TfL Press Release : Important changes to Private Hire Regulation.

There are important regulatory changes that private hire operators, drivers and registered keepers of private hire vehicles are required to make over the coming weeks and months. 

These changes, which were approved by the Transport for London (TfL) board on 18 March 2016, are being made to raise standards in London’s private hire industry - improving safety and convenience for customers. 

The majority of the changes to the regulations will come into effect on Monday 27 June 2016 for new private hire licence applicants. However, existing licensees have been given more time to prepare for some of the more significant changes. It is vital that you prepare now. 

Please take the time to read the information in our notice – and the more detailed information at http://ift.tt/1WSAprX - carefully. 

One of the first changes, which comes into effect for existing licensees on 11 July, requires all private hire vehicles in London to have hire and reward insurance in place both at the point they are licensed and for the entire time the vehicle is licensed - including when the vehicle is not in use as a private hire vehicle. Details of that insurance must be carried or displayed in the private hire vehicle at all times while the vehicle is licensed as a private hire vehicle. 

Licensing action will be taken in cases where licensees are found not to be compliant with regulations. 

I will also be writing to you separately, by post, to advise you of these changes.  

Yours sincerely,  

Helen Chapman
General Manager, London Taxi and Private Hire  

Extra Comment from Tom Scullion:

At first glance the long awaiting changes to the private hire regulations look encouraging.

The salient points in brief:

As from 27 June all new applicants or renewal must have hire and reward insurance in their cars at all times

From 1 October existing will have to comply I don't understand why the existing drivers have this grace period maybe a legal notice period.

English language requirement for all new driver applicants by 1 October 2016 to B1 level standard

http://ift.tt/1tuE4jd

National insurance details by 1 October 2016

Private hire operators new operators must provide a booking confirmation to the passenger before their journey starts via email, SMS and MMS and text.

With the vehicle registration

Drivers first name

Drivers PHV number

Photo of driver

Provision of contact facilities

This require new operators to have a call centre 24/7 or the operating times of business this is to allow customers to telephone a call centre and speak with an operator in a London based operating centre to resolve passengers queries, complaints, lost property etc. serious and urgent issues should be reported to the police. A SME call centre would have at least 40 operators per shift at any given time 

or shift for larger companies with much more customers the number of call takers could run into the hundreds per shift.

Changes to private hire operating model 

Any changes to the operating model must be reported to Tfl.

Basic disclosure check for some staff

If staff who have face to face contact it's the public in a mini van office for example must have proof of a Basic disclosure check.

Uploading driver and vehicle details to Tfl 

As from 11 July 2016 new and existing operators must email all driver and vehicle details to Tfl.

Record keeping 

Extended from 6 months to a year.

Other requirements

Operators must provide their customers with an accurate fare estimate or set price before the journey starts could this stop surge pricing ? Operators must record the main destination before the journey starts.

These new regulations are welcome and far reaching it currently doesn't cover the massive problem with identity fraud the easiest way to address is fingerprinting for every Taxi and PHV driver. Also PHV drivers licensed with EU drivers licenses what would happen if we were to leave the EU? Advanced driving test here in the UK should also be considered. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sadiq Khan, Caroline Pigeon and Val shawcross for keeping to their word and address the long overdue reform of the private hire regulations.

Tom Scullion.

Editorial Comment: 

Let's get one thing straight. These may have the appearance of new regulations, but it's not new legislation. TfL have always been able to enforce these regulations under existing legislation. But on the watch of Leon Daniels, Garrett Emmerson, John Mason, Peter Blake and Helen Chapman, they just chose not to. 

As far as these new regulations are concerned:

• The RMT London Taxi Branch were on this case in 2009, seven years ago but were excluded from the United Trade Group meetings by the LTDA, LCDC and Unite. TfL wouldn't meaningfully engage with any Taxi group or Union outside the UTG.

• The United Cabbies Group have been calling for these changes over the past eighteen month, but again were also excluded from the UTG, even though they were the second largest legitimate Taxi representative group. 

After just one meeting with the new deputy mayor, the UCG were able to get the engagement policy torn up. With the new broom sweeping clean, many of the old ways are about to change.

Unfortunately, the implementation of this new batch of regulations come too late for many Taxi drivers, some of whom have lost their vehicles, lost their homes, lost their marriages, with many leaving the trader altogether. We've even had suburban drivers who have been in such a sorry state, they have taken their own lives.

WHY have we had to wait so long under the United Trade Groups's representation, for TfL to do the job our licence fee pays them to do?

It's scandalous. 

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The Sean Paul Day Interviews From Russell Square.

The election will be at the next LTDA branch meeting on Tuesday, 21st June, 7pm at Newman Catholic College, Harlesden Road, NW10 3RN. 

I implore all LTDA members to attend the meeting and effect change, as the vote will be taken from those in the hall.

   

Paul Harris is one of the nominees standing for election as Chairman of the LTDA (Northern Branch).

So if you are a member of the LTDA and want a say in the future course of the Northern Branch, then please attend the meeting.

You can't moan if you're not prepared to shape trade democracy. 

   

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Minicab Driver Walks Free After Despicable Sex Assault On Female Passenger.

A minicab driver has been spared jail after being found guilty of a “despicable” sexual assault on a female passenger.

Sothisundaram Soorriyakumaran, 50, picked up the 28-year-old victim from a pub in Pimlico last July and she got into the back seat of his vehicle.

The victim asked Soorriyakumaran if she could play her own music through the stereo and she got into the front of the car in Old Kent Road to do so.

The driver leaned over and began to touch her before removing his hand and driving off as if nothing had happened.

Soorriyakumaran, of Varley Parade, Barnet, stopped the car again and leaned in to the victim before she shouted at him to stop.

After apologising and saying the victim misunderstood, he asked for her phone number.

The woman gave him a fake number and called police immediately after she was dropped at the end of her road.

The Met’s Cab Enforcement Unit investigated and arrested Soorriyakumaran in Barnet on August 5.

He was charged with sexual assault and pleaded not guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on June 9.

He was later found guilty and was handed a 15 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at the same court on June 14.

Soorriyakumaran was also ordered to carried out 100 hours of unpaid work, handed a 60 day rehabilitation order and was placed on the sex offenders’ programme for 100 days.

He also has to wear an electronic tag with a curfew for 60 day, was given a sexual harm prevention order which stops him from working as a private hire vehicle driver and was ordered to pay £3,500 court costs and £1,000 to the victim.

Detective Superintendent Adnan Qureshi, of the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: "This was an excellent result, which has seen a perpetrator of a despicable, sexually motivated offence receive a very robust and restricting sentence.

“I urge anyone who experiences any kind of assault or unwanted sexual behaviour to report it to police immediately.”

Steve Burton, TfL’s director of enforcement and on-street operations, said: “We take any report of sexual offence extremely seriously and push for the strongest penalties for any driver caught.”

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Dads Defending Daughters Call Off Demo, Out Of Respect To The Family Of Murdered Labour MP Jo Cox

Hats off to Dads Defending Daughters who have called off their proposed demonstration in Parliament square, which was set to take place this afternoon. After a meeting last night, the organisers, felt that the media would have been outraged at the taxi trade for protesting at this sad time. 

Dads Defending Daughters have today put out this statement: 

As some of you were aware, Dads Defending Daughters was planning a peaceful protest on all four sides of Parliament Square today (Friday).

With sincere respect to the family of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, and with heartfelt condolences to her two young children, we felt it would be insensitive to stage a protest during this time of national mourning.

The unofficial gathering is officially off.

God bless,

RIP Jo Cox

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LTDA To Hold Elections At Northern Branch Meeting Tuesday 21st June.

An animated Sean Paul Day interviews Paul Harris, one of the nominees for the position of LTDA Branch Chairman.

The election will be at the next LTDA branch meeting on Tuesday, 21st June, 7pm at Newman Catholic College, Harlesden Road, NW10 3RN. 

I implore all LTDA members to attend the meeting and effect change, as the vote will be taken from those in the hall.

On the set of 'when Sean met Paul' a London Taxi Radio Production. 

Paul Harris is one of the nominees standing for election as Chairman of the LTDA (Northern Branch).

So if you are a member of the LTDA and want a say in the future course of the Northern Branch, then please attend the meeting.

You can't moan if you're not prepared to shape trade democracy. 

     

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How Can TFL Allow UberPool To Continue? ... by Jim Thomas.

A few months ago, Taxi Leaks asked on the TfLTPH Twitter account if they could give a link to the legislation that allows Uber to operate it's new ride sharing Uberpool service, attached to their smartphone app.

In typical TfL style, I got no reply. 

A reply was finally given to another driver, although not as comprehensive as we would've liked.

In reply LTPH said that the transport Act 85 permits ride sharing.....Unfortunately, they failed to point out that there are certain conditions which have to be adhered to with private hire undertaking shared rides with individual payments:

Taken from the transport act 1985 on line

The conditions state quiet clearly:

2)The conditions are that—

(a)all the passengers carried on the occasion in question booked their journeys in advance; and

(b)each of them consented, when booking journey, to sharing the use of the vehicle on that occasion with others on the basis that a separate fare would be payable by each passenger for his own journey on that occasion.

TfLTPH's Twitter account completely ignores this and have posted a tweet referring to the fact that UberPool only use licensed private hire vehicles and require the specific consent of each customer involved.

We repeated the statement that each customer needs to be "pre-booked" and give their consent, we got this reply.

AND YET, THIS IS WHAT UBER TELL PASSENGERS

Then we had Managing Director Leon Daniels, educating Uber’s CEO how to circumvent the legislation telling her she shouldn't be putting this information out on Twitter

 

It's just like when Admiral Lord Nelson put his patch over his good eye and said the immortal words "I see no ships".

Uber have stated on numerous occasions, that they don't do pre bookings and in the recent Uberpool case where a young lady was assaulted by two male passengers, it transpired no one in the vehicle had ordered an Uberpool journey. It's alleged that this has become common practise as the journey is more expensive and the company draws a larger commission from the driver than single pick up journeys.  

Again we see Uber contravening regulations that should see their licence revoked, but TfL turn a blind eye and have bent over backwards to justify the fact that they licensed Uber in 2012 knowing full well they didn't comply with all the requirements necessary at that time. 

a) Uber have never taken pre booking

b) Initially Uber never had a landline for bookings, a requirement under the PHV act 1998.

TfL however continue to lie about the situation by repeatingly putting out this tweet:

 Questions that need to be answered:

Why are our orgs allowing this behaviour to go unchallenged?

Why are they not protecting the working practises of the drivers from whom they take money in the form of subscriptions?

In 2012 our representative orgs sat back and did nothing about a PH company who was illegally issued with 12 licence variations (satellite office licenses), the same week they were licensed as an operator, without first waiting the require 12 months from initial licensing as an operator. 

This same company is now allowed by TfL, to turn up at certain venues around the city of London and set up private hire ranks, fed work by openly touting clipboard men. 

Old Billingsgate, RD2 cars allowed by TfL to form rank and wait to be hired. 

TfL and their compliance teams always turn a blind eye to this particular operator, as it would seem, do our representative orgs. 

They can't even say they didn't know about this issue, because Taxi Leaks has informed them on many occasions.

Unless our orgs get off their backsides and start taking TfL to task, then the whole future of Licensed Taxis in London is in danger of dying out.

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Jo Bertram Quits Twitter, Over Alleged Abuse From Taxi Drivers.

Uber’s UK boss claims she's been forced to quit Twitter after being bombarded with sexist and abusive messages from taxi drivers. Bertram claimed the attacks have included one angry cabbie saying he hoped she would “get run over by a Toyota Prius”, while others have criticised her appearance including one who said she looked like Jimmy Savile. 

How terrible! But not quite as life shattering as some young ladies, who have been sexually attacked and raped by Ms Bertram's Uber drivers!

The executive, who is in charge of the minicab app across the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, spoke about the abuse today at a “powerful women” conference being held in central London. Funny though, she never spoke about the abused of the 32 victims included in the freedom of information request, plastered over the add van, seen nightly around central London!

Ms Bertram told the Fortune Most Powerful Women event at Holborn’s Rosewood Hotel that she now gets staff to check her Twitter account as she cannot face logging into it herself. 

She was quoted as telling the audience: “If you are going to make changes there is always going to be someone who doesn’t like that change.” The biggest change in her industry is the increase of over 50% in incidents of minicab driver related rape and serious sexual assaults, reaching a record high of 154 from February 2015 to February 2016. 

She added: “Unfortunately it is probably a small group who are not representative of the group at large or the industry at large but it is important to remember that it is not personal.”

Perhaps Jo would now like to address another group of invited guests at a lavish sponsored evening at the Rosewood Hotel, namely the victims and close family members who were raped and sexual assaulted by her drivers. Perhaps she can explain what she means by the term "collateral damage".

Uber has faced frequent criticism from London’s black cab drivers, with many blaming the mobile phone app for harming business and increasing congestion on the capital’s roads.

It's clear as day that this latest stage manager speech from Ms Bertram is purely a PR exercise. It come a day after one of the firm’s own drivers called for UberPool service to be banned, after a young lady passengers was attacked by two male passengers who did not want to share their journey. 

Instead of quitting Twitter over a few tweets, perhaps Jo should consider quitting Uber over her companies woeful recorded on passenger sexual attacks.

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