TfL Finally Announce Temporary Licensing For Renewals, But There Are Conditions.

• Temporary measures will be introduced for existing taxi and private hire drivers by the end of November

• Drivers must have applied for DBS certificate at least three months prior to licence expiring

Transport for London (TfL) has today announced that, from late November, it will introduce temporary measures for existing taxi and private hire drivers if their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) results have still not been returned. The measures are a response to the impact that current delays at the DBS can have on drivers waiting for their licence to be renewed.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are the responsibility of the Home Office and individual police services. The Mayor is ensuring every effort is made to reduce waiting times for these important safety checks, with the Met drafting in around 60 additional members of staff to help.

TfL has already taken a number of steps to ensure that licenced drivers aren’t stopped from driving because of delays, discussing the issue with the Home Office and seconding a number of staff to the Metropolitan Police Service to help process applications. The new measures will further ease pressure, whilst ensuring that the high standards required from drivers are maintained.

To be eligible for the temporary measures, drivers will have had to apply for their DBS at least three months prior to the expiry of their previous licence. Drivers receive a renewal pack, which contains details of how to apply for the enhanced DBS check necessary to continue their work as a licenced driver, from TfL four months before the expiry of their licence.

The temporary measures will only be available to drivers applying to renew their licence – as these drivers will have previously undergone a DBS check – and will initially be limited to two weeks in length. In the unlikely event that their DBS certificate is delayed further, drivers can apply for a renewal. Drivers from both trades who are applying for a licence for the first time will not be eligible, however 

TfL will continue to escalate these cases on their behalf.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “The last thing we want to see is London’s taxi drivers out of work. These temporary measures are the most effective way of tackling the immediate issue, alongside a dramatic boost to staffing levels at the Met. I am confident that this approach will ensure that drivers are able to get back to work as soon as possible while maintaining public safety.”

Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport, said: “We are aware that a number of drivers have been unable to work due to the delays in receiving their DBS certificate, and that these delays are affecting them and their families.

“These new measures will help these drivers while ensuring that the high standards required of drivers are maintained.”

While the temporary measures are in place, TfL will continue to work with colleagues in the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police Service and the DBS to address the waiting times for DBS checks. As a condition of the temporary measures, drivers will be required to sign up to the DBS update service in order to prevent a similar situation occurring in future. As well as these efforts to minimise delays in the DBS system, TfL also launched a counter service earlier this year in order to assist drivers with any licensing queries or problems.

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Pride And Prejudice..........by Semtex.

Despite a few years of global turmoil, both financially and more worryingly, our National Security, London is still without doubt a city we can be proud of. It is still a capital city that other countries aspire to be like, whether in sport, fashion, finance, commerce, entertainment, nightlife or a number of other subjects.

I would wager that whatever corner of our globe that you may be in, mention London to somebody and the image of a Black Cab and the Queens Guards may well spring to their mind.

I am very fortunate but more importantly very proud, to have belonged to both of these ancient, world famous icons.
 
Sunday was our National Remembrance Day, and our London Taxis and Guards Regiments were proudly on display, cheek by jowl, for all of the world to see.

I saw our Poppy Cabs lined up in military precision, snaking the whole length of Westminster Bridge and beyond. It brought a lump to my throat, and it dawned on me how traitorous and negligent Transport For London have been, in the appalling disrespect that they have showed our great trade. 
 
Whilst on the subject, Mike Hughes is a very modest gentleman and colleague. The way he has led the Poppy Cab service for our military veterans, is testament to what our iconic profession represents. Naturally, Mike relies on the many like minded, willing colleagues from our trade to assist him, and our trade being what it is, he always hits his target. 

The logistics of this massive brief shouldn't be underestimated, and I know that it takes up a lot of Mike's working year. Mike is a giant of a man in both his physical stature and his heart. He has assisted me personally in some of my most precarious and worrying times and it is to the advantage of both our London Taxi Trade and The British Legion, that Mike Hughes is the colleague and man that he is.
 
Witnessing the cabs and their fantastic, generous drivers yesterday, who willingly gave a day's wages to assist our military, not only choked me up, but gave me an immense pain of anger towards TFL and Mayor Johnson. If I was London Mayor, I would be incredibly proud of the London Black Cab and their drivers, but that lot of shysters don't appear to share my sentiments.
 
It hasn't been a good year for our trade. But yet, in spite of this treatment and mutiny, The London Taxi Trade continue to give generously and freely to many deserving and valid charities.

Not long ago, a convoy of almost 100 London Taxis left Canary Wharf taking almost 200 seriously and terminally ill children on the long haul from London to Paris Disneyland. 

Once again, almost 100 of our proud trade men and women giving up most of their week's earnings, for such a worthy and once in a lifetime holiday for dangerously ill kids. Not just once, mind you, but every year !
 
Can you imagine the Goldman Sachs backed Uber doing anything like this ?  

Course you couldn't !
 
The thing is, I'm not naïve, I'm not wet behind the ears and I know that things change and things move on. Of course I do. I accept that.  But surely, they should only move on for the good, the better , or  to improve ? Not just for the sake of it.

I would like to ask anyone at TFL or even the blond fellow himself if, hand on heart, any of them HONESTLY think that flooding our great city with untrained Uber drivers and their cars instead of our 400 year old platinum, professional service................is moving forward ? 

Is it HONESTLY progress ? Is it HONESTLY for the better ?
 
Look at the form that Uber have got already. Death by dangerous driving, rape, sexual assault, violence, abuse, incompetence, etc, etc, etc etc.

Is that really good world reputation for our great City ? 

Does Johnson HONESTLY go home to his wife and say that he is well proud of what Uber is doing for our Capital ? 
Does EVERYTHING have to be about cheap ? 

Does it all have to be about who can do the job for the cheapest price possible ? 

We are becoming a nation of cheap skates ! 

Don't get me wrong, I love a good deal and love the pound shops too. 

Only last week I was pleased with my pack of 20 AAA batteries for £1. I got home, put three of them in my head torch and they lasted 32 minutes !

Cheap ? You bet ! Any good ? Not worth a rub ! Back to Duracell. You get what you pay for ! I took a chance and paid the price, but what I didn't do is go back crying that I had been shafted ! I had no one to blame but my greedy and stupid self ! I should have known better.
 
Where will it end ? 

Will a firm of foreign nationals with dubious background checks undercut the price paid in salaries to the Queens Guard ?
 
I am no financial whizz kid. But surely our tourist industry and image is very important to London's economy ? 

The London Black Cab is at the heart of it ! 

We are part of the history and image of London !

And yet, TFL and the Mayor treat us with contempt and continual disrespect and would put their hands together if we disappeared altogether. 

Why the prejudice ? 

Why the contempt ? 

Why do they regard us so low and worthless ?

 

What concerns me though, is that we are getting used to this shoddy treatment. We actually expect it now. It shouldn't be like this, should it ?

 

Our trade appear to be limping along despite the abuse and traitors who have hung us out to dry. I don't know of what will become of us in the end. If it were left to me I would give TFL such a reminder of what and who are trade are, that shit or bust, they would never forget it ! However, it is not my call, and our ultimate survival is in the hands of our trade Orgs. I don't say that sarcastically either, as I know only too well how apathetic we are as a trade.

Whoever we are members of, trade Orgs require support and commitment. And that comes from a person who belongs to neither !  However, I don't mind who calls the action, if I think it will assist our longevity, I will do everything to support it. 

 

I have personally achieved much in life that I am immensely proud of. Completing the Knowledge of London and gaining my Green Badge was certainly one of them. Normally, I take TFL's appalling prejudice against our trade on the chin, and just deal with it. But witnessing the incredible gesture of goodwill and respect to our military from Mike Hughes, his team and the Poppy Cab Drivers, mixed in with the raw emotions I always feel at the Cenotaph, left me in a state of frustrated anger. Anger at how we have been regarded by a limp wristed bunch of civil servants and anger at how our great 400 year legacy, has been given away to a third world rabble of unqualified dross.

 

Our future is unsteady right now, but one thing is for sure. If anything happens to our great trade, there will be many wonderful, deserving charities, sick and under privileged children, war veterans and many others, who will greatly miss the generous and proud goodwill of our London Cab Drivers.

On the other hand, maybe Uber could just step straight into our shoes, and do the deeds that we do, couldn't they ? In their dreams, maybe.

 

Transport For London and Johnson deserve the monster they are creating. The problem is though, unless we present them with some robust challenge, for us it will be too late.

Walking around Soho late on Saturday night with some old army mates, neither of them from London, I felt embarrassed.

A city centre China Town looking more like Calcutta than our once fantastic London. And the establishment had the affront to describe Paul Raymond as "sleazy" ! Personally, I would rather witness the odd pair of naked breasts or a pert ladies bum protruding from a Soho doorway than the chants of "Taxi, Taxi" or being mowed down from a coked up Rickshaw driver ! Paul Raymond wouldn't recognise his old patch in the mere eight years he has been dead. It has become a bandit town.

 

I am convinced that the hidden agenda to eradicate us is in full swing within the TFL sewerage . Even with their suspect win in the courts for their fake meter, Uber or TFL or Johnson were unable to diminish our hearts and professional pride to continue serving London and the world's travelling public, just the way we always have done.

 

And if there were ever any doubt as to whether we are deflated or fighting, then one could look no further than Mike Hughes's fantastic Poppy Cab Battalion on Westminster Bridge yesterday, or The Magnificent Mayfair Mob taking our night ranks back by force !

 

On the ropes we may very well be, but I awoke this morning as proud of my Green Badge, as I ever have been!

 

Don't start your celebrations yet TFL 

We ain't going anywhere just yet !

 

Be lucky all.

 

8829 Semtex

 

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PASSENGER, ANTONY PATSALOS, BROKE TAXI DRIVER'S JAW

A drunk black cab passenger who punched the driver so hard he broke his jaw narrowly avoided jail after his wealthy parents offered to stump up £15,000 compensation for his victim.

Antony Patsalos, (above) 25, hit experienced cabbie Ayanie Nageye after an argument erupted over the payment of a £31 fare for a late-night taxi ride home from a boozy night out.

Mr Nageye, (above) who has held a Hackney Carriage licence for eight years, was left to drive himself to hospital in tears after the single blow sent him reeling to the floor.

Mr Recorder Lawrence Cohen QC said he was 'struggling' to find a reason not to send Patsalos to prison after he was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm. 

Source : courtnewsuk.co.uk

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The Mayfair Mob : Licensed Taxi Drivers, Clawing Back Work From The Touts And Reclaiming Our Ranks... By Jim Thomas.

Most drivers will now be aware of the fantastic work being carried out, by a band of night drivers calling themselves the Mayfair Mob. These courageous drivers are tackling the war on touts, one battle at a time....and this is proving to be highly successful. 

It's also extremely welcome to see certain trade representatives openly promoting the actions this group in Taxi trade media. 

Extending the use of the AdVan, has been a major factor in our success. 

          LTDA AdVan helping out at Forge

After the success of the marshals at Novikov's and Forge, there is now a campaign in the LTDA Taxi paper actively recruiting marshals. 

This is a positive step forward and hopefully a step on the ladder to rid our trade of the tribalism (my orgs better than your org) that has held us back for so many years. The work carried out by the Mayfair Mob, utilises members from all trade bodies (Brothers In Arms).

In the space of just a few short months, the Mayfair Mob has acquired two completely new night ranks, previously believed to be unobtainabl. 

  Mayfair Mob regulars, Novikov's and Sketch

With the rank boards firmly in place, we now wait for Westminster council to put down road markings, which should make it easier to keep the space clear for working Taxis. 

Some non believers think it can't be done, as the two ranks in question are only live at certain times of the day. Well if they can sort this problem out in at Benedick's wine bar in Belfast, using the same method, it can also be sorted out in Mayfair. 

See solution below.

     Benedick's, Bradford Place, Belfast

Another major achievement has been the extension to the rank in Cornhill, outside the night venue Forge. Again thought to be impossible. 

Cutting the ribbon on the new Forge Rank extension, now known by Mob members as "The Benidorm Rank". 

Through the medium of social media platforms such as Twitter and FaceBook, the group regularly put out updates as to the current status of Mayfair and City ranks. We are now seeing more drivers joint our ranks, as the touts appear to be receding. Club owners are happy to see the pimps and pushers outside their premises diminishing, although door staff are feeling a huge dent in their nightly backhanders.

The Mob utilise the members only account (@UCGup). This system insures the touts are unaware as to where the work is building up and where "the Mob" will hit next.

A few years ago, Westminster City Council carried out a survey on night venue patrons. It showed beyond a shadow of a doubt, revellers leaving venues will use the first service they see when leaving night venues, whether that vehicle be licensed or not. They regard the fact that door staff have put them in a vehicle, as a sign of authenticity. This is why it's so important we put vacant Taxis outside venue exits. 

Many drivers are saying that night-work hasn't been as bad as had been anticipated at the beginning of the year, this is a direct result of the amount of work being clawed back from the touts by Mob members on the front line, outside the night venues. 

The Mayfair Mob will shortly be expanding their list of achievements and are actively encouraging councils to look at putting licensed Taxi ranks outside every licensed venue. 

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Hong Kong's 2-Year Electric Taxis Project Branded Failure. Premonition Of Things To Come ?

Electric taxi project in Hong Kong goes belly up: China's BYD brands 2-year campaign a failure.

The automaker is also struggling to sell eBuses in the city and has only received orders for 14 so far.

Chinese automaker BYD, which is partly owned by Warren Buffett's "Berkshire Hathaway", officially branded it's two year trial run of electric taxis in Hong Kong as a failure on Friday.

"I'm the one to take charge of BYD's project in Hong Kong" said Ding. Haimiao, assistant to the general manager at the car maker.

"I have to say it's a complete failure" he added.

Ding made a comment to a group of academic and technology industry figures from Hong Kong during a speech in the sunshine are you city of Shenzhen.

In 2013 BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu said he expected the company to lunch dozens of E6 electric call Taxis in Hong Kong by the end of that year. He predicted the number would grow from 1000 in 2014 to 3000 this year.

That didn't happen and in fact they sound just 45 vehicles.

Hong Kong has only 3 charging stations to cover a total of 150 electric vehicles. 

Ding said, the reason we are calling this project a failure is because the company lost so much money.

The alternator has made a series of investment to support the program for example covering the costs of charging stations and vehicle maintenance.

He said the model fits the local market but has nevertheless met with resistance from a member of industry figures especially established Taxi drivers.

In another part of it electric push, BYD has also made slow progress in pressing ahead with electric buses in Hong Kong.

The company has so far received orders for just 14 of the new electric buses. This number pales when  compared to other traffic heavy markets in which it operates.

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Letter to Taxi Leaks, From Concerned Cyclist, AC Waugh.

Following the publication of Kate Hoey’s column in the South London (Press LINK), and David Williams piece in the Evening Standard yesterday (LINK), I am horrified by the level of uninformed abuse being heaped by some in the cycling lobby on anyone who dares to express the view that they are not a good thing.

I am a cyclist who uses Loughborough Road each day to go into work in the morning and home in the evening. This part of my journey was never a problem before the road closures. It is now.

There are four reasons why the road closures have, from personal experience daily, made my ride more dangerous and less pleasant.

First, I now find myself having to dodge slow moving and jammed traffic in a way that was not the case before. Queuing and turning traffic inherently poses more risk to cyclists, not less.

Second, queuing traffic generates more emission and pollution which, as a cyclist, I have no option but to inhale. Brixton already had some of the highest levels of nitrous oxide/NO2 in Europe before the road closures. God knows what they are now.

Third, jamming the traffic only generates more antagonism between motorists and cyclists; understandably since they are being fed the myth that somehow the road closures are a good thing for cyclists. This is only made worse by the abuse heaped by some cyclists on opponents of the scheme (most of whom appear to live nowhere near and are not regular users of Loughborough Road, if at all).

Fourth, Loughborough Road is not well lit and eerily dark at night and police officers are few and far between. I have had a friend mugged on his bike and do not intend to join him - so I shall head further south along the A23 before heading east along the south side of the railway.

So, for all these reasons, the road closures have made my ride to and from work a less pleasant and more dangerous experience. This experience is shared by many who have posted similar comments on the Change.Org petition of over 3500 comments.

I know that there are those cyclists who think that all vehicles are bad and all road closures are good (akin to the 'fours legs good, two legs bad' mantra in Orwell's Animal Farm). But for many, the elderly, the disabled and local service providers of all descriptions, buses, vans and cars are a necessary reality of daily life. The cycling lobby does itself no good (and much harm) by heaping abuse on anyone who takes a different view.
Judging from the abuse being heaped by some cyclists on anyone who takes a different view, Lambeth Council appear to have had some success in mobilising 'the cycling lobby’- but I can say from personal experience as a cyclist and a regular user of Loughborough Road that it is not a good thing for all the reasons above.

I would ask any cyclist who does not use the road to think before abusing those who express an alternative view to that being promulgated by Lambeth Council. It would make my life, and those of other cyclists, safer if the roads were reopened without delay.

Please sign our online petition

>http://ift.tt/1SBjiWt?< 

Regards AC Waugh 

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Lest We Forget

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain. 

 

Robert Laurence Binyon 21st September 1914

 

To my mate's that I can no longer see, to their struggling families and to our serving British Military Personnel both past and present, I would like just to say.........Thank You and God Bless.

British Armed Forces........The Best In The World.

 

8829 Semtex.

To my Grandad George and his four sons, George, Bobby, Ronnie and Leslie. 

       

Jim Thomas.

 

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