Blood On Their Hands...TfL Ignore Calls For PH Drivers To Take Advanced Driving Test.

A toddler has been rushed to hospital after being hit by an Uber minicab in a rush hour crash, yards from Hyde Park.

Emergency services were called to Hyde Park Gate, off High Street Kensington, shortly after 6pm.

Police said the boy, thought to be around two years old, had been taken to hospital for treatment. Officers could not immediately confirm the seriousness of his condition.

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said paramedics treated the child for a head injury.

Roads were closed as police investigated the circumstances of the collision. The driver stopped at the scene, police said.

Calls For TfL Privare Hire Drivers To Take Advanced Driving Test

Calls for all Private Hire drivers to take advanced driving tests like Licensed Taxi drivers have to take, have been ignored by TfL bosses. 

Last week five motorcyclists were mowed down by TfL licensed minicab drivers. One fatal collision happened at the junction with Farrier Street just before 8.17pm on Saturday night.

Last night Regent Street had to be closed off, as a Toyota with TfL roundals collided with traffic lights and a bus, while doing an illegal u-turn.

The amount of minicab carnage on London's streets is escalating at an extremely fast rate. 

Every week over 700 new PH drivers add to the chaos as drivers, clueless to where they're going, frequently take their eyes off the road ahead to study their sat nav. 

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Time Is Running Out Fast....You a Need To Pledge Now.

For many years the trade has called for TfL to be dragged into court. When asked where the money would come from to pay for this, the answer always came back "the drivers could put in x amount each and we would soon have enough"

For he first time ever in the history of the trade, the drivers have been asked to put up dosh. X amount turns out to be £24. Unfortunately  over 21,000 drivers have ignored the campaign.

Soon it will be too late, and the 21,000 drivers will have no one to blame except themselves. 

Many drivers have gone far passed what was expected of them. One driver has pledge £1,000. 

Many of my friends, some who will be retiring in a matter of months, one who has already retired, have pledged. 

Please take a few minutes to watch these 2 videos below, which we hope will fire up your passion. 

It's not to late, but time is running out fast. You need to pledge, but you need to do it now. 

   

   

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Uber Driver Involved In Shocking "Kill All The Jews" Anti-Semitic Attack On School Bus, Relicensed By LTPH

Everyone was shocked when the new broke in the Daily Mail that criminal record checks were BANNED on foreign murderers and rapists who want to be minicab drivers if they have applied for asylum or refugees status. 

We were also told by the Mail that asylum seekers/refugees applying to be cab drivers are not being fully checked.

• 
  
• Driver applicants usually undergo enhanced DBS criminal records checks for the public's safety. As this cannot be done when those from outside the EU apply, they must provide a letter of reference from their home nation. 
• But the Daily Mail made it clear that refugees and asylum seekers are exempt and may be serious criminals.
• 
  
• General Manager of LTPH Helen Chapman, hit back by saying (on many occasions) that every applicant for a private hire drivers licence must undergo an enhanced DBS check. Chapmans statement has been repeatedly posted on Twitter. 
• 
  
• But it would now appear that this isn't the case and these checks are not being carried out comprehensively when it comes to PH drivers. 
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• We now find that a private hire driver, working for Uber, waiting for a serious court case to be heard which involved shocking anti-Semitic abuse and violence towards a bus driver and a group of Jewish school children, has had his licence renewed by TfL.
• 
  
• What happened to the enhanced DBS check in this case Helen?
• Are Uber drivers being given preferential treatment Helen?
• 
  
• A couple of years ago Taxi Leaks broke the story of an asylum seeker, wanted in Rwanda, in connection with a million person genocide by the war crimes commission, who had been licensed by LTPH to drive a minicab and was working for an operator in east London. 
• 
  
  
• We also posted a story about Taliban fighters who were working as minicab drivers to raise money to fight in Afghanistan. Plus we all remember the killer on the knowledge saga.
• 
  
• This recent case published in the Hackney Gazette, explained that an Uber driver,  Rashal Miah, 36, shouted he would “kill all the Jews” after a fit of road rage in September 2014.

  After getting stuck in traffic, Miah got out of his Mercedes and confronted the driver in front of a bus full of young children and was then arrested after policed rue summoned to the scene.

  But while waiting for his case to be heard, Miah's PH licence expired in the 11/01/2016. Even though he had this case in the pipeline his licence was renewed by LTPH. Miah was handed a 28-week sentence suspended for one year, after last month being found guilty of racially aggravated harassment.

  The question now needs to be asked

  WHAT HAPPENED TO MR MIAH'S ENHANCED DBS CHECK? 

  Drivers have asked this question on the TfLTPH Twitter account and been told they were unaware of the case which would be passed on to TfL intelligence ....what ever that is. 

  

  When drivers pointed out that Mr Miah was still shown on the TfL licence checker site as still holding a PHV licence.

  
  
  

  Unsurprisingly, when we try to check the validity of this claim, we found that the site had been taken down over the weekend.

  
  
  
  News Flash:
  TfL's Licence Checker site is now back up and it appears the Rashal Miah is still a licensed PH driver 
  
  
          Screen shot taken 14: 20, today
  
  
  

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Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Selling Uber Shares to Clients.

Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley are selling shares in Uber Technologies Inc. to their high-net worth clients, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Shares in the car-booking technology company are being priced at about $49 a share, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. Bank of America's Merrill Lynch is restricting its sales to clients with a net worth of more than $100 million and is asking for a minimum purchase of $1 million, the person said. Morgan Stanley is requiring them to buy at least $250,000 in Uber shares, the person said.

Banks offer shares in many of the hottest private companies to investors who want to buy in before an initial public offering. Securities firms sometimes use these share sales to cement ties with nonpublic companies in the hopes of winning a prized underwriter spot in an eventual IPO.

Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Uber declined to comment. CNBC first reported that Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are selling shares to clients. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., an early Uber investor, has previously sold convertible debt in the company to some of its private clients.

Bloomberg reported a financing round in December that valued Uber at $62.5 billion, which is more than about 80 percent of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Uber has raised more than $10 billion since it was founded in 2009.

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TfL accused of 'burying failure' with PR announcement on protecting motorcyclists

Transport for London (TfL) has been criticised for ‘rushing out’ a PR release on protecting motorcyclists before a report condemning its failure to do so could be published.

In the last two years, a fifth of motorcyclists have been involved in a collision and two thirds have had near-miss accidents.

Last year motorcycle and scooter fatalities in London rose by a third, and between 2010 and 2014 the number of injuries increased from 4,337 to 5,233.

London Mayor Boris Johnson announced this week that TfL and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) plan to strengthen their joint motorcycle safety initiative, Operation Winchester, to help tackle the spiralling adverse trends.

Mr Johnson said: “We are stepping up our efforts to improve the safety of motorcyclists on our roads, and the measures we’ve outlined today have the potential to make a real difference.

“We need every single motorcyclist to feel safe on our streets and this work is key to that goal.”

But the London Assembly Transport Committee (LATC) has attacked the announcement, claiming it has only been made to overshadow a scathing report into TfL’s failures.

In a report published on Thursday (March 3), the LATC drew attention to the rise in serious accidents, and claimed this was due to a lack of attention by TfL.

LATC Chair Valerie Shawcross said: “During my time on the Transport Committee we have spent a great deal of time and effort ensuring TfL considers the needs of cyclists and pedestrians — now it is time for them to pay more attention to the safety of motorcyclists.

“It’s no coincidence that TfL rushed out a PR release the day before our report was published – they know they’ve not done enough to protect motorcyclists in London.

“I hope our investigation prompts them to act.”

The LATC found one of the main problems was inconsistency over when motorcyclists are allowed access to bus lanes.

Although TfL allows them to use the lanes on the roads it manages, many boroughs restrict access in their own areas.

The LATC also called for closer monitoring of Cycle Superhighway roads, more information as to why motorcycle accidents occur, and for more young people to be encouraged to join the TfL and MPS-led BikeSafe scheme.

Operation Winchester has so far increased enforcement at hotspot locations across London.

Over two phases in November 2015 and January 2016, police stopped 5,389 riders, issued 742 Traffic Offence Reports, 1,335 verbal warnings, seized 96 motorcycles and made ten arrests.

The least-safe boroughs will continue to be targeted

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Rickett, MPS Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: “As an organisation the MPS is committed to

reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on London's roads each year and we work closely with our partners, Transport for London, to achieve this.

“Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable road users and our motorcycle safety team runs operations such as BikeSafe, to raise awareness of rider safety.

“These officers are themselves passionate about motorcycles and are able to explain their own experiences as motorcyclists on London's roads.

“All road users have a responsibility for road safety and I urge motorcyclists to take advantage of the BikeSafe and ScooterSafe-London to keep themselves and others safe on the roads.” 

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APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE MET POLICE, FOR WITNESSES OF THE ARREST OF A ROBBERY SUSPECT

APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE MET POLICE, FOR WITNESSES OF THE ARREST OF A ROBBERY SUSPECT IN WEST HALKIN STREET W1, around 23:45 4th MARCH.

Police from Charing Cross are looking to contact for two Taxi drivers who may have assisted/witnessed the arrest of a robbery suspect in West Halking Street at 23:45 last night, 4th March.

If you are one of these drivers, could you pleas email Taxi Leaks- taxileaks@mail.com -for details of how and who to contact.

TtT.

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THE TROUBLE WITH TOUTS : Letter To The Editor.

       Taken from the Mayor Of London's advert:

10 sexual assaults committed every month by illegal minicabs.

Almost the same again by TfL licensed ones. 

And that's just the ones that are reported. 60% of victims never report their attacks. 

Last year, 113 minicab drivers were arrested over serious sexually assaults, including rapes.

These are the statistics TfL and the Met don't want you to see.

Letter to the Editor:

The Met Police are understaffed and TfL are uninterested. So how do we tackle the threat from Illegal Touts?

Existing legislation and precedent already in place, is enough to deal with correct background checks, health check ups, proper insurance and capping.

The problem is, TfL are not up to the task.
But if the new Mayor of London is strong enough to shake up TfL and tell the Prime Minister to back off. Then these problems could be sorted with ease.

Touting is a real danger. Not just the theft of someone's livelihood, but the clear and present danger of sexual predators prowling the streets of London.

Police routinely check touts' vehicles for rape kits and weapons.
So it is accepted amongst the authorities that there are too many of these unsavoury characters out there.

Since the Government's austerity cuts and decimation of London's Emergency Services, there are not enough police to make much of an impression on London's tout epidemic.
So what is needed are proper deterrents.

The Met should charge touts with 'Kidnap'.
A tout enticing an inebriated female into his car with promises of getting her home, is not dissimilar to a paedophile enticing a child into his car with promises of sweets.
They are in effect attempting to kidnap them.

Charge touts with kidnap, and this endemic problem of the City and West End will be solved overnight.
Charge any doorman soliciting a crime, with aiding and abetting.
If it is the tout's second offence, or they are a registered sex offender, the sentence would be expected to carry some serious time.

Do we really have to wait for the wife or daughter of someone famous or in high office, to get attacked, before something is done.
Let's bolt the gate shut before the horse has noticed, this time around.

Lenny Etheridge
#DadsDefendingDaughters 

Watch the hard hitting investigation

How safe are Londons minicabs?

    

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