Undercover Taxi Leaks Reporter : Private Hire With No Hire And Reward Gets Passed By NSL.

NSL test centre this week in Crayford. 

Whilst waiting I got chatting to an Uber driver who was waiting for his Prius to be licensed. 

Amongst other things he started chatting about all of his costs such as rental, fuel and insurance. I asked him if his insurance was expensive and he said it was only £40 a month third party!! 

I said to him that I thought he needed special minicab hire and reward insurance? 

He said oh no that was far too expensive and it was much cheaper to just get third party insurance. He informed me that lots of Uber drivers only use third party insurance. 

(I wish I had my voice recorder switched on). 

     

So anyway the examiner calls his car out and tells him his vehicle had passed and he was free to go with his new roundel in the front and back window. I thought how could that happen? Surely they check his insurance documents! Well apparently they only check whether insured or not for PH and not what type of insurance.

My Taxi also passed inspection and my voice recorder was ready! Attached you can hear the conversation I had with the vehicle inspector.

  

 

I have asked TFLTPH why Taxis Hire and reward insurance was checked at the NSL testing centres but not PH? The answer they gave is attached. If they are proposing that PH have it at all times like Black Cabs then surely that is an admittance that they currently do not have it. We and the Motor Insurance Bureau know that there us no such thing as on/off Hire and reward insurance so Why are NSL testing centres licencing vehicles that may not have H&R insurance. 

This is a scandal.

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The Big Taxi Credit Card Conspiracy : Why Have TfL Made It Such A Mess

There is quite a bit of misinformation currently floating about the Taxi trade in regards to drivers responsibility in regards to taking payments by Credit and Debit card payments and when certain restrictions and new regulations will be introduced. 

TfL have posted clear instructions as to what is expected and when any new regulation will be imposed. 

Below is part of the statement TfL put out in regards to Card Acceptance. 

On 3 Feb the TfL board decided that TfL will not set a maximum charge that the card equipment suppliers can charge taxi drivers and that market forces should dictate.  

There are a number of TfL approved card equipment suppliers offering card payment systems for the taxi industry as can be seen in the TPH notice. 

Currently card transaction costs start from 2.75% and taxi drivers have a range of options to meet the mandatory date for card acceptance of 3 October 2016. The existing card payment surcharge payable by passengers of up to 10% or £1, whichever is greater, will be removed from 2nd April 2016. 

After this date taxi drivers must not charge passengers a surcharge when accepting credit or debit card payments. 

TfL is working with card payment systems suppliers to ensure they are prepared to meet the changes, which include the new requirement that a card payment terminal must be fitted within the passenger compartment.

End.

Editorial comment:

These new regulations are completely unreasonable and should never have been agreed to by the trade orgs and Unions.

Why should a driver who has been using a hand held mobile machine for many years with no complaints from passengers be forced by TfL to have the machine taken away and fitted in the rear.

As the driver has to enter the price on most hand held appliances by hand, will this mean the driver will have to get out of the front, enter the rear of e cab to perform a card payment?

Of course not, this is just to preempt that connection of the third party supplied appliance to the meter. Which could then be used as an impromptu tachograph.   

There is no mention (yet) that the machine should be connected to the meter, but this would also render machines such as iZettle, PayPal and CabApp unusable.

At present over 70% of drivers have th means to clear card payments albeit by machine, App or through their radio circuit, but as soon as drivers are required to pay clearance surcharges, we could see this situation change dramatically. Between April and October, expect to see many more "Cash Only" signs and machines covered with old socks and plastic bags, this will have a damaging effect on the reputation of the trade. 

(Perhaps this is exactly the game TfL are playing)

The question must be asked, why are drives expected to pay the service charge?

TfL say the customer should not be charged for taking the option of paying on credit.

TfL also say the driver must not charge more than the metered fare. 

The important word here is "FARE". The surcharge is in fact a service charge, charged not by the driver, but by the card companies and inasmuch is not the part of the fare paid to the driver.

One of the major card company directors, is also a director of a company selling Taxis to drivers. 

Would this director consider paying the extra charge made by the driver (as a customer) for buying a Taxi on a credit agreement, paying the interest on the loan.....I don't think he would agree to this for one minute!

When TfL put out their consultation last year, they carefully left out one important question -Should the driver pay the surcharge- it's just not there.

TfL made much about the fact that nearly 90% of everyone who filled in the consultation voted that all taxis should by forced to accept card payments.

Amazingly Taxi Point carried out a similar consultation but included the question should the driver be made to pay the surcharge on transactions and came back with neatly 90% saying "NO"

Our question now is why are the Orgs and Unions not up in arms about this unreasonable edit from TfL.

Many rumours are floating about alleging conflicts of interest regarding advertising revenue from the major card equipment suppliers. Surely members interests should be paramount. 

Only two orgs have shown any public resistance to the drivers paying the surcharge. 

The longer this situation goes on there's more chance it could seriously damage the trade's reputation. 

Worst of all, TfL have already informed the media that drivers will be mandated to accept card payments and that drivers will pay surcharge and not passengers. They've put this out even though they haven't changed the cab act and have no legislation to back up their claim.

Also, it should be pointed out that no similar regulations have been announced in regards to a Private Hire mandate of card payment acceptance. 

Will TfL now immediately drop their credit card surcharge when Taxi and Private Hire drivers pay for their licence, the vehicle inspection?

Why is there one rule fir us but another rule for TfL?

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LTDA's Pledge of £50,000 Puts New Life Into The #ActionforCabbies Fund.

And now the games back on...

We are running out of time but today's boost from the LTDA has put us back in the game

Now it's totally up to you.

Approx 5,000 Taxi drivers on Twitter. £25 each would be another £125,000

14718 members on the Save The Black Taxi FaceBook Group...£25 each would raise another £367,950

Surely we've all got friends and family willing to help save our jobs, just waiting to be asked. 

Then there are the Taxi garages we use to rent, buy, service our cabs....put pressure on these, after all we would be saving their businesses too.

Let's not forget the third parties who earn a living off our trade, the Credit Card companies who are expecting a windfall from taking part of our takings, insurance companies who have been raising premiums for years. These third parties should all be making sizeable contributions.

The LTDA have pledged £50,000 to the judicial review fund. 

Another £25 from each and every one of you, could secure the future of your job.

Sitting on the fence will just secure splinters in your bum.

Please pledge now and the money won't leave your account till the 14th March.

>CLICK HERE TO PLEDGE<

Apathy is no longer an option we need to act and to act now. Even if you've already pledged, please think about pledging again.

So far TfL have used refusal to enforce the law against us, now it's our turn to use the legal system against them.

Let's get TfL in court once and for all and save our trade.

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The Horse Has Bolted.... Someone Now Wants To Close The Door...by I'm Spartacus.

It seems one trade org is betting the farm on limiting PH number as the answer to all our issues!!!

So let's have a real look at the possibilities or more likely the impossibilities of a cap on PH numbers:

1. Once someone is licensed, unless they are revoked, you can't take it away. 

There are already three times the number of PH needed for a sustainable Private Hire service.

It would take years to have an effect, just like the over licensed YB sectors.

2. TfL are licensing hundreds a week, any limit will only affect new applicants. No wonder there's a stampede.

3. The draft bill from the Law Commission is looking to bring in National Standards for PH (we can only imagine how stringent they will be!) that will likely mean, any PH operator can take a booking from anywhere as all licensing authorities will have to have the same criteria. 

4. No matter what the law says, certain operators just ignore it and the regulator caves in.

It is also rumoured that there's a backstairs understanding that the strategy is to reduce the Taxi fleet to 10,000 in any event, we have investigators on the case, so keep in touch.

Let's not put all our hopes on this as the cure all, we need to campaign for both Plying For Hire and Pre Booking to be defined.

We also need to lobby the TfL board to reject the PH Regulations consultation outcome as they are flawed.

So plenty of ammo still to fire, punters coming back every day as they realise just how good we are compared with the rest as the million spent on PR can't conceal the truth.

'Service not servitude' someone else wisely said.

I'm Spartacus.

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Minicab driver who raped sleeping woman is jailed for 'monstrous' crime

A man's been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of raping a Cambridge woman.

Siddiq Muzumder, 33, a TfL Licensed minicab driver, picked up the victim following a night out with friends in London at Pasha nightclub on April 26, 2014.

Cambridge Crown Court heard that at about 1am Muzumder pulled over on the hard shoulder of the M11, about 10 minutes away from her home, and raped the woman, who was either asleep or unconscious. He then dropped her off close to her home.

The victim reported the incident the following morning and investigations identified the private hire car firm that the victim had used, which led to Muzumder’s arrest.

Muzumder, of Roman Road, London, denied rape but was found guilty, by a unanimous verdict, on Tuesday November 10 (2015).

He was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on February 8th.

This was a monstrous crime, where the private hire car driver was entrusted to deliver the young woman home. He abused this position. The victim has been very strong during the process and has co-operated with every police procedure. A key element to securing this conviction was early reporting of the crime, which enabled us to secure forensic evidence. It is this evidence that helped us secure the conviction due to the victim having no memory of the event.

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TfL warned over sexual advances among its own staff : Totally Failing London Transport.

Bosses in a Transport for London department have been forced to warn their own staff not to harass colleagues.

Senior management acted after revealing that employees had complained about colleagues engaging in “subtle forms of sexual harassment”.

The Enforcement and On-Street Operations team, thought to involve around 200 staff, has been warned by its deputy director Siwan Hayward about “unacceptable behaviour at work”.

  Garrett Emmerson and Siwan Hayward 

  with On-Street Operations Team in Mayfair.

The warning follows an internal survey which revealed that nearly 50 per cent of staff did not believe their workplace was free from discrimination, bullying and harassment.

In an email, Ms Hayward said the findings were “very troubling”.

She said: “Our staff tell us that some individuals in EOS engage in subtle forms of sexual harassment, and then hide behind the pretence that they are just being friendly, funny or flirty. 

“You are not. You are undermining your colleagues and it has to stop.”

She added: “The senior management team is united that we need to tackle all forms of harassment.

"We are clear in our stance with our passengers that any behaviour which makes women feel uncomfortable is not acceptable. Let’s apply the same principle to  each other.”

Ms Hayward said: “Nearly 50 per cent do not believe that our workplace is free from discrimination, bullying and harassment.”

Sources said that most of the cases of harassment were not reported by staff, despite the drive to encourage public transport users to do just that.

A joint operation between TfL and London’s three police forces, British Transport Police, City Police and the Met, was devised after a TfL survey revealed that 15 per cent of women and girls had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour on the network, but 90 per cent had not reported it.

In her email on Wednesday, Ms Hayward encouraged staff to make complaints, and to actively intervene.

It comes after a senior manager at TfL had been accused of bullying by 45 colleagues.  

He is understood to have left following an inquiry. (Another bullet dodger)

Speaking about today’s revelations, TfL said: “We simply will not tolerate behaviour that makes anyone feel uncomfortable.

Source : Standard News 

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As expected, Uber execs dodge bullet in France but criminal case reveals flaws in expansion strategy

PARIS–During a two-day trial last week, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty and Thibaud Simphal, the Uber executives facing criminal charges here, struggled to remember internal documents and management decisions. According to critics, their inability to recall important events at Uber was a case of selective memory and a poorly disguised attempt to evade justice.

Thibaud Simphal, manager of Uber France (left) is surrounded by cameras as he heads into a Paris courtroom. Simphal and another Uber exec are accused of violating France’s transportation laws.

“Again and again, they said they couldn’t remember,” Karim Asnoun, the secretary general of the CGT Taxis union, told GeekWire outside the courtroom. “They couldn’t remember an ad (campaign) that went all over. How does anyone believe that? It was like watching a trial for the Mafia.”

A representative of the taxi industry making an unflattering comparison about Uber, the flag bearer for the digital ride-hailing industry, could be dismissed as sour grapes. Uber is cutting into the revenues of taxi companies across the globe. But if rivals are having an easier time painting Uber’s management as a ruthless corporate gang, Uber has only itself to blame. As the company storms into new markets, the willingness of Uber’s leaders to flout rules has begun to catch up to them.

Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty (right), head of Uber’s European operations, leaves court.

At this point, Uber’s initial strategy in France appears to be a bust. In January 2015, France ordered a shutdown of UberPop, a popular service that connected users to unregistered and supposedly amateur drivers via the web. Uber, not uncharacteristically, defied the order. When taxi drivers held a protest last summer against UberPop, France’s government responded by arresting Gore-Coty, 31, Uber’s head of European operations, and Simphal, 34, Uber France’s chief. They were charged with running an illegal taxi operation, commercial deception and violating privacy laws. Soon after, Uber suspended UberPop.

At the trial last week, Gore-Coty and Simphal faced a maximum of five years in prison, but the prosecutor did not request jail time for the pair. Instead she asked the court to ban each man from operating a company for five years, a $78,000 fine for Gore-Coty, and $56,000 fine for Simphal, according to The Wall Street Journal. More hearings are scheduled and a final judgment is not expected for months.

In a statement, Uber said: “This trial–and the upcoming trial of [Uber competitor] Heetch executives, whose executives face identical charges–highlight the need for common sense reforms.”

Uber and CEO Travis Kalanick are fighters. They seem to revel in their reputations for never backing down. The big question, though, is whether it was intelligent to thumb their nose at a court order. Look where it took them: UberPop is effectively dead in France. Politicians here appear to be digging in their heels against the company. France’s taxi unions, including Asnoun’s, are demanding compensation from Uber that totals about 100 million Euros or the equivalent of $113 million USD.

Karim Asnoun, leader of one of France’s taxi unions, was in court for the criminal trial of two Uber executives.

And the court case is only the latest unflattering press that will trail the company as it enters new markets. Wherever Uber goes, regulators will read that Uber last week agreed to pay $28 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits that alleged the company misled the public about the service’s safety. In August 2014, The Verge reported that Uber employees systematically made phony reservations on Lyft, one of its main competitors, in an apparent attempt to tie up Lyft’s operations and drain resources. That same year, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Kalanick acknowledged he tried to undermine Lyft’s ability to raise money.

Who can say for sure whether any of this affects Uber’s relationship with customers? Still, during the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks on Paris, as people desperately tried to get home, word spread that Uber had begun to dramatically raise fees. The company appeared to be trying to cash in on a terrible tragedy. The problem was, it never happened. Uber suspended surge pricing within 30 minutes of the attack. But the enormous amount of criticism directed at the company illustrated one thing: For the public, believing the worst about Uber was easy.

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