London Taxi Trade Reps In Talks with Euro Taxi Orgs In Paris, Day Before French Taxis Go On Strike.

London Taxi representatives from the UCG, LTDA and LCDC, are currently in Paris to dicuss international action with Europian Taxi orgs, ahead of tomorrow's planned Taxi strike by Parisian Taxi drivers. 

Organisers are predicting massive support from their taxi drivers and they say that tempers may be as frayed as they were during last year's strikes, which saw blockades of roads, fisticuffs with non-strikers and vehicles set on fire.

Trade unions and employers' groups have come together to protest at the spread of companies putting non-professional drivers in touch with customers, claiming that measures already enacted by the government are often flouted or inoperable.

The Constitutional Council have banned UberPop, the US giant's low-cost service, and new measures are planned in future.

But taxi firms say that reservations have fallen 20 per cent and 30 per cent fewer cabs are hailed in the street, although business has also been hit by the drop in tourism after the November Paris attacks.

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NYC's Yellow Cab App, Great Way To Avoid Uber's Surge Pricing

Last weekend, I found myself in a familiar situation: It was after midnight, I was far from my apartment, and I wanted to go home and go to sleep.

I was in an area of Brooklyn where I couldn't just walk outside and hail a cab, so I opened Lyft to try to get a ride home. But demand for cars was off the charts, so "Primetime" pricing was in effect, meaning prices were exorbitantly high.

I opened Uber, and it was surging to nearly twice the normal rate.

I thought I'd have to suck it up and pay a ridiculous amount of money to get home. But a friend I was with suggested I try the app Way2Ride, which I'd never heard of until then.

So I downloaded it, signed up, and got home by paying a normal cab fair. No surge pricing.

And because of Way2Ride, I don't think I'll ever pay for surge pricing again.

After you download the app, you'll have to create an account and enter your payment information.

Way2Ride is basically the traditional taxi industry's answer to Uber and Lyft — it's a way to hail taxis and then pay for the ride through your smartphone. 

There's currently no fee for using the app, so you just pay the cab's metered fair.

For now, it's only available in New York, but the service is coming to major cities in the US early next year. There are 14,000 New York cabs that work with Way2Ride.

The app is made by Verifone, the company that makes the payment technology and video screens you see in many taxis.

The app uses your phone's GPS to find you, but you can also type in your address. There are 23 cabs around me!

Like other ride hailing apps, you can use the app to let the driver know if you forgot something in the car.

The Way2Ride app is by no means as well-designed as Uber or Lyft, and the service isn't as fancy, but it gets the job done!

And if you're looking for a ride home, that's all that's important.

You can download Way2Ride for iOS and Android.

Source TechInsider.io

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Uber scraps flat rate fares to London airports

Uber has announced that it will stop offering flat rates to customers travelling to London airports.

The private hire company previously offered a series of set fares for trips to Heathrow and Gatwick.

Rates to Heathrow started at just £30 for a journey from west London, while passengers could travel to Gatwick from south east London for £50.

In an email to customers Uber said: "Flat rate fares between London airports and central London will no longer apply — instead, fares will be calculated using Uber's time and distance rates — just as they are for normal Uber trips.

"Whether you're heading off on a business trip or coming back from holiday, you can always get a fare estimate in–app to see how much your ride will cost."

The email also warned that airport pick-ups will incur an additional surcharge to cover minimum parking costs.

Several customers took to social media to voice their disappointment at the news.

Jon Tarsey tweeted: "Very disappointed that Uber are moving to calculated airport fares - the flat rates were one less thing to worry about when travelling." 

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AGAIN....WE'VE ALL BEEN STITCHED UP : TfL's Card Payment Recommendations.

On Friday, representatives from the Licensed Taxi trade groups plus carefully selected trade Orgs (UTG) were invited to a meeting with TfL. At the meeting they were told how TfL intended to mandate "Card Payments In Taxis". 

Below are the recommendations.

TfL will implement after they have recieved the rubber stamp from the TfL board on "Demo Day", the 3rd of December.

Although the paper (released on the 21st) carries the headline "this paper will be considered in public", again this statement has been made under TfLs own warped sense of interpretation. The consultation is over, that it.

The LCDC have previously made a statement, via Twitter, that TfL do not negotiate. When these recommendations are approved by the board, and have no doubt they will be,  the system below WILL be implemented.

This paper will be considered in public 

1 Summary

1. 1.1  The purpose of this paper is to update the Committee on mandating card payment acceptance in taxis.

2. 1.2  This matter was discussed at Surface Transport Panel at its meeting on 22 October 2015.

2 Recommendation

2.1 The Committee is asked to note the paper and recommend that the Board agrees in respect of taxis:

(a) the following changes to come into effect on 2 April 2016:

(i) to remove the existing surcharge of up to 10 per cent of the fare payable or £1, whichever is greater, that passengers currently pay when paying by debit or credit card (a card);

(ii) mandate a maximum card payment transaction fee to drivers of 3 per cent of the total sum payable for TfL approved card payment devices. This will be included in the TfL guidelines for electronic payment devices; and

(iii)the minimum taxi fare (flagfall) to be increased by 20 pence from £2.40 to £2.60 per trip to compensate taxi drivers for costs associated with accepting card payments;

(b) the following changes to come into effect on 3 October 2016:

(i) to mandate card acceptance in all taxis and as, a minimum, devices should accept Chip and PIN, contactless and magnetic swipe payments;

(ii) to mandate acceptance of VISA and Mastercard payments as a minimum but drivers may also choose to accept other cards, such as American Express and Diners Club;

(iii)to mandate that card payment devices will be required to be fixed in the passenger compartment of the taxi so passengers stay in control of their card details at all times. [This could be fixed

 equipment or handheld devices affixed to a cradle, approved by TfL to ensure passenger safety. Web payment devices, such as Hailo’s new payment solution are also to be permitted to co-exist alongside fixed equipment so drivers can offer hirers choice of payment methods]; and

(iv)to approve clear signage, visible from outside the vehicle, to make clear that all taxis now accept card payments. [This will be linked with a marketing campaign by TfL to make clear all taxis accept card payments]; and

(c) to investigate the feasibility of the following change coming into effect from April 2018:

(i) to mandate that all card payment devices are linked to the taximeter, noting that the industry needs to work towards standard solutions that integrate card payment devices with the taximeter.

Below is a link to the whole release. 

>CLICK HERE<

Please read and take note that in a number of topics, TfL took more notice of "supposed potential Taxi users", than they did from actual users and licensed Taxi drivers.

It appears as with every TfL consultation we've been involved in, we've been stitched up AGAIN.

Again the second biggest trade org were excluded from the meeting.

And again this whole issue stinks of collusion. 

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A40 Cash Cow Speed Trap Nets £100,000 A Month

The new average speed cameras on the A40, are raking in almost £100,000 per month from drivers on one of the capital’s busiest roads.

The “cheat-proof” traps have been placed at 32 sites on an11-mile stretch of the A40.

At present, they are catching almost 1,000 motorists a month. They've been deemed so successful, there are now plans to widen the scheme, despite angry claims that the cameras are simply “cash cow” for the Treasury. Road usering campaigners say the public were not adequately informed in advance.

The new system was activated at the end of October between the Polish War Memorial and the Westway flyover. The previously fixed speed cameras on seven sites, have now been removed.

By measuring average rates of travel, the new system prevents speeders evading detection by braking as they approach a camera.

'Cheat proof': The traps have been placed at 32 sites on an 11-mile stretch of the A40

A total of 958 offenders were caught in the first month after the devices went live.

Speeders are fined £100 and given at least three penalty points on their licence, depending on how fast they are clocked.

Transport for London said the cameras — which it is extending to the A2, A316 and A406 North Circular Road later this year — would cut deaths and serious injuries.

But it faced accusations of failing to give sufficient warning of the cameras’ presence amid suspicions they are a revenue-raiser for the Treasury, which receives proceeds from fines.

London Assembly member Murad Qureshi,  who raised concerns with Mayor Boris Johnson when the cameras were first proposed, told the Standard: “It does appear to be a cash-cow for the authorities — and done without much public notification.

“It’s not obvious the change has been made at all. I’ve no problem about getting drivers to kill their speed but this has been done behind their backs without telling them what is happening.”

Barrie Segal, who runs the parking tickets website AppealNow.com, said: “I hate speeders and if this scheme reduces road deaths that is very welcome — but if it’s done cynically to raise funds I would be rather concerned.”

A Freedom of Information request by the Evening Standard to the Metropolitan Police revealed that 1,303 “notices of intended prosecution” were issued between October 26 and December 30, including the 958 in November. 

Drivers were clocked at up to 90mph. The A40 has 40mph and 50mph speed limits. The elevated Westway section between North Wharf Road and Bramley Road attracted most fines — 305 over the first two months.

Average-speed cameras were introduced in London on the A13 in 2010 and halved road deaths or serious injuries in the subsequent 18 months.

Average-speed cameras will go live on the North Circular between Hanger Lane and Bounds Green Road and on the A316 between the M3 and Hogarth roundabout in “early summer”, then on the A2 from the Blackwall tunnel  to the Black Prince interchange in “late September”.

Source : Standard news FB.

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Trouble Brews, As Taxis Confront Uber Picking Up At Airport.

On Thursday, Uber started transporting passengers from LAX, cutting into taxi drivers’ opportunities and prompting taxi drivers to slam the ride-sharing company for lax security procedures.

William Rouse, general manager of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, the largest taxicab company in the city, told Southern California Public Radio, “They continue using a weak background check system that does not even have the possibility of considering convictions that are over seven years old. There’s no doubt that there are certain consumers who choose [ridesharing companies] in spite of their obvious risks.”

Taxi service has not declined at LAX; in fact, Rouse admitted that Yellow Cab pick-ups were 7% higher in January 2016 than in January 2015. The UCLA Labor Center has reported that although taxi service plunged 18% between 2013 and 2014 after Uber and rival ride-sharer Lyft arrived in Los Angeles in 2013, airport rides during the same period rose 15 percent. 

The Labor Center acknowledged, “Airports are one of the prized sites for earnings for taxi drivers.

Drivers are given access to the airport one day of the week known as their ‘airport day.’ Drivers typically earn more money due to longer fares, and they tend to work longer days.”

Uber’s website states that its vetting of its drivers are adequate, writing, “In the US, potential Uber driver-partners are required to undergo a screening process, which includes a driving and criminal history check that covers county, federal, and multi-state databases.”

Lyft started picking up passengers at LAX in late December, but its permit required the company to pay LAX at least $25,000 per month from $4 fees for each drop-off and pickup. Those funds are contributed to the airport’s general operating budget. Those same provisions now apply to Uber.

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Assembly Member Valerie Shawcross Openly Attacks George Osborne On FaceBook.

Boris doesn't deny at MQT, when asked that he was directly and personally lobbied  by George Osborne  in support of Uber. 

How does that work ?  - what is a Chancellor of the UK Exchequer doing lobbying personally for a global company that isn't a corporate taxpayer in the UK?  

It's not sustainable for UK democracy and public services  for our  government  to favour companies  who don't make a contribution to the coffers over local small enterprizes that do!   

The  UK  is  a good place to do business because it is a well run  and regulated business environment.

 But antiregulatory right wing ideologists in Government will destroy the UK's economic success by undermining our public services and regulated environment  through their active support of tax avoidance!

Source : Facebook January 21st 3pm 

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