Letter To Baroness Kramer, From Chair Of ALPHA : Re The Taxi Deregulation Act 2015

For those unaware, a quick reminder of who Baroness Kramer is. 

Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer, (née Richards; born Holdorn London, 21 July 1950) is a Liberal Democrat politician. 

Member of Parliament, Richmond Park, from 2005 to 2010.

Prior to that having a career in infrastructure finance and in 2000 having been a candidate in the London Mayoral Ellection.

Lady Kramer began her career in finance. She rose to become a Vice-President of Citibank in Chicago. She and her late husband then set up Infrastructure Capital Partners, a firm which advises on infrastructure projects, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. Its alleged she still remains a director of the firm.

As patron of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust Lady Kramer should be well aware of the recent record high number of sexual assaults recorded in London minicabs made public recently by Freedom of Information Request to the Met Police.

See previous Taxi Leaks article about Baroness Kramer and Taxi and Private Hire deregulation 2014.  >CLICK HERE<.

Letter below is from Lee Ward Chair of ALPHA.

Dear Lady Kramer

After reading the arguments for and against the deregulation of the taxi industry and more importantly the cross border hiring or sub contracting, I wish to ask you what the intention of this amendment was.

i have read the notes from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords on this matter and I have taken note of the examples that you gave during this debate. My question is this;

Did the change in law take into account that a company such as Uber (but other companies now do the same) take a booking in, for example my home town of Sheffield, and give it to the nearest Uber driver that is vacant and waiting for a job regardless of the authority that this said driver is licensed by, or was it so that a company could take a booking because the person booking trusted that company and was happy for that company to deal with such booking when the person was in an area that the trusted company did not have any vehicles or actually covered work wise?

You see the problem is, that we as a trade see a massive loophole within the industry, one that puts serious issues on public safety. As I have referred to just now, Uber take a booking and pass it to the nearest driver regardless of how many drivers are sat waiting to take work that are licensed in the area. These vehicles can not be stopped and checked or even questioned by the local authority in the area that they are working in, how can we ensure that the person driving is the person licensed and insured? we can not.

I now make reference to your speech within the House with regards to this issue as follows;

"I was in Gloucestershire and going to visit an elderly friend in a nursing home. I got to the station and there was no one around. I looked at the board and started calling taxi firms and car hire firms and not one could supply a car."

As the then Minister for Transport, I can not understand why you did not look at the place that this train station was and not pre empt any transport issues that you may encounter.

"We are often concerned about young people out late at night who try to find a taxi to take them home safely. In that situation, we do not want them having to track down one company after another. They should be able to call an operator who they have confidence in who can find them a taxi, even if it is subcontracted from out of area."

Does this really happen now, where the company that they book with sends a vehicle licensed sometimes up to 200 mile away to collect them and take them to their destination (who can not be spot checked by the local licensing officers), while locally licensed drivers are sat about waiting for a job?

 

"Most car hire companies have a limited number of wheelchair-accessible vehicles and there may be circumstances where a disabled person needs to travel in a particular kind of vehicle. It is all very well to say that disabled people need to make advance bookings, but I want people with disabilities to be able to live their lives as freely as the rest of us can and not always have to think about things in advance—or, frankly, have to do without. We have a mechanism here which gives an operator the scope to reach out of area and subcontract to someone else who has a wheelchair-accessible vehicle to meet a need. That is exceedingly beneficial."

Does Uber even have wheelchair access vehicles, let alone take advance bookings for these people?

"I want to make it clear that the initial operator who takes a call and makes a booking remains liable to the passenger who made the booking. He is the person with whom the contract has been established. If someone chooses to call a particular operator, that operator retains the liability for the subcontractor, so the terms and conditions, the recording of the booking and the fare, if it has been agreed, all remain with the operator who the customer has contacted."

I will now show you what Uber's Terms and Conditions are with regards to their acceptance of liability for sub contracting bookings (even if they do sub contract to themselves)

UBER MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE REGARDING THE RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES OR ANY SERVICES OR GOODS REQUESTED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. UBER DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE QUALITY, SUITABILITY, SAFETY OR ABILITY OF THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS.

I guess they think otherwise, dont you?

This email could go on for much longer, but I think I will leave you with this summery to ponder before you reply.

The Deregulation Act of 2015 has done nothing for the Private Hire industry across the UK, if anywhere. The reasons and arguments from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords are so flawed that it is quite apparent that no imput from the industry was taken into account, or even requested.

My final request from your self is that you reply to this email with good faith so that I can post your reply to the drivers (as I will post this email awaiting your reply) who work long and hard to make a living across this country at hours that people seldom relate to, ensuring that the public of this great country get home safe and soundly.

Yours sincerely

Lee Ward

ALPHA Chairman

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New Mercedes Vito Euro 6 To Preview 23rd May 2016.

Breaking News Today, there is to be a preview of the new Mercedes Vito Taxi, Euro 6 on the 23rd May 2016. 

Trade reps from around the country will be meeting with Mercedes-Benz & Penso to see & discuss the new Euro6 Vito taxi coming soon.

There are strong rumours that this vehicle will be priced very close to LTI's TX4 euro 6 model.

Here is a sneak view of the new model.

Looks very nice, but with the trades future looking bleaker as the weeks roll on, will drivers be able to make this type of investment in a new vehicle.

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Signs Installed Across Birmingham City Centre To Warn Illegal Minicab drivers

 

"We would always urge passengers to book their journey or make sure they use a properly licensed cab." 

– ENFORCEMENT OFFICER PC DAVE HUMPHERSON, FROM WEST MIDLANDS POLICE

Minicab drivers who operate illegally in Birmingham are being warned they will be caught and face prosecution.

New signs have been installed across Birmingham's city centre, reminding minicab drivers against breaking the law by touting for on-street business, a specific offence known in the trade as ’plying.'

Almost 50 rogue drivers were found illegally picking up people in the city during the last 18 months as part of a crackdown.

Warning signs informing plyers  CCTV is in operation have been erected around the city centre. The 100 reflective signs have been put near prominent entertainment spots including: 

• Broad Street
• Hurst Street 
• Ladywell Walk

Offenders face penalty points, hefty court fines and being struck off the council’s books.

West Midlands Police works in partnership with Birmingham City Council’s licensing team to tackle illegal plying for hire.

People who accept unbooked lifts from private hire drivers are not insured in the event of being injured in an accident; only Hackney Carriage vehicles can take fares without being booked in advance

These signs leave no excuses for rogue drivers, if they illegally ply for hire they will be caught.

The majority operate legitimately but there are those who seek to take advantage and make extra cash. Some drivers will use weak excuses such as giving a friend a lift home yet are unable to provide their name or address.

We have seen drivers given six to nine points on their licence along with some drivers being disqualified from driving. One driver was left with a court bill of £1,800. 

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Leon Daniels Calls Urgent Meeting With Taxi Trade Orgs.

We received information last night from an extremely reliable source, that Leon Daniels is calling an urgent meeting with all trade orgs for later this morning ! 

Our source states all trade orgs, but what they actually mean is, only those trade orgs whom TfL allow to sit at their table. 

The UCG, HADTU, and the Suburban Drivers Alliance, of course are excluded. 

Recently, there has now been a wealth of information made public, which appears to have put Managing Director Leon Daniels' future with TfL in a precarious position. This morning's meeting looks to all intent and purpose to be an eleventh hour bid to pour calming oil on the troubled waters. 

Let's hope those attending will insist that minutes of this meeting and any future meeting with TfL be made available to the whole trade, soon after the meeting. 

Drivers from all orgs and unions are calling for the current unfair exclusions, to be dropped as soon as possible by new Mayor Sadiq Khan. For too long, TfL officials have been able to choose which factions of the trade they meet, with more militant groups left out in the cold. 

Inclusion to the Cabbies Cabinet has been used as a bargaining tool and held over the heads of the United trade group member orgs, for too long, seemingly giving TfL the edge at face to face consultations.

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ABSOLUTE POWER, RACE TO THE BOTTOM....By Lenny Etheridge.

We are in the midst of a recession. "No shit, Sherlock."
This recession bitterly affects the working class.

For years now this recession has seen the rich get richer and the poor become enslaved.
Economists say, if you can see a city skyline full of cranes, there is no spare cash.

The wealthy have stuck everything into huge enterprises, and they need every bit of cash they can put their hands on; and that includes ours.

The new Mayor has an insurmountable task ahead of him.

London is no longer a desirable destination.
It is choking under extreme pollution. And its arteries are clogged with unnecessary Private Hire minicabs and empty Buses.

The Buses are empty because, like all vehicles, they cannot move on the ever shrinking, overpopulated roads. Overpopulated because the previous Mayor refused to cap Transport for London's little earner (minicabs).

Who wants to sit on a bus, watching the world walk by?
And shrinking because the previous Mayor wanted to build a playground for bikes.

These spacious Cycle Super Highways are built, not for safety, but for speed. They are so big, Uber drivers often mistake them for roads. Who in their right mind would come to a city voted the most congested in the world?

Where you are forced to pay tax (Congestion Charge) for the privilege of sitting in an ever increasing meander of single lane traffic, which was caused by the very same shysters who levy the very same tax.

Once you finally get to your destination, you are then expected to pay four pounds an hour to park. No wonder people prefer to shop in Bluewater, Lakeside and anywhere else they can move freely without getting ripped off.

 

 
Yet the powers that be, think they can solve problems of overcrowding and pollution by pedestrianising areas like Oxford Street.

Really? 

And where do they think the inordinate amount of buses would go? 

The narrow backstreets of Britain's former shopping Mecca?
Is it now time for a London Mayor to stop listening to unelected quangos of self interested big businessmen and women, and listen to real Londoners?
Listening to Londoners who are at the sharp end of his decisions.

If you have not yet guessed, I am a Licensed London Taxi Driver. I openly admit my interests - unlike the conflicted board of TfL.
Like most Licensed London Taxi Drivers, I am not a Luddite. I have been accepting card payments for over a decade, on radio circuits and apps, long before Uber slithered into town.

The previous Mayor, Boris Johnson is a pathological liar. He lied to his wife, his employers, his constituents, the people of London, and his colleagues.

That man was born with a silver fork in his mouth.
He claimed he could not cap Private Hire minicab licenses, when it was well within his power to do so. His open contempt for Taxis is well documented.

I have to laugh when I look back to when 'Luddite' Taxi drivers were vilified by the media for behaving "outrageously" during one of Johnson's pantomimes at City Hall.

Has no one witnessed the pack behaviour of our honourable Members of Parliament during PMQ?
It did not help matters when one of our trade bodies apologised on our behalf. For what? For witnessing first hand Johnson's contempt for the questions put by Val Shawcross and Caroline Pidgeon?

Or when a member of the public (not a Licensed London Taxi Driver) pushed a security guard over?

No I do not apologise for anything that day. In fact I look back on our 'off the cuff' ten mile march in the rain, with pride.

 

Too long now the Taxi trade's representatives have been cozying up to the very people who are deregulating our trade.
History tells us that greed and corruption has always been part of any system.
Good men get assassinated whilst bad men fake their own deaths.

Who would have thought, pre Savile, that the BBC was a corrupt government tool?

From distorting information about the Miners Strike to suppressing rape and sexual assault in TfL licensed Private Hire minicabs.
Who would have guessed that two young, seemingly clean cut, up and coming political lightweights, like Dave and his afterbirth George, would go on to out-Thatcher Thatcher, and out-brazen Blair?

   
"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
We have a situation where the Prime Minister orders the Mayor of London, according to Boris Johnson, to "Leave Uber alone." And where the Chancellor of the Exchequer lobbies the Mayor, on behalf of Uber.

We have 10 and 11 Downing Street favouring Uber, an American company, based in the Netherlands, who pay no Corporate Tax, whose 'drivers' get Income Support from the British taxpayer. All at the expense of London's iconic Licensed Taxi trade, who pay their taxes and do everything asked of them. They study the Knowledge of London for four years, pass an advanced driving test, pass a rigorous medical examination, are vetted by the police, drive an expensive purpose built vehicle, and have their fares set by TfL.

Four average Taxi drivers pay more tax than Uber UK.

TfL have been coerced by the Butch & Sundance of Downing Street, to allow illegal and immoral practices to take place, in favour of a freeloading American company.

TfL's Managing Director; Leon Daniels spends time, when he is not busy lying on Uber's behalf to the GLA, coaching Jo Bertram; General Manager of Uber UK, on how to get around various stipulations and requirements.

Courts are being told that an instrument which measures time and distance, is not a meter. Then what is it?

TfL state that an App which acts like a virtual binoculars, showing minicabs on a street nearby, with a customer choosing a minicab from that street, is not hailing.

TfL also state that when the customer presses the button of their App to instantly 'hire' a minicab, it is not 'instant', but 'pre booked'.
Let me ask you this - if a man decides at exactly 10am, to set his alarm clock to go off at exactly 10am; is that preset?

The answer is, no. And neither is an Uber journey pre booked. It is an immediate hail.
The minicab driver accepts the job, and is instantly hired.

TfL are churning out seven hundred Private Hire licenses every week, to satisfy Uber's appetite.
TfL are licensing Private Hire minicab drivers, without a full background check. Applicants relatively new to Britain, are having allowances made for them.

Other countries, including European countries, do not keep certain records on their systems forever.
Common sense tells us we must be able to check someone's background, within our own system, for a minimum of five years. Especially when the applicant is left alone with vulnerable customers, such as children and lone females.

TfL's requirements for a Private Hire license, is not good enough for the citizens of this country.
Contrary to popular belief in Downing Street, we are not plebs, we are people. Our daughters, mothers, sisters and wives, deserve better.

From their first application to their passing of the Knowledge, their advanced driving test, and receiving the coveted Green Badge, the applicant is looking at the best part of five years before they are deemed fit be a London Taxi driver.

When the London Taxi driver renews his Bill (license) every three years, the DBS process takes around four months.

Yet a Private Hire Roundel can be acquired within a day. By pumping out seven hundred Private Hire minicab licences a week, TfL cannot possibly be processing PH applications as stringently as Public Safety requires.

Our 'Owners' have always wanted more for themselves and less for us. Yet nowadays they cannot be asked to sugarcoat it.
What should do we do? Passively give in?

I firmly believe that in any fight, win or lose, hurt your opponent so badly, the bully will think twice before he comes back for more.
Uber bullies have all the money, the big name backers, professional lobbyists, and a huge amount of MPs in their pocket.

We have MPs calling, not for Uber to toe the public safety line, or to up its standards, but for Taxis to be deregulated and for our standards to drop, to meet the substandard Uber free-for-all.
Females are literally getting into a stranger's car, to satisfy investors' needs.

Big business and the media, especially the BBC, are turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the Private Hire minicab rape and sexual assault figures that have gone through the roof.

In essence, the money men do not care if our daughters are raped or abused, as long as their pockets are being stuffed with pieces of silver.
To 'bought and paid' officials, our raped and abused loved ones are but statistics, to be hidden away out of reach of the Freedom of Information Act.

Those who invest in and lobby for Uber, see victims' destroyed family members as acceptable collateral damage.
We the people do not count. We never have.
 
It is time for us to be heard.
We expect our new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to order an independent Public Enquiry into TfL's dealings with Uber, Boris Johnson and David Cameron.

We expect Peter Hendy, John Mason, Leon Daniels, Garrett Emmerson and the above main protagonists to be questioned on oath.
Something is rotten in the state of London, and we the people of London, demand answers.

Lenny Etheridge

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London Taxi Trade Take Veterans On Three Day Trip To Ypres For Emotional Ceremony

64 London taxi drivers, given their services for free to the Taxi Charity, also known as The London Taxi Benevolent Association For War Disabled and spent three days with 98 veterans in the town of Ypres.

Something you wouldn't have read in the main press, or seen on TV news channels last week.

Scores of London cabbies gave their time freely to transport war heroes to the battle fields of Belgium.

Now known by its Flemish name of Ieper, the town was called ‘Wipers' by the hundreds of thousands of British troops who were stationed in the region between 1914 - 18.

The highlight of the trip was a service at the Menin Gate memorial (Wednesday 11 May) where the last post is played every evening at 8pm. The names of the 54,332 British, Irish and Commonwealth men who fell in the region during WWI and have no known resting place are engraved on the monument.

Veterans and children from a school in Antwerp laid wreaths and were joined by the British Ambassador to Belgium, Alison Rose.

"I am so grateful to the Taxi Charity for organising this year's visit to Ypres for veterans and war disabled," said Ms Rose.

"It was my privilege to join the veterans, the cab drivers and the organisers yesterday evening at the daily commemoration under the Menin Gate, organised so faithfully by the people of Ieper. And today Ieper [Ypres] Barracks will host a military parade in honour of their visitors.

"Thank you, Taxi Charity for all you do to support those who have served and for helping us to remember those who did not come back."

The WWII war heroes, who hail from across London have also visited the Passchendaele Museum, commemorating the bloody Battle of Passchendaele (31 July - 6 November, 1917), the historic Cloth Hall and the Tyne Cot cemetery.

Taxi Charity Committee member, Paul Davis said: "All of our drivers are working cabbies who are giving up their time freely to pick up the vets from their homes across London and give them a memorable experience and the opportunity to pay their respects to those who tragically lost their lives on the WWI battlefields."

Honorary Chairman, Gary Belsey added: "We've had an amazing and emotional pilgrimage to honour those who paid the ultimate sacrifice."

Last year, the Taxi Charity organised a trip to Arnhem to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of The Netherlands and took an active role supporting and transporting veterans to the VE and VJ ceremonies.

Only licenced London taxi drivers can drive for the Taxi Charity and veterans take an active part throughout the year by collecting donations across the capital.

The charity counts Dame Vera Lynn and Joanna Lumley among its patrons.

 

Click here to view all the stunning photos from the Ypres trip on our Flickr channel.

Also see fantastic video 

https://t.co/n2iAuPvnnY

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Leon Daniels TfL, Send A Copy Of Graham's Email To Your MP

Please see copy of letter to my MP below  - please feel free to cut and paste and use as a template to send to your own MP.

 

Regards, 

Graham Waite. 

You can find your MP's email address by simply using Google search page.

Dear _ _ add your MP's name here.

I am a London taxi driver and have held a London taxi licence for over 36 years. My trade has been devastated by Uber who employ over 37,000 (rising by 600 a week) cheap labour to drive Private Hire Vehicles in London.

I have no problem with fair competition but Uber have circumnavigated all the rules demanded of PHV's with the collaboration of Leon Daniels who is TFL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport.

 

Leon Daniels has in his capacity as Managing Director of Surface Transport for TfL, approved and introduced measures that have brought London’s capital to a standstill, increasing congestion, increasing pollution, costing business and citizens millions of pounds.

He mislead the GLA Transport Committee by stating on record that Private Hire drivers do not need "full time" Hire and Reward insurance policies, that they can purchase "On-Off" Hire and Reward insurance (inferring that it is not necessary for TfL as the regulator to ensure all Private Hire Vehicles are continually insured correctly) See video.

https://youtu.be/R8RRW_0pgmo

The Association of British Insurers have confirmed, no such policy exists.

Leon Daniels stated publicly on record in the media that Uber were not using a taximeter to conduct business and then subsequently appointed QC Martin Chamberlain to uphold his view by failing to make the case properly.

Mr Daniels was later questioned by the GLA Transport Committee on record, as to why TfL hadn't insisted that Uber have a manned telephone line, as per the 1998 Private Hire act requires, to which he attempted to obfuscate the issue by telling the GLA committee that the wording of the act is vague and only means that an operator is required to have a land line telephone on the day the license is applied for.

Leon Daniels has now been found to have been in communication via email, assisting Uber UK to word their PR, advertising and complaint responses, so as to mislead the public and further blur the lines between Private Hire and Hackney Carriage and hence place public safety at risk. 

 

Taken from the front page of the Badge news paper.

I therefore request that you as my MP ask Sadiq Khan the new London Mayor, who has overall responsibility for TfL and it’s actions, to either confirm or deny if Mr Daniel’s has or has not been in direct contact with Uber regarding their responses to various bodies.

I am sure that you will agree, such behaviour if proven, would be in breach of his remit and could be construed as malfeasance and as such should trigger an investigation.

Yours sincerely, 

 

Add full name and full address.

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