrew his licence following a conviction for child neglect;No costs awarded to a cabbie who got his licence back after being accused of sexual assault.

According to Stoke-on-Trent Live Vice-chairman Councillor Chris Robinson said: “If we had the full information in some cases we may have made a different decision." Dave Currie who stood as the Stoke-on-Trent representative on the National Private Hire Association said "The licensing panel changes every so often and when it gets new members they're like a child with a stick - they go around hitting things and tend to shoot from the hip. “There is only one set of people who can take plates off a driver and that's the magistrates, unless there is an extreme situation where a person has been driving dangerously."

November 01, 2018 at 08:21AM https://ift.tt/2ufVjKI Perry Richardson THESE POSTS ARE NOT OUR ENDORSEMENT