Uber plans to issue its own credit card with Barclays

NEW YORK : Controversial riding-sharing company Uber, plans to launch its own credit card, partnering with the British bank Barclays.

The card will be coming later this year, Barclays said last week.

Uber would be the first of the riding-sharing companies to have a co-branded credit card, which are a popular way for companies to cement customer loyalty. They typically give points or credits toward awards, with the most popular cards offering airlines and hotels.

Uber rival Lyft has a partnership with Delta that offers miles, though it's not via a card.

No details about terms or rewards on the Ubercards were available yet, though the awards seem likely to go toward ride credit. Earlier this year, Uber partnered with American Express to give Platinum Card customers a $200-a-year credit toward free rides.

London Taxis say they may refuse to take Ubercards and American Express in future.

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Teen arrested after taxi driver sprayed in eyes with unknown substance

teenager has been arrested after a taxi driver had an unknown substance sprayed in his eyes, causing serious injuries.

The attack happened in High Wycombe when the driver caught up with three people who left his black Toyota Prius on George Street without paying at around 1am on Sunday.

A 15-year-old boy was later arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The victim, 43, is in hospital and police are still trying to identify what was sprayed in his eyes.

"This is an unprovoked attack on a working man who was going about his evening shift as a taxi driver," said Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Glister.

"It is cowardly for a group to attack an individual, especially when they use a weapon."

"The offenders are three black males aged between about 16 and 18 years old," added Inspector Glister.

"I understand that this attack will cause great concern in the local community but I want to reassure the public that the Thames Valley Police is conducting a thorough investigation and is determined to find the offenders."

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the attack to contact them on 101, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Source, Sky News.

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It's All About The Money : TFL's Superfluous Charges... By Jim Thomas

IT would appear that while Licensed Taxi driver have been thrown out of work, then charged unlawfully for temporary licenses, TfL have been renewing Private Hire licenses without first seeing results of DBS checks 

Letter obtained by Dads Defending Daughters 2016.

Over the weekend, Taxi Leaks receive an email from regular contributor Greenbadgejohn, stating that he has had to pay £13 for a temporary licence while waiting for his renewal to be issued by TfL. 

It is our belief that this charge was unnecessary and should be refunded immediately. Leon Daniels in a reply to Taxi Leaks editor on behalf of then commissioner Peter Hendy (Feb 16 2015) -regarding the Transport Act 1985 sec 17(7)- clearly states that no temporary licence in necessary, as the old license remains valid until the driver is in receipt of the new licence (as long as all procedures have been complied with).

Reading Johns email, it would appear he complied fully with the Transport Act terms and should not have been charged for a temporary licence but told to carry on with old licence that stays valid until he is in receipt of renewal.

Greenbadgejohn's Email:

My Bill came up for renewal and I complied with the 4 month advance time frames to necessitate any problems, They took my money almost immediately and yet my bill still ran out (Ive had no offences of any kind) and I was still forced to travel to the rear entrance of tfl and pay a further £13 for a 2 weekly temporary licence which also ran out before they finally issued my renewed bill.

Leon Daniels Reply To Taxi Leaks Editor:

On 12th of May 2014, Taxi leaks published an open letter to Sir Peter Hendy. Amongst other issues, we bought his attention to the Transport Act 1985 sec 17(7), which appertained to licence renewal problems being experienced by some drivers.

Part of Sir Peters reply infered that he would have TfL's legal team look into the matter. 

5 months later, a reply came back from Leon Daniels.

After much deliberation from TfL's legal team, we received this reply below, signed by Leon Daniels and dated the 30 September 2014.

Dear Mr Thomas,

I refer to your email to Sir Peter Hendy regarding the provisions of section 17(7) of the Transport Act 1985 in relation to taxi drivers renewing their licences. Please accept my apologies for the delay in providing a reply.

As far as is possible we will issue a driver his or her new licence in advance of their old licence expiring.

However, this is dependent on the driver submitting a complete and timely application, which includes the result of the DBS check and any other information that is required, as we cannot make a licensing decision until this information is received. 

It is therefore imperative that drivers start the application process in good time to allow for all necessary checks to be completed before their licence expires.

Where we are provided with a complete application, including the results of the DBS check and any other necessary information, but have not yet made a licensing decision before the old one expires, the existing licence will remain in force until a decision is made in accordance with section 17(7). In these circumstances, a driver will not be issued with, nor require, a temporary licence pending a decision being made on their application.

Please note that contrary to the comment in your email, section 17 of the Transport Act 1985 only applies to London taxi driver and vehicle licences, not London private hire vehicle driver licences.

Kind regards

Leon Daniels | Managing Director  

Transport for London | Surface Transport | Palestra |

11th Floor - Zone R4| 197 Blackfriars Road|Southwark|SE1 8NJ

Ends:

Source, see full reply CLICK HERE

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Would You Rather Buy A Clean Diesel Taxi -As Opposed To Uncertain Technology- Or Are You Happy Being A Guinea Pig???

The result of a pole carried out by Taxi drivers on Twitter available.

It shows a large majority of drivers would rather run their current TX and Merc Vito Taxis into the ground, rather than buy expensive electric replacements which rely on uncertain technology.

It's funny that with all the screams about London's poor air quality, not one word has hit the media, about the Hybrid Buses with faulty batteries currently running around using purely diesel.

We keep being told that it's our dirty Diesel engines, the ones TfL have insisted we buy, that are needlessly killing thousands of Londoners annually.

Funny again, not one word or mention about the fact that the last time buses went on strike for a day, the air quality figures were halved. 

Again we see a public body (TfL), refusing to protect public health and safety, bending over backwards to suppress the truth about the dangers emminating from their stakeholder partner bus companys, which in fact are 'private businesses'. 

This comment from regular contributor, Greenbadgejohn

Just read Continental's Direct heat generated diesel burn off principles using a 48 volt directly supplied alternator/inverter, which effectively destroys polluting emissions to very low levels indeed by creating a circular intense heat chamber within a euro 6 diesel engine.

The Germans (yet again) are the brains behind the creation of clean technology for diesel engines (vw debacle aside). 

Rudolf Diesel was the German inventor of the engine that bears his name (although he was actually born in paris). 

It seems crazy to me why the world wants to simply throw away such a reliable creation which now is currently euro 6 and so low in emission particulates, already reduced by 88% in 6 years... and can still be lowered much further by this continental principle, why on earth we do not allow a natural electrical derived time scale transition principle to make diesel redundant on competitive means and performance levels?

TfL and the Mayor can't be trusted :
There is huge concern amongst today's diesel Taxi driver owners that the proverbial rug is going to pulled from beneath us, by way of either lowering current age limits further or introducing emission zone penalties to include them. Both would be unfair and a complete disaster for our trade which is currently freezing out many new or replacement purchases.

The New electric cab/s will not generate the interest many people think -TFL's decided to ban New diesel taxi licensing from January 1st 2018- simply because its too soon and creates complete inertia by not allowing advancement of current levels of far lower emission vehicles on our streets 'and' introducing lower emission technology being fitted to those vehicles let alone supply issues of newer electrical vehicle technology.

In the next 6-9 Months a storm is undoubtedly brewing for Diesel taxi drivers, you only have to look at the classified taxi sales papers and used taxi sales showrooms to see that, TFL need to make its next 5 year plans clear now in age related uncertainty to steady worried owners and allow them to make plans as there really are so many uncertain owners being kept in the dark....as usual.

Be Lucky

greenbadgejohn 

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TfL, The Equivalent Of The Nanny Sent To Protect Damian, Plus Rotherham Mk 2.

Letter From Sean Paul Day  

TfL is firmly to blame! 

It is our expectation that is flawed if we expect Corporations to be ethical. 

Remember also, TfL are arbitrators of the law, not enablers of a right wing agenda.

Political sycophancy is rife, but few are  hellbent on annihilating the livelihoods of 24,000 British workforce to ring-fence pension schemes invested through Black Rock 

No question, TfL is  the equivalent of the nanny who's sent to protect Damian in the Omen. 

They are also afforded statute protection which prevents them from being disbanded. 

Government facilitation goes way beyond anything that can be described as complicit. In many ways it is worse  than the corruption itself, simply because THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO IT!  

The end result will be determined by those least fragmented. Fighting the right fight is a good place to start.

Letter From Paul Coghlan 

Rotherham Mk Two

Obtained TfL internal emails show they were annoyed that the met police revealed uber rape statistics to the 'Taxi lobby'. Without first tipping them off.

Normal procedures have apparently now been resumed. This is proof and a blatant example of TFL demanding prior warning and therefore the opportunity to limit any negative PR and media attention about the lack of regulation. This manifests in only one outcome. More young woman raped every week. 

They neglected to apply due diligence in 2012 when they licensed them. 

They compounded the situation when  mayor Johnson was leaned on by No 10 some years later to "leave them alone". In 2017 instead of revoking their license they continue to pander to Uber's demands by hiding rape and sexual assault. 

This is another Rotherham, it's obscene as it is criminal and one day it will be in the public domain. Too late for the victims but lessons will be learnt.

Taxi Leaks Extra Comment:

So top management were embarrassed by the Met FOI request that showed they'd been hiding the true facts about the sexual assaults and rapes from the public. Uber sexual attacks have escalated by 50% to one a week 

They shouldn't be embarrassed, they should be suspended while an mediate inquiry is carried out. 

Not only did they hide the dangers to vulnerable passengers, it's now been alleged that they also knew about the fake Medicals, Fake topographical tests and Fake DBS results, but kept quiet for months, until the story broke in the Sun.

Val Shawcross was extremely vocal when on the GLA, now she's been promoted to deputy Mayor, she's suddenly lost her voice. Perhaps all the members on the current GLA, who unanimously voted that Uber should not be relicensed, will be given plumb jobs by the Mayor if they promise to be silent. 

As Paul Coghlan says...this really is Rotherham Mk Two

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Another Week And Another Scandal Rocks TfL.

On Friday afternoon, the latest TfL scandal hit Twitter. This time it's even more disgusting than previous. 

Work carried out by 'the Real LTDA' group, was leaked and within minutes, was plastered all over social media.

The emails allegedly show that TfL were gravely embarrassed by the Uber sexual attack statistics gained from the Met police by FOI request, which appear to show information given to the trade by TfL, was as we always feared, design to defer from the true facts about the escalation of rapes and sexual assault in Uber vehicles.

Worst of all, TfL seemed to be annoyed that they hadn't been given the normal anonymous tip off by the Met. 

As I f this wasn't enough!!!

We also found this week that a large number of DBS certificates sent to TfL by a third party on behalf of Uber drivers, are not worth the paper they are printed on as details had been left out or changed. 

This comes on the back of fake topographical test results and fake medical certificates (both scandals featured in the national press which appeared to have been swiftly swept under the carpet).

Again it would appear that TfL opted for third party authorised partner (Onfido) to handle Uber's DBS checks, much in the same way they allow only authorised partners credit card equipment in Taxis.

TfL have recently refused to accept checks made by Uber's preferred company Onfido, as they are not satisfied all details are being passed on.

I've also been informed there is so much more to come, in respect of sexual assaults on passengers of Uber cars, whose journey begins in London but actually finish outside the Met.

These attacks do not show up on the Met stats. 

New FOI requests are showing the victims of sexual attacks are not specifically limited to vulnerable females. Its alleged that male passengers and children have also been abused and raped.

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Uber Banned From Using Private Hire Cars In Ireland

Controversial ride-sharing company Uber will not be allowed to operate in Ireland using private cars as it does in other countries. 

Currently Irish customers can only book a taxi or limousine through the Uber app rather than a private car. 

Uber links passengers with private car owners through an app. It has been described as a “disruptive technology” as it threatens the traditional model of taxi and limousine hire. 

In a letter issued through a Freedom of Information request from RTÉ, the NTA said the proposal for a pilot scheme in Limerick that would allow private car users offer their services to passengers through Uber was “undesirable”. 

The authority told Uber it was not legal to operate an unlicensed ride sharing serving in Ireland. 

It went further to state that, even if such a service was legal, it would not support the Uber proposal. The NTA said operating an unregulated regime would undermine the regulated taxi sector. 

The authority told Uber: “Notwithstanding the above legislative position, it should be stated that the NTA is unsupportive of this proposal. 

“Operating parallel regulated and non regulated regimes, even on a pilot basis is undesirable in our view and can only serve to undermine the regulated transport system . . . the issue of unfair competition arises. This is not an approach which could be supported by the NTA.” 

Although it is legal in countries such as the United States and Britain for Uber to operate through private car owners, many European countries have banned the company from operating such a service. 

France, Spain and Belgium are among the European countries that have banned Uber using private drivers over fears over how it would disrupt the regulated taxi industry. 

Uber has been mired in controversy since the beginning, and co-founder Travis Kalanickquit his position after allegations of systemic sexual harassment at the company. 

Source : Irish Times 

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Will The Government's Petrol And diesel Ban Throw UK Petrol Industry Into Chaos ?

The government is due to announce shortly that new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned from 2040. The measure is part of plans to tackle the UK’s air pollution problems. It mirrors the approach being taken by France and other parts of Europe. While tackling air pollution is laudable, the move looks set to throw the UK’s petrol industry into chaos.

The price of clean air

Clean air is obviously a good thing. However, achieving it could have costly economic implications at a time when the UK economy needs careful handling. Car manufacturers can easily adapt to producing electric and hybrid cars. 

Many already plan to do so, with BMW being the latest to announce its plans for fully electric vehicles (in this case Minis). Little has been said though, of what will happen to the petrol retail industry when the number of electric vehicles on the UK’s roads rises steeply.

Just under 45 billion litres of road fuel is sold in the UK every year. 

That works out at around 77 million litres of diesel and 45 million litres of petrol per day. 2.69 million cars were registered in the UK in 2016, the vast majority of which were petrol and diesel models. 

The sudden disappearance of more than 2.5 million customers per year, when all those buying new cars purchase electric models, could very quickly destroy the petrol industry as we know it. If the government has considered this angle, it’s certainly keeping quiet about it thus far.

What about other vehicle types?

The government has also been conspicuously quiet when it comes to plans for other classes of vehicles. Lorries and buses contribute plenty of nitrogen dioxide to our air, yet the government seems to be pushing the responsibility to tackle those out to local authorities.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has stated, “What we’re saying to local authorities is come up with an imaginative solution to these proposals.” This puts the ball firmly in the court of local councils when it comes to tackling pollution from public transport. The government will dish out some £200m in funding to those local authorities, which will need to focus on tackling the worst polluted roads through measures such as making buses less polluting, changing road layouts and re-shaping traffic flows.

Is a rethink needed?

While it’s good to see the government finally on the brink of announcing its plans to tackle air pollution, is the industry missing a trick by ignoring recently announced technological advances relating to the cleanliness of diesel.

Could it be that the emissions testing scandal vilified diesel to such an extent that the government is unwilling to shout about developments such as Continental’s Super Clean Electrified Diesel technology, which reduces real world emissions by some 60%? 

Surely it would be more sensible to make it compulsory to retrofit super diesel technology into all diesel cars by 2025, for example. Such a plan could provide a serious head-start on tackling air pollution, with other measures still able to follow in due course.

What’s missing from the government’s plans?

Glaringly absent from the government’s plans is the much-anticipated diesel scrappage scheme. 

Ministers are believed to be due to consider such a scheme in the autumn, but any firm commitment to do so has been lacking. The possibility of local council diesel scrappage schemes has also been mentioned – a clear sign that the government wants to distance itself from paying any kind of compensation to diesel drivers who feel let down by the U-turn in approach to their vehicles.

Also in doubt are plans for ‘clean air zones’ within cities. When pressed on the issue of charging drivers of high polluting vehicles, Michael Gove commented,

“I don’t believe that it is necessary to bring in charging, but we will work with local authorities in order to determine what the best approach is.”

Again, it seems that central government is keen to sidestep the issue and push it out to local councils to deal with. Could it be that, even with the pressure to produce detailed plans to tackle air pollution by the 31 July deadline, and the announcement of plans to ban new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, the government is still unwilling to tackle the issue head on?

Do you think of the government’s plan to ban petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040 is the right move? Or should there be more of an effort to embrace newer, cleaner technologies to reduce emissions instead? 

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Meg Whitman emerges as an Uber CEO frontrunner

Former eBay and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman has emerged as a front-runner to become Uber's next chief executive, Axios has learned from multiple sources. But it is not a done deal, nor is there consensus among the members of Uber's executive search committee. Bloomberg was first to report that Whitman was on the short-list.

• Why Whitman: She checks all of the boxes. Tech bona fides? Check, as the former CEO of eBay and Hewlett-Packard, plus the current CEO of HP Enterprise. Experience taking a Silicon Valley company public? Check. Political relationships that could aid in regulatory battles? Certainly, as a former California gubernatorial candidate and visible backer of Republican Party candidates and causes (save for President Trump, whom she did not support). The preferred gender for a company that was thrown into C-suite chaos over allegations of sexual discrimination? Check again.
• Timing: Uber has publicly said that it wants a CEO in place by Labor Day, which means an official offer would need to be made soon.
• Other roles: Sources say that Uber is not actively searching for most of its other open senior positions until the CEO role is settled.

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TfL...The Sanctimonious Hypocrisy Of A Perfidious Public Body.

Bad news for Singapore-based startup oBike, which have bought their dock less bike hire platform to London's streets.

While oBike attempts to propel the bike sharing revolution in the UK, not everyone was too pleased when around 400 yellow bikes showed up on the streets.

The company has now been ordered to remove thousands of bikes from the street. 

TfL said they had no idea Obikes had started operating in London were furious when they found out.  The company from Singapore say they want to transform cycling in the capital and are disappointed  

According to Hammersmith & Fulham council, bikes were left obstructing footpaths and creating potential hazards for pedestrians throughout the borough.

It seems that although H&F are positive about cycling in the borough, it appears they don't trust the cyclist users to use the cycles in a responsible manner. 

"We're really positive about cycling in H&F ... But these bikes appeared without any consultation at all with H&F council. 

Plus we have concerns about the way they had been placed on the streets, and protecting the health and safety of people in the borough," said the council in a statement.

“We're very much in favour of cycling,” said councillor Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham council.

“But we expect companies to properly consult with us first. This launch could have been much better thought out.”

So it seems TfL and H&F council are not happy about a foreign company, who don't pay tax in this country, abide by no local regulations, have set up an operation that has challenged Boris Bikes by undercutting and using disruptive technology. 

Hypocrisy to say the least. 

OBike have agreed to remove the cycles and said it will meet with TfL and local councils to discuss ways to make the cycle scheme work.

Feryal Demirci, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, Transport and Parks in Hackney, added that Hackney welcomes any scheme that makes it easier and cheaper for residents to cycle, but it was disappointed that oBike had not contacted the council.

"We want to enter into a dialogue with companies to agree the way bike share schemes should work in the same way that we do for car clubs," she said.

oBike aims to Undercut the price of Transport for London's Santander Cycles, formerly known as Boris Bikes -which are part funded by the taxpayer.

The startup charges users a deposit of £49 with rates of 50p for a 30-minute ride.

As corporal Jones said in Dads Defending Daughters Army "They don't like it up em sir !!!"

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Two Years Of Massive Disruption And Congestion In Marylebone, Curtesy Of TfL And Thames Water.

Baker Street:

Until early 2019, work is taking place to convert Baker Street and Gloucester Place to two-way traffic. During this time there will be changes to the road layout on these roads, between Park Road and Portman Square. For more details, please visit http://ift.tt/2h5ez7a. Additionally, there are lane restrictions on Baker Street southbound at the junction of Marylebone Road until mid-November, for Thames Water works. 

Vauxhall:
From 21:30 on Friday 28, until 06:00 on Monday 31 July there will be lane closures on South Lambeth Road southbound at the junction of Harleyford Road. This is for a crane operation

English language requirement
The deadline for new or renewal private hire driver’s licence applicants to provide evidence of their ability to comply with the English language requirement has been extended from 30 September 2017 to 16 July 2018. Please click here for more information 

Taxi rank locations now available to app developers
We are now publishing information about taxi ranks, including locations and operating hours, in our API, which means this information can be used by developers in apps. For example, customers can now search for their nearest rank in Apple Maps. Ranks listed include the new ranks at UCL Hospital Beaumont Place, DoubleTree Hotel in Kingston, and Hither Green Station (Fernbrook Road). 

OnRoute
The latest issue of OnRoute magazine features articles about our compliance resources, RideLondon, how you can help stop human trafficking, and much more. Read it now here 

Space for cyclists
To improve cyclist and driver safety, officers from the Met Roads and Transport Policing Command are undertaking a new tactic. Officers from the team will be patrolling in plain clothes, wearing video cameras and riding unmarked bicycles, to identify and deal with the offences that most deter people from cycling. Driving and cycling safety advice is available here

Waterloo proposals
We’re consulting on changes around Waterloo. The consultation closes on 20 August and you can find details here

Draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy
The draft Mayor's Transport Strategy sets out his plans to transform London's streets, improve public transport and create opportunities for new homes and jobs. Our public consultation on these plans is open until 2 October 2017. 

Read more and respond to the consultation here

Lambeth Bridge north and south proposals
We’re consulting on changes to Lambeth Bridge north and south. The consultation closes on 20 August and you can find it here

Fiveways transformation
We are working with Croydon Council on proposals to make Fiveways in Waddon simpler and safer for all road users. The joint consultation will close on 18 September. 

For full details, and to share your views, please click here

Camden Town Station 
We’re consulting on improvements to Camden Town Station. This follows a consultation in January 2017 on development above and around the proposed new station exit. The consultation closes on 18 August and you can find the new consultation here

Battersea
We would like your views on a number of proposed changes to the layout of Nine Elms Lane and Battersea Park Road. This consultation will run until Sunday 20 August. You can find full details of the proposals and respond to the consultation here

Charlie Brown’s Roundabout
We’re consulting on proposed change to Charlie Brown’s roundabout. The consultation is open until 4 August and you can find it here

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Owners Of ComCab -ComfortDelGro taxis- to offer QR code payment in DBS tie-up.

SINGAPORE: 

Passengers of ComfortDelGro taxis can now choose to pay for their fare using a quick response (QR) code, in a tie-up between the taxi company and DBS Bank.

Passengers just need to scan the QR code on the taxi’s cashless payment terminal and the app will automatically process the payment. (Photo: ComfortDelGro)

This is the first time QR code payment – a type of barcode read by devices – is being introduced for taxis in Singapore, DBS said in a press release on Thursday (Jul 27).

Starting Aug 10, users of the bank’s mobile wallet DBS PayLah can scan the QR code on the cashless payment terminal of any of the 16,000 ComfortDelGro taxis, and the app will automatically process the payment.

ComfortDelGro taxi CEO Ang Wei Neng said the move is part of the company's plan to provide more cashless and more convenient payment options for passengers.

"Cashless transactions account for one-fifth of all our taxi trips. We expect its volume to grow steadily as passengers become more accustomed to paying using such payment modes,” he added.

DBS said it has witnessed "a dramatic shift" in the behaviour of consumer's payments, who are becoming more inclined to cashless payments and withdrawing lower amounts of cash from ATMs.

Between June 2016 and June this year, the number of DBS PayLah transactions and payment volume more than doubled, DBS said

Source: CNA

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Martin Lewis Putting Public In Danger? Advising His Readers To Use Uber

Came across this post on FaceBook this afternoon, from one of our ladies on the Save Black Taxis Group. 

Michele writes:

 

I've recently signed up to a weekly email from money man Martin Lewis. 

This was in his email this week about using Uber!

He has a Facebook page to which I've made a comment. 

Maybe some of you'd like to add your thoughts.

This is a surprising turn of events from Martin as he has always been seen as a supporter and user of Taxis, and was in fact photographed supporting the Save Black Taxi group.

This email is also surprising because Martin is a husband and father who surely should be concerned more with public safety than sheer cheapness. 

Or this this another case as just do as I say not as I do?

He is recommending an unsafe night service whose record of passengers, seriously sexually assaulted by the driver, has escalated by 50% this year (according to a Freedom of Information request made to the Metropolitan Police).  

Taxi Leaks' question to Martin Lewis:

Martin, would you really advise you wife, mother, sister, niece etc to use Uber to get home after reading about Uber's record of serious sexual assaults including rapes, plus their terrible driving standards seen daily on social media?

It's discussing to think that some people will do anything to earn a few quid in commission. 

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Corrupt Rail Firm Fraudsters Sentenced Following Painstaking BTP Investigation

A gang of corrupt rail firm employees who took bribes to secure a lucrative contract have today been sentenced following an extensive and prolonged investigation by British Transport Police fraud investigators. 

The investigation related to offences of corruption, fraud and money laundering that occurred during the upgrade to Farringdon Station in 2010.

The sentence for each defendant is: 

1. Alandale Rail Ltd (now Alandale Track and Civils Ltd) was fined £25,000.
2. Innocent Obiekwe  (42) of Edgware, was sentenced to two years in prison and disqualified from being a director for eight years.
3. John Zayya (51) of Catford, was sentenced to two years in prison and disqualified for eight years from being a director.
4. William Waring (56) of Ashford Kent, was sentenced to two years on two counts to run concurrently. The first count was money laundering the second count was corruption. Waring has also been disqualified from being a director for eight years. 
5. Kevin McKee (57) of Maidenhead was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on five counts to run concurrent and disqualified for eight years from being a director.

BTP’s fraud squad first started investigating corruption surrounding Alandale Rail Ltd in February 2011 when a whistle blower at the organisation contacted the Mayor’s Office at City Hall. The Fraud Team at Transport for London then alerted BTP. 

A meticulous investigation uncovered a network of corruption and bribery for a large contract connected to upgrade works at Farringdon station.

At the heart of the corruption was Obiekwe, a senior manager at Costain and Laing O’Rourke (CoLOR) who was responsible for ensuring the health and safety procedures at the project in Farringdon. During 2010, Alandale Rail, through Zayya and  McKee, made corrupt payments to Obiekwe in order to secure a lucrative contract and additional work to supply safety critical staff (see notes to editors) as part of this project. Corrupt payments were later made through Waring to ensure Obiekwe continued to favour Alandale Rail Ltd. 

The information which was provided to Alandale Rail Ltd by Obiekwe ensured that they had a positive influence on the tender process and could undercut bids made by competitors. The initial value of the contract was £2.1m but eventually rose to £5.2m. 

However, the corruption and dishonesty did not stop once Alandale Rail Ltd had successfully won the tender. After Alandale Rail were appointed, Obiekwe and the other defendants were part of a scheme to defraud CoLOR by claiming for ‘ghost workers’. Claims were fraudulently made to CoLOR for false work undertaken by safety critical staff working for Alandale Rail Ltd. Payments were claimed for workers who never attended the site or carried out any work, and invoices and timesheets were falsified to disguise the bogus claims. 

Throughout the investigation, officers identified payments in excess of £140,000 paid to Obiekwe along with other gifts and favours.

Detective Constable Justin Yorke from British Transport Police Commercial Fraud Squad, said: “The corruption shown by all defendants was complex, prolonged and meticulously planned. However, they did not plan on a whistle-blower reporting their corruption to the Mayor of London’s office. 

“Obiekwe provided confidential information to Alandale Rail Ltd which ensured that they could undercut competitor bids, in order to secure this lucrative contract. He was motivated by greed and took bribes from Alandale Rail Ltd employees. The behaviour of Obiekwe and his fellow defendants was scandalous and undermines the legitimate tendering process companies undertake every day. I am pleased with today’s sentences and I hope this sends a very clear message to any groups who may be considering similar actions. 

“The scale of the corruption was significant. Whilst we may never know the full extent of money fraudulently claimed and laundered, I am pleased that we have brought a criminal gang to justice.”

Notes to Editors 

The ‘Safety Critical Staff’ are specially trained and responsible for the safety of operatives working on the railway infrastructure including stations and tracks. They monitor the movement of staff entering or working on the station, check relevant permits, carry out safety briefings and are responsible for planning/securing stretches of track, known as possessions, to allow work to be carried out in a safe manner. There are different roles involved and operatives are trained to various levels depending on the environment they needed to work in. Safety Critical Staff are tightly regulated. 


Charges 

Kevin McKee pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court on September 16, 2016 to the following charges:

1. Corruption, contrary to s1 Prevention of Corruption Act 1906
2. Conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law
3. Money laundering contrary to s328 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
4. Conspiracy to defraud contrary to Common Law
5. Money laundering contrary to s328 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Innocent Obiekwe pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court on May 22, 2017 to a charge of corruption contrary to s1 Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.

John Zayya pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court on May 22, 2017 to a charge of corruption contrary to s1 Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. 

William Waring pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court on June 21, 2017 to a charge of corruption contrary to s1 Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and money laundering contrary to section 328 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Alandale Rail Limited (Company No 07019850) was found guilty by jury of corruption contrary to s1 Prevention of Corruption Act at Blackfriars Crown Court.  

Perry Morgan (54) who was charged with corruption was unanimously acquitted during trial at Blackfriars Crown Court in June 2017. 

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Minicab driver, accused of sexual comments towards teen passenger has licence taken away

A Minicab driver has lost his appeal against the revocation of his private hire driver’s licence following an allegation of comments of a sexual nature being made to a teenage passenger.

At the recent hearing, Loughborough Magistrates' Court heard that North West Leicestershire District Council had first suspended and then revoked the private hire driver’s licence of Mohammed Kabeer, following complaints about his attitude, behaviour and driving standards.

The court was told that the licence was initially suspended on November 22, last year, following complaints about his attitude towards two female licensing officers, his manner of driving and inappropriate comments made to two passengers, including comments of a sexual nature made to a lone 18-year-old female passenger. This incident happened in Coalville.

Following a safeguarding report made to the council by the police in December 2016 relating to what the council considered to be inappropriate sexual contact between Mr Kabeer and a female passenger, the council revoked his licence on January 31, this year.

During the hearing, Mr Kabeer accepted that there had been sexual contact between him and the passenger but claimed that he was the victim of a sexual assault.

In dismissing his appeal the court found that the decision of the council was correct as its primary duty is the protection of the public.

Mr Kabeer of Southbourne Avenue, Birmingham, was ordered to pay the council’s costs of defending the appeal of £1,650.

Councillor Alison Smith, deputy leader and portfolio holder for community services at the council, said: “I am extremely pleased that the court dismissed this appeal and upheld the decision of the council.

“Members of the public have every right to expect that when they get into a Minicab the driver is fit and proper and will not abuse their position, whether it is by bad driving or inappropriate sexual innuendo or conduct.

“I hope this sends a clear message to the public that we will act robustly to ensure that they are protected when using taxis, and also makes it clear to the licensed vehicle trade that the council will not tolerate this kind of behaviour from drivers. A private hire driver’s licence is a privilege and not a right and where drivers fail to meet the high standards required by the council they can expect their licence to be revoked.”

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