Better off to arrive home poorer but safe, than better off and abused...by Marc Turner.

The Dads Defending Daughters group -who campaign for the safety of loved ones during these dangerous and lawless times- brought this sorry account, involving trade stalwart and Mayfair Mob dependable 'Benidorm' Dave, to my attention.

Saturday before last, whilst ranked in Brewer Street, a lone distressed tearful female ran to his cab. Upon entering she shrieked "please lock the doors driver". Dave locked the door and asked her why she was so distressed. 

She explained, that having become separated from her friends, with a powerless mobile, she found herself cashless, needing to get home to Kent. 

She was approached by a man in a car, carrying TFL Private Hire identification, purporting to be a Taxi driver. "Taxi Lady?" he said " where you trying to get to". 

On enquiring his price, he replied with (what nobody expects or deserves to hear)...."OK we can get there then go somewhere private and have a good time together".

Realising he was eluding to 'payment in kind', she exited the scene smartish, leaving this sexual predator sitting in his TFL roundeled car. Luckily, she found 'gallant' Dave on point of the Brewer Street Taxi rank.

Dave managed to calm her down and drove her to her home near Gravesend, where she was able to pay him the fare by credit card.

She spoke of hearing previously from friends, of such advances by touting PH drivers, but never thought it would happen to her.

So questions beg:

Where are the Police?

Where are CEO's? 

Where is enforcement of any shape or form?

Transport for London, sell 125,000 licences over a 3 year period, raking in a cool £37,500,000 in fees. Surely they should be providing a better standard of public protection from sexual predators....New York has an army of 800 Taxi inspectors enforcing their regulations 24/7. 

Where is TfLs enforcement ???

A dozen night time compliance officers hiding in bus shelters, doing two shifts a week is not good enough.

  

    

TfL, you put these PHVs on our streets, it's your job to enforce and protect the public.

 

Dave said the grateful damsel's parting remark was "Londons Taxis are the last and only 'bastion of sanctuary' out there".

Final words go to a recent passenger of mine..."Better off to arrive home poorer but safe, than better off and abused".

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Uber minicab seized in probe into 'religiously prejudiced death' of Scottish shopkeeper.

The Uber-branded cab is seized from within the police cordon in Glasgow

A Bradford-registered cab has been seized by police investigating the death of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah - who was stabbed after wishing friends a "very happy Easter".

The grey Volkswagen Passat mini-cab with Uber branding in the windscreen was parked opposite "man of peace" Mr Shah's shop in Glasgow, where he was killed just four hours after posting his Easter message to "my beloved Christian nation".

The vehicle - a private hire vehicle registered with Bradford Council, 200 miles from Glasgow - was within the police cordon set up at the crime scene and was removed by police forensic officers wearing white protective suits.

The forensic officers slowly drove a recovery truck into the cordon and winched the private hire saloon cab onto the back of it before driving away.

It's believed the vehicle, which is feared to have transported Mr Shah's killer to the scene, is now undergoing forensic testing.

The vehicle seizure happened at 2.30pm on Friday afternoon outside Mr Shah's shop on Minard Road in the Shawlands area of Glasgow but has only just come to light.

News of the seizure comes just hours after reports that Mr Shah's alleged killer had travelled to Scotland from Bradford. The suspect is understood to be from the Girlington area of the city.

An Uber spokesman said today that the car was registered to a private hire cab driver in Bradford who last used the Uber app on Monday, March 21.

The spokesman said the car had not been used for any Uber trips in Glasgow and said any driver given a private hire licence by Bradford City Council had to pass enhanced DBS disclosure tests.

Police Scotland today refused to comment on the seizure of the vehicle.

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: “It is a Police Scotland investigation but they have been liaising with senior officers in Bradford about the community impact.”

Meanwhile a crowdfunding site set up to raise money for Mr Shah's family has reached £70,000 thanks to donations from across Britain and further afield.

Police said on Friday that Mr Shah's death was being treated as "religiously prejudiced".

Mr Shah was a member of the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam which preaches peace and tolerance towards other religions. 

Speaking today, Dr Mohammed Iqbal, President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Bradford, said: "I feel very sad for the victim and his family, for our Ahmadiyya community because we know we face these dangers and for Bradford.

"It is a tragedy not just for those directly involved but also for the wider community because it will bring negativity to Bradford which we don’t want."

Dr Bary Malik, also from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Bradford, said sympathies had been sent to Mr Shah’s family.

He said he was a friend of the victim and had got to know him from time spent in Rabwah in Pakistan, where the shopkeeper had been born.

He said: “I know the man and his family. He was very well-known. Of course we have sent our sympathies from here in Bradford."

He said it was "sad" that such an incident had happened and added that the fact the death was being treated as religiously motivated made it "even more tragic."

He said: "We hope that justice will be done soon.”

Police have arrested a 32-year-old Muslim man belonging to the Sunni sect over the death. The man will appear in court in Glasgow tomorrow (Tuesday).

Just hours before he died, popular Mr Shah had taken to Facebook to say: "Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation."

And he added: "Let's follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ and get the real success in both worlds."

In previous posts, he spoke out against violence and hatred and called for "unconditional real love for all mankind".

Mr Shah's family revealed today that they now fear for their lives following his death, which has caused widespread anger and grief.

Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, said: “Hatred is hatred, and there is no room for people who expect tolerance and respect for their religion but do not think they should give it to others.

“I am absolutely appalled, I have spoken to the Council of Mosques and will be speaking to other people about it, and I will be putting out further statements.

“I had heard rumours the man was from Bradford but I had no idea he was from my constituency."

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Serving Female Police Constable Finds That £1,150, Is The Price Of Bilking A London Taxi.

PC Nicola Elston, a serving Metropolitan Police officer attached to Lambeth borough, has been ordered to pay £1,150 after a jury found her guilty of jumping out of a taxi in Croydon without paying .

PC Nicola Elston, 28, a serving Metropolitan Police officer attached to Lambeth borough, was found guilty following a three-day trial at Southwark Crown Court.

The jury found her guilty of making off without payment of a taxi fare in Croydon on June 27.  The driver alleged that when he tried to detain her she assaulted him, but the jury found her not guilty of assault. 

The WPC elected to have her case heard in a crown court and had pleaded not guilty to both offences.

PC Elston was sentenced to a £150 fine and £1,000 costs.

A Met spokesman said the officer's duties remain restricted. He went on to say, "Now that the criminal proceedings have been completed, we will be able to complete our misconduct process".

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Journalist For The Independent, Anna Rhodes, Doesn't Read Her Own Headlines.

Anna Rhodes, journalist for the Independent news paper has made quite an insulting statement in the paper this weekend. She said 

Let’s take a second to review the situation here -  black cab prices in London are extortionate. To take a journey from Covent Garden to Bethnal Green, you’re looking at racking up a fare of around £30 if you’re lucky (I speak from my own experience). This fare price is cut by a third when travelling in an Uber.

The reason Uber is so popular with Londoners is that it is cheap, cheerful – and safe. 

Looks like Anna doesn't read her own headlines. 

We have all seen the thousands of photos and videos of Uber crashes as their drivers take their eyes off the road to look at their phones and sat navs. Who can forget this one, where prince Harry's outrider was hit by an Uber car who pulled straight out of a side road without looking. 

Just over two weeks ago, the trade was shocked by the horrific death of a young toddler as an Uber driver ploughed into his buggy. 

Then earlier this week, just a few hundred yards from the death crash, a Chinese couple were mowed down by another Uber driver, outside the Albert Hall.

And to day, I've been sent this harrowing tale from a young lady from Leeds who's friend was the victim of an attacked by another Uber driver. Read her story below.

Dear Taxi Leaks, not sure if I can post this on here so let me know if not.

Today 26/03/2016 

My friend Rachel was out on her motorbike at work (Food delivery) in Leeds City Centre She came to a motorbike parking bay next to the Merion Centre  and a Uber Taxi was parked in the bay. She asked the driver to move out of the bay as its motorbikes only. The driver got out of the car and continuously punched my friend even when on the floor covered in blood.

This is absolutely outrageous ! Is this the type of drivers Uber hire ? They already have terrible rep when it comes to been absolute menaces on the road but to attack a member of public like that is out of order. My friend is in the hospital and her nose is bust up pretty bad but The driver is now in custody thankfully. Apparently their was about 20 witnesses around the area and someone managed to record the incident. 

Please share this all over Facebook. Uber need to give answers about this ! 

Uber number 2094 reg plate AK60 FPT. 

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Knowledge Students Statistics, Supplied By TfLTPH.

With thanks to Les Hoath 

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Good first step Wes. ..... By I'm Spartacus.

Earlier this week we had Wes Streeting MP for Ilford North introduce a 10 Minute Rule Bill.

For those of us not up to speed on the ins and outs of the Luddite procedures of Parliament, these bills (proposed acts of Parliament) are usually introduced to give publicity for a particular issue, the MP has to speak for 10 minutes and then a vote is taken (that's called the first reading) and if voted Aye as opposed to Noe (see what I man about Luddite) it proceeds to a second reading, they are usually opposed by the government but every now and then they do become law.

So let's look at  Wes is proposing in outline:

English Language Tests for PH, Realistic insurance, Stronger PH Topo testing, taxation rules.

All good stuff, well maybe but no doubt some of the 250k PR budget of uber will be 'persuading' opponents in the house to fight it all the way, they don't want any regulation here or anyone else.

Osborne, Javid and Cameron are already in the tax avoiding rule breakers hutch, but it only takes 12 fair minded patriotic Tory M.P.'s to stand up and be counted, sorry 13 as Ian Austin Labour MP is already in the uber camp.

We await, but why oh why Wes did you not take this opportunity to define Plying for Hire? 
That could have dealt with the illegality of exhibition and availability of an on screen picture and a meaningful pre booking interval, maybe if it gets that far someone will introduce it as an amendment to the Act, some of us will be proposing that.

Expect those who wish to see us gone move heaven and earth against us, that probably includes TfL!

As Mr Al Fayed of Harrods fame once said 'you can 'hire' an MP as easy as walking out of the store and hailing a cab.

So Wes and co. Let's prove for once that he was wrong about the first part so the second part can carry on.

On behalf of us, the wheelchair users, tourists, those without smartphones or postcodes, those who wish a tour or want to avoid a jam, the hard of hearing or poor sighted, those without credit cards, they need taxis, they need expert drivers with real skill, they NEED us.

Stand strong.

I'm Spartacus

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Despite A Rise In Reported Incidents, British Transport Police Are To Axe Sex Crime Unit.

A high-profile police unit that investigates sexual offences on the Tube and railways is set to be disbanded.

The specialist crime team was created by the British Transport Police to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport such as groping. 

It had officers who actively searched for offenders on the capital’s transport network.

The move comes despite figures showing a huge rise in the number of crimes being reported.

Between last April and December there were 1,603 reports of sex offences on the Tube, trains and buses in London, compared with 1,117 for the period the previous year — an increase of 43.5 per cent.

Last month, Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan urged the BTP to crack down on groping as a top priority.

The unit is being axed as part of a structural review by the BTP, which will also see the team handling assaults against Transport for London staff scrapped.

Two specialist crime teams will remain in London, covering theft of passengers’ property and bikes.

Editorial Comment:

As we look forward to the 24hr night tube, it's comforting to know that although your mother, wife, daughter, sister, may be at risk to a sex attacker on the tube, at least your bicycle will be safe! 

             Just visualise the phone call:

"Hello, is that the police....I've just been raped on the Piccadilly line"

"Sorry Madam, nothing we can do, budget cuts"

"But he escaped on my bicycle"

"Stay where you are miss, we have an armed response unit on its way"

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