TfL's Licensing Regulator, Not Fit For Purpose : An Absolute Disgrace To Public Safety

This is how frighteningly easy it is to become a tout, using a TfL license vehicle.

>CLICK HERE<

For the princely sum of £100, in a borrowed car, with no hire and reward insurance and no private hire drivers license, LBC's Theo Ushereood was able to get the car licensed by TfL as a private hire vehicle, drive into the City and openly ply for hire. 

How has this man, Director of Serice Operations (surface transport) Peter Blake, still got a job. 

Listening to him being taken apart, on this mornings Nick Ferrari show on LBC shows how incompetent LTPH is. This one interview shows that this licensing authority isn't fit for purpose and needs to be completely overhauled. 

Listen to the Blake interview here

>CLICK HERE<

This comes just hours after TfL's scandalous announcement on their @TfLTPH Twitter account, that members of the public can approach a waiting PHV driver, ask if he is for hire, and after being told "Yes", can then use their smartphone app to then immediately hire that car.

And the TfL authorised operator Shen said -in her opinion- was quite legal

Well Shen, actually it's not. We have many years of case law that state it's not.

I would therefore like to draw TfL's attention to 3 cases 

1) White v McKay.........1946

2) Rose v Welbeck.......1962

3) Vincent v Newman..1962

You can read all about these cases and the judgements:

>CLICK HERE<

Alan Flemings piece complied some years ago which still remains the best quick glance resource on "Illegal Plying":

>CLICK HERE<

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Unbelievably, These Angels Carry On Fighting For Cab Drivers Who Won't Fight For Themselves

The LTDA have decided to break ranks from the rest of the trades representative orgs to launch unilateral action.

Without talking to or asking help from others, the LTDA have decided to go it alone and lobby MPs on Tuesday 8th March. Emails were sent out yesterday to all their members.

Just when we thought the orgs and unions were all singing from the same sheet, the newly built house of cards seems to have collapsed. 

A fragmented trade like this, has no hope.

GLA report was a waste of time.

RMT early day motion fell flat.

Mass demos failed to achieve media coverage.

And now our orgs are asking drivers to give up two mornings work next week.

Are they really expecting this, from the same drivers who wouldn't pledge just £23 each to #ActiondforCabbies

We had a homeless street person in tears at the thought of losing the taxi trade he loves, putting his last 50p in the hat to help support the fight to save the taxi trade.

Our multinational vehicle maker, insurance companies and many other third party businesses who make their living off the backs of Taxi drivers, refuse to pledge a penny. 

But can you blame them when over 85% of the drivers haven't pledged.

#ActionForCabbies Update: 

10 days left and still £352,000 short.

To be honest if 85% drivers couldn't be bothered to pledge just £23 each to save their livelihood, then perhaps the trade ain't worth saving.

The old excuse that not all drivers are online doesn't wash anymore. 

The girls from #SaveTaxi Facebook group have been out every day distributing thousands of leaflets in all weathers, on stations, at cab shelters, the airport.....plus, it's been all over the trade media..... no excuses!

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Will You Carry On Fighting For Cab Drivers Who Won't Fight For Themselves?

The State Of Our Trade.

The LTDA have decided to break ranks from the rest of the trades representative orgs to launch unilateral action.

Without talking to or asking help from others, the LTDA have decided to go it alone and lobby MPs on Tuesday 8th March. Emails were sent out yesterday to all their members.

Just when we thought the orgs and unions were all singing from the same sheet, the newly built house of cards seems to have collapsed. 

At a time when drivers should be signing up with trade orgs in a massive united fight back, many feel this trade is allowing itself to be lead down the toilet by clueless individuals. 

GLA report was a waste of time.

RMT early day motion felt flat.

Mass demos failed to achieve.

And now our orgs now expecting drivers to give up two mornings work next week.

Are they really expecting this, from the same drivers who wouldn't pledge just £23 each to #ActiondforCabbies

We had a homeless beggar in tears at the thought of losing this trade, putting his last 50p in the hat to help in the fight to save the taxi trade.

While our multinational vehicle maker, insurance companies and many other third party businesses who make their living off the backs of Taxi drivers, refuse to pledge a penny. 

But can you blame them when over 85% of the drivers won't pledge.

A fragmented trade like this, has no hope.

#ActionForCabbies Update: 

10 days left and still £352,000 short.

To be honest if 85% drivers can't pledge just £23 each to save their livelihood, then perhaps the trade ain't worth saving.

The old excuse that not all drivers are online doesn't wash anymore. 

The girls from #SaveTaxi have been out every day in all weathers, on stations, cab shelters, the airport plus it's been in all trade media no excuse!

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Taxi Drivers From Weston In North Somerset, Frozen Day Out For Foster Children

Foster children being entertained by Frozen characters Elsa, Anna and Olaf.

Foster children in North Somerset were given a day out thanks to some generous Weston taxi drivers.

Anthony Rogers and fellow members of the Taxi Federation in Weston, contacted North Somerset’s Foster Carers’ Association before taking the day off to decorate their cabs and drive around 40 children to Court Farm in Banwell, where they were entertained by a performance by the characters of Frozen.

Mr Rogers told the Mercury: “Me and two others decided to do something and put our hands in our pockets, and we got the others in to help on the day. 

“They seemed to really enjoy it and had a great time.”

Source : Western and Somerset Mercury 

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Lee Osborne's UWCB Boxing Challenge To Help Beat Cancer Sooner.

Former UCG secretary Lee Osborne, has given much time and effort supporting the fight for survival of our trade.

Now it's our turn to show thanks and support him.

Lee will be taking part in an Ultra White Collar Boxing match in four weeks time, on Saturday 26th March, at the Woodside Leisure Centre in Watford. 

All money raised is to go to cancer research. 

For tickets to the event, please go to 

www.UWCB.co.uk

To support Lee, please go to his Just Giving page

                    >CLICK HERE<

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Police Warn New Threat From OnLine Fake Taxis. ... By Gerald Coba.

A new warning has been issued after a surge in ‘fake’ taxis being advertised on social media.

Police are warning people about the dangers of getting into unlicensed taxis after an increase in the number of people offering their services on sites like Facebook.

Passengers using these online fake taxis can never be guaranteed how safe they are going to be. By getting into one of these vehicles you could potentially be putting your life at risk.

A really important part of a night out is making sure that you can get home safely afterwards. 

The best way to ensure your safety is either to prearrange a lift with a friend or family member, or to only use a licensed taxi, especially in light of the recent minicab sexual assault statistics for 2015 which show 180 reported serious sexual assaults including rapes, with 112 driver arrests.

A spokesperson for the police said:

"We don’t want to see people getting into these online unlicensed fake taxis. If you get into one of these cars you are putting yourself at risk. An unbooked car ride, is just a stranger with a car.

By getting into an unlicensed vehicle at the end of a night out you are taking big risks with your personal safety. 

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Google driverless car has been involved in a collision with a bus

A Google driverless car has been involved in a collision with a bus in California.

The tech company has admitted responsibility for the accident which occurred on 14 February.

It is thought to have happened while the company was testing 24 of the cars fitted with sensors and cameras near the tech firm's Silicon Valley headquarters.

In a report filed with California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) the company reveals the car was trying to navigate its way round some sandbags at 2mph when it hit the bus that was travelling at 15mph.

Google says the accident came from the same kind of negotiations and misunderstandings that take place between human drivers every day.

The company says its cars will now have a better understanding that buses and other large vehicles are less likely to give way than smaller ones.

A DMV spokeswoman said the agency hoped to speak with Google soon about what went wrong.

Earlier this month, the Department of Transport revealed they were in "active discussions" with Google about trialling driverless cars in the UK.

In London, deputy mayor for transport Isabel Dedring said her office had spoken to Google "at least half a dozen times" over the past three years.

Google has admitted its driverless cars have been involved in 11 accidents - sparking new fears about the safety of autonomous automobiles.

"Over the 6 years since we started the project, we’ve been involved in 11 accidents 

Google always blame crashes on other people, giving colourful descriptions of the other motorists on California's roads.

Google were asked how many of the 48 robotic cars were involved in crashes, but it has not yet replied.

This information is important because it could indicate wider problems with driverless machines.

If all the crashes happened to one car, it could be faulty. 

If 11 separate motors were involved, this could potentially indicate a wider problem.

Would you get into a driverless car?

Brave? Former Business Secretary Vince Cable sits in a driverless car. 

Notice the door is open and the car is stationary.

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