Letter to Taxi Leaks From Tom Scullion

Even with the latest version of the PHV rules, TfL are allowing drivers to break the law.

Private hire cars or mini cabs must display the correct Hire and Reward insurance in their cars by law, passengers should always ask to see this policy before setting off in a mini cab.

Never get into a mini cab that has not been pre booked that's illegal. That rules out 75% of all their fares

Back in March "Motherboard" revealed that fully functioning Uber accounts were for sale on the dark web, thousands of customers personal details have been shared and sold onto hackers who steal from the customers personal accounts.

Surge pricing Uber can increase your fare by up to 10 times the normal rates.

Many mini cab drivers have never driven in the UK and can use their EU drivers License. 

Drivers are encouraged to work more than 80 hours per week here is the results of dangerous drivers.

Don't take a chance with your life always use the Worlds best Taxi service 

Free market sounds good to me, we could all sign up to "let's have it Cabs" work where you like anywhere in the UK drive what you like and charge what you like.

It is incredible that Tfl would even consider that a PHV driver could work for more than one company in London... But it goes further, they can work Gatwick, Stansted, Heathrow, Bristol on a Tfl license.

Now Uber are complaining that Uber drivers have the appropriate insurance...

Well they don't, there's not one single company in the UK which allows Hire and reward insurance for PHV drivers to ply for hire, further, work anywhere the want throughout the the UK. 

It's time to take Tfl to task over their total lack of regulation and enforcement of their rules which they don't understand.

Questions to the new Mayor:

Why should PHV drivers be afforded more rights than a London Taxi ?

What's the definition on plying for hire? 

Where are Tfl in terms of insurance with immediate hiring for private hire bookings ? 

Tfl have said in the past jump in a car then make a booking through the App really?  

Who will  be appointed to oversee this total mismanagement of laws and processes in regard to the law ? 

Thus far Tfl have totally failed London.

Be lucky 

Tom Scullion.

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Today's Sun Reveals New Uber Scam

Following on from revelations that Uber customers have had their accounts hacked and in some cases have lost thousands of pounds, this scam is a spoof of an official communication from Uber in an attempt to trick Uber fans into visiting a fake payment site where their payment details are then stolen.

Users across the UK appear to have been targeted and there have been reports of the dodgy text from all across the country.

The cunning text tells the victim that they have booked a trip costing a whopping £217 pounds with an Uber driver called Imran.

The message is followed by a link that the user can then click on to cancel this unrequested journey – however this link redirects to a fake payment site asking for their banking details.

Any details entered can then be stolen by the hackers and either sold on or used to make expensive purchases

The con was first revealed by watchdog Action Fraud, which posted a screenshot of the text message online.

Uber has confirmed the messages to be fake, and has warned their users not to click on the link.

Under Uber's terms and conditions they say the responsibility for scams of this type lay with the passenger and not the company 

So, if you receive this text hit the ‘delete’ button and ignore it

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The Time Has Come To Make A Difference

Hi all, Thanks for seeking us out in your droves. We hope to launch in October, so time has come to cut to the chase. 

Don't ask, what have Government, TFL, Orgs done for the trade? 

Ask, what 'I' can do for 'my' trade!. 

Recently you registered interest in Taxiapp, it's now time to fill our membership form. You'll be directed to 'gocardless'. Please fill out the direct debit page. Subs will 'not' be taken till late September. 

We'll send the drivers app link before initial payment's taken. 

This Sundays 'Shoutout' will reveal the team of drivers who've been brave enough so far to have put their money where their mouths are and venture into the 'Casino' of fate. 

No question about it, we are taking a gamble. All we ask is for others to step up and place bets on us. Because if we together can't save our trade, nobody's going to do it for us! 

We at Taxiapp have no intention of doing nothing while other predatory apps (Taxi & PH) feed off our trades decaying carcass!!!

Help us to fight back

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Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any More Stupid

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more stupid, and shortly after cashing out of China, Uber, the ride share app which claims not to employ any drivers and certainly don't own any cars.... they are again emailing their customers to lobby TfL on its behalf. 

This time the rant is supposedly about keeping London open for business after Brexit. 

Yet Uber London Ltd, UK are asking their customers to complain to TfL over TfL's new regulations and in particular the  requirement for prospective Minicab drivers to take an English test. A test tUber considers too difficult for its work force. 

This is the same test people take to become British Citizens.  

The reader of the email might also well wonder, how on earth this American tech giant can claim to have already invested £100m in London, considering it doesn’t actually own a fleet of cars and isn’t committed to employing its drivers???

If it is true, then that must be one hell of a very expensive office in E1.

Taxis (Black Cabs) are an iconic part of London that nobody wants to see removed and although they are the butt of many jokes about selfish driving, pulling up sharply for customers, stopping where they line, Londoners actually have a great deal of respect for anyone who has passed “the knowledge” to earn their badge. 

Nevertheless, if you can instantly hail a much cheaper ride (although illegal by definition), some people are going to be tempted.

Uber do far have had their own way as their oath to licensing was smoothed with backing coming from high office. 

TfL have bent over backwards to licence this company and currently, evidence of alleged corruption and malfeasance is surfacing daily. 

People of the UK voted to put a stop to the continued flood of cheap labour. 

In their email, Uber are talking about keeping London open for business after Brexit. But only the most stupid company imaginable would appeal to Londoners to encourage TfL to go easy on prospective Minicab drivers who can't speak a word of English???

This goes completely against what the country has just voted for. 

Unfortunately, people will still use this service in spite of the reported serious sexual assaults, rapes and account hacking, because it’s cheap and convenient. 

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open letter to Uber who won’t apologise for their driver assaulting me

Dear Uber bosses, employees and stakeholders,

I am writing an open letter to you because you will not respond to my tweets, messages and emails two days after I was assaulted and left crying by one of your drivers.

I am writing because as a female travelling at night in London I feel it is essential to let other women and men know the dangers your drivers can pose.

I am writing because not enough people know that last year there were over 300 sexual assaults, and 30 rapes, in your vehicles. If this were any other crimes there would be a huge scandal but you have managed to keep this one quiet.

And it’s not ok.

Women have a right to feel safe and protected when travelling alone, and this should be one of your non-negotiable policies. And yet horrible assaults regularly take place within your cars. The media do very little. How much have you paid them to keep quiet?

My assault happened two days ago, when I was coming back home and really wanting to get back safely and quickly.

I had had a horrible weekend with my fiance cutting off our engagement, cancelling our wedding which I was so looking forward to, and cancelling our home purchase. We were meant to move into our first home together next month.

Of course, you or your driver couldn’t possibly have known this. But regardless, you should provide a safe service to your customers: male or female, young or old, rich or poor.

They should never be made to feel intimidated, abused, frightened or upset when paying for a service which is only to be driven safely from A to B.

When I posted about this on Twitter, you didn’t reply. Instead, you posted pictures of Rio and other exotic locations. Why fling your ambition so widely when you can’t even provide a safe service within the UK?

You then rang me at work at 10am when I was in a meeting and refused my polite request to email instead. Why?

Here is the link to the Evening Standard article. Luckily for me, when the driver called me a slut and dropped me in the middle of a dual carriageway with oncoming traffic, at 11.30pm, in the dark, with no cash, scared and alone, miles from my destination, a kind Black Cab driver picked me up and drove me home. Unlike your drivers, he spoke in a friendly, calm way, helping me reach my destination and recover my equilibrium. I cannot thank that Black Cab driver enough.

Uber, it’s nearly 3 days since my assault and I haven’t had an apology from you. My tweet has had over 200 retweets — it’s terrible publicity for you.

When will you apologise? Until you acknowledge your culpability in this, the women and men of London cannot travel safely within your cars.

Yours sincerely,

Frances Carbines

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Uber's Under Oath Toronto Confession....Nothing New To TfL.

The recent admissions made under oath by Uber in Toronto, seems to have everyone excited, but these claims were also made in London, THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO....yet TfL said nothing then ....and are still tight lipped, even now!

PERFECTLY CLEAR!

THE QUESTION NEEDS TO BE ASKED, 

WHY WERE UBER GRANTED A ORIVATE HIRE OPERATORS LICENCE, IF AS THEY STATE, THEY ARE NOT A PRIVATE HIRE OPERATOR ?

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Uber Claim It's London Operation Is Under Threat And Renews Its Feud With Regulators

Uber is turning to its customers to help it fight "bureaucratic" new rules imposed by Transport for London, including an English exam "harder than the test for British citizenship", renewing its feud with regulators in the capital. 

The billion-dollar company said the rules would "threaten the livelihood of thousands of drivers", reducing their numbers and thus increasing the waiting times for users in an email directly appealing to customers and authored by Uber's top boss in London, Tom Elvidge.

The new rules were given the greenlight by TfL in March following a long-running and public battle between the two sides and London's black cab drivers.

At the time, Uber welcomed the result of TfL's review after it dropped proposals that would enforce users to wait five-minutes after ordering a cab, even if there was a car available "instantly".

Now, Uber is urging customers to email the newly elected Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to demand the rules - formulated after a comprehensive consultation conducted by TfL under the former Mayor Boris Johnson - are looked at afresh.

It's understood that while the broad conclusions of the review are accepted, the finer details and exact form the rules will take, hammered out over the last few months, are more onerous than Uber had been expecting.

Uber has called into question the English language requirement rule - which it claims is harder than the test for British Citizenship and more than the requirements for becoming a Tube driver. 

It has also called out a requirement for part-time drivers to have costly full-time commercial insurance even when they're not driving, as well as the need for Uber to tell TfL of any changes to its app, which it argues would slow down the roll out of new features.

The latter two rules now already apply while the rule on English language tests will come into force from 1 October.

Those who receive the email are asked to click on a link to email the Mayor, leading to an already written reply which even signs a users name at the end automatically.

It reads:

I agree with you that it’s vital London remains open and that everybody has the chance to succeed, whatever their background.

However, I’m concerned that new rules from Transport for London will threaten the livelihoods of thousands of licensed private hire drivers in our city.

Forcing all drivers from non-English speaking countries to pass a £200 two-hour written English exam goes way beyond what’s needed to help Londoners get from A to B.

Making part-time drivers pay for costly commercial insurance in the months when they’re not working is also unnecessary and could force some to give up driving for a living.

Nor does it make any sense for TfL to demand to be told before Uber makes changes to its app.

Please look again at TfL’s plans. Let’s keep London open.

Thank you.

Uber also appealed to the Mayor in the wake of Brexit and in light of the "Open for Business" campaign, seeking to bolster business in the capital.

"Uber has already invested £100m in London - and we plan to invest even more in the future. It’s why we support the new Mayor’s Keep London Open campaign," it urged customers.

"But bureaucratic new rules from Transport for London send the opposite message and threaten the livelihood of thousands of drivers."

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