Taxi Divers Strike Action Over Access To Cambridge Rail Station, Supported By Local MP

Daniel Zeichner, Cambridge MP, centre, backs taxi drivers.

Taxi drivers are threatening strike action and launched a petition to save Cambridge station rank fearing “chaotic" scenes and clashes with other road users if it is moved.

Cambridge Hackney Carriage Association, which represents more than 200 taxi drivers, fears changes at the rail station will mean they are being sidelined as transport bosses “pander to cyclists and buses".

The association is being backed by Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner.

Paul Bradley, General Secretary of the association, said: “We are concerned that the public Station Road rank where it always has been near the station is being taken by stealth. It is in everybody's interest for it to remain there and for taxis to have access through the bus gate so they can safely exit away from the Station Road rank instead of the congestion at the new drop off/pick up point which they have allocated to taxis, deliveries and the public all in a little area. I think this will be chaotic and a lot worse than is currently there now.

“There are other options to consider which can work better without pandering to just buses and cycles. We are doing our best to avoid demos and strikes but if we are not listened to and our views at the least considered, I fear this may happen."

He added: “We have started an online petition to 'Save the Station Rd Rank' and hope the public to get behind this too as its their rank and the will be affected greatly too."

The petition says: “They plan to relocate the Station Road public taxi rank to an obscure location. Cambridge Hackney Carriage Association (CHCA), a voluntary organisation, are campaigning to keep the public taxi rank, that has been serving the public for decades.

“The operational taxi rank is currently close to the bus stop, flats, shops and most importantly, it's seconds away from the station doors. That makes it part of the hub. Why is this important? New plans will mean the public will have to walk for several minutes, possibly pulling luggage in adverse weather conditions (rain, cold, snow, etc) to the far end of Station Road where they have to cross a busy junction to get a taxi. Public safety cannot be compromised.

“This will affect everyone including people with disabilities (wheelchair users), the elderly, lone travellers, visitors, tourists, families with young children. Consequently this will affect customer experience and will inconvenience rail users."

Part of CB1's highly anticipated Station Square will open this month, station operator Abellio revealed.

The area right outside the existing station building will provide space for a taxi rank, disabled parking, short stay parking bays and drop-off points.

Rising bollards will be fitted in Station Road, meaning only walkers, cyclists, buses and some delivery vehicles will be able to access the interchange directly. Taxis and cars will use the northern access road to get in and out of this part of the development.

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Tom Scullion Follows His Article, With Letter To Local MP Emily Thornberry.

Dear Emily 

Thank you for you letter dated 24 August 2016 and the copy of the Mayors response which, at best, is disappointing I have attached a link to a journal published today on social media highlighting the taxi trades plight and the lack luster responses from Tfl and the Mayor http://ift.tt/2cgF7yM

As you can see Tfl are actively supporting illegal practices from the PHV market and neglecting the Taxi trade at every turn. 

We the Taxi trade have tried every diplomatic avenue to reach out to the Mayor and Tfl and have received  "short shrift"  and false promises. Now the trade will protest on the Streets bring London to its knees, not something I agree with, but I can see why the Taxi trade has been forced to raise awareness to the general public. 

PHV drivers licensed by Tfl are not safe and we need clear demarcation between Taxis and PHV drivers. All of Tfl's reporting lump both sectors togethe for example, last year Tfl reported (after a FOI request) that 154 sexual  attacks including 32 counts of rape were committed by Taxis and PHV drivers... The reality is none were committed by Taxis.

The same applies to claims experienced in terms of accidents. PHV drivers crash all day every day because Uber encourage their drivers to work 80 plus hours per week with a workforce, many of whom are driving in the UK for the first time, under European driving licenses. We the Taxi trade who by the way are the safest surface transport provider in the World, are paying hefty insurance premiums as a result.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support an hope you will continue to see both sides of this very sad predicament in the future.

Kind Regards

Tom Scullion

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The Final Straw.....by Tom Scullion

I recently read that PHV drivers are removing their Tfl badges from their cars to avoid detection from the police and Tfl, these drivers are never going to have H&R insurance and we all know that they can get away with it due to the lack of interest from Tfl and plod. Tfl are very quiet over the ANPR controls...

The PHV industry know they can get away with murder due to the complete lack of enforcement from Tfl, case in point , PHV drivers and company's "pass themselves off" as Taxi companies type in a search on google for taxis at Heathrow airport you will not find one single Taxi company

http://ift.tt/2c1Q6IA

Tfl  are supposed to police the Internet to prevent false advertising from unscrupulous company's but they just can't be bothered,  no wonder the PHV industry cut every corner in terms of CRB checks and proper H&R insurance.

I still can't get my head around the amnesty period for PHV drivers to comply with the law in terms of hire and reward insurance Tfl know that most of the 110,000 PHV drivers in London are not properly insured and are let loose on the general public.

These drivers do not have to adhere to the law of the land until October 1st 2016, in the interim, Tfl are guilty of allowing the general public to be placed at risk under their watch, fully in the knowledge that a large percentage of mincabs licensed by Tfl are uninsured.

Fleet control and compliance:

Tfl's new enforcement squad should write to every mini cab driver and request current photos of vehicles with badges, a copy of their hire and reward insurance, MOT expiry dates  CRB etc Tfl could create an electronic form to allow the drivers to upload the documents and photo's and any driver who does not comply with this request should have their license revoked with immediate effect and if a driver is caught driving without validation from Tfl should have their car impounded then sold at auction and a life time ban from holding a PHV license.

Question :

When are Tfl and the Mayor going to invoke the congestion charge for PHV drivers in London the reason I ask is that the Mayor has not stuck to his word in regards to a "Renaissance for the Taxi trade" 

We as a trade, are furious with false promises and no actions from the Mayor or Tfl instead, we have over aggressive Tfl plastic enforcement offices hassling Taxi drivers for not having the requisite amount of No smoking stickers, why the sudden purge has there been complaints by the public seeing punters smoking in the back of cabs ? No... not a one,  its just Tfl's way to retaliate to the voice of the trade who have highlighted Tfl's woeful management of the Taxi and private hire product.

We were promised :

Full access to every bus lane 

An expansion of operation Neon and other enforcement initiatives 

More Taxi ranks and rest areas across London

Control over Uber drivers at Heathrow airport and the surrounding areas to stop the disgusting behavior by Uber drivers, an update from Tfl and HAL regarding the Uber feeder park would be welcome but not forthcoming in the very near future

Please share the stats on Uber park movements and the amount of visits of Tfl inspection officers week on week. 

A Green finance package to purchase or lease "New technology, environmentally  friendly Taxis" there was talk of Tfl bulk purchasing from the manufacturers and passing the discounts onto the cab drivers

A request to government for VAT exemption for "Green Taxis".

And what did we get so far:

No congestion charges levied on PHV

No restrictions on the boundaries where London PHV drivers can operate it should work like a suburban drivers license, but no, TfL allows their PHV drivers to operate out side the M25 and all around the country some reports as far as Bristol we see them plotting up at Gatwick, Luton and Stansted  airports emblazoned with their Tfl Licence giving the public the impression that they are legal and above board, nothing could be further from the truth, where do Tfl draw the boundary line?

The latest fiasco is the credit card acceptance in London Taxis, we all accept and agree with 100% acceptance but Tfl have railroaded these project forcing drivers to pay hundred of pounds to a cartel of company's who can supply a fixed unit in the back of our Taxis without any risk assessment of the dangers to the Taxi drivers who will be enticed into the back of the cab by the criminals who will, I can assure you,  rob and attack Taxi divers. There is a reason for a partition window in a Taxi it's there to separate the passengers from the drivers to protect both parties. 

The trade have had enough of words and false dawns and have now voted on mass to  demonstrate on the streets of our Capital city to make the public aware of the dangers of the PHV industry and the recent FOI report that Tfl did not want to be published ( insert file and Pic  154 sexual reports and rape ) why did Tfl want to hide the facts from the public? We don't want to do this,  but if Tfl want to kill our trade their will be ramifications.

Favoritism

Tfl have a "special relationship with Uber" un minuted cozy meetings, coaching from senior Tfl management, super tolerance over the operators license in three buildings none of which complied with the rules in terms of insurance and call center requirements, they still don't have a land line ffs. 

Surprise, surprise Uber are taking Tfl to court over the Mayors cast iron decision to level the playing field with a compulsory English language test. I hope Mayor Khan will defend his promise and take Uber to task through the courts.

This will test the metal.

Road management or lack thereof: 

We as a trade have endured months of unnecessary hardship and financial loss due to Tfl's stupid SCH which has not improved safety, congestion or air Quality, in fact,  it has proved to be a complete unworkable, ill conceived disaster from start to finish.

We need to STOP this lunacy now, Tavistock Place needs to restored to its former glory, Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street need to have full inclusion of Taxis as we our part of the surface transport infrastructure as important if not more than any empty bus clogging the streets of our Capital.

Tfl have forced our hand, all acts of diplomacy has been  has been met with a slap in the face, every straw has a breaking point.

Be lucky

Tom Scullion

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TfL's Night Tube Avert, Insults The Licence Taxi Trade....UCG Complain To Commissioner Mike Brown

Offensive and Inappropriate Night Tube Advert

Mr Brown,
I am writing to you to complain about a night tube advert run by TfL that is both misleading, offensive and wholly unbecoming of TfL as the Taxi regulator.

I find it beggars believe that I should be writing such an email to a professional public body as to the tone and content of one of it's adverts.

There is a night tube advert of which a copy of the image has been forwarded to me by one of my members genuinely upset and aggrieved at this.

Upon opening this image I too was shocked, how could an advert like this pass any type of scrutiny before being released, this of course assumes that it is thoughtless, careless and stupid rather than vexatious.

I enclose a copy below, the words that cause offence are:

THE NIGHT TUBE
Tourists and Londoners rejoice! The central and Victoria lines run at night on Fridays and Saturdays, so no more drunken 3am chats with a black-cab driver for us.


What is this supposed to mean? That Black cab drivers are drunk while driving passengers? That conversing with a black cab driver is disdainful? The very fact that a cab driver is out there driving passengers home safely (while their wives/husbands/partners are at home in bed) seems to have escaped you, we too would like to sleep at the same time as our families. Working shift patterns is stressful, places great strain on family life and complications for long term health.

The gratitude we receive from our regulator is a disrespectful slur on our character, the fact it comes from our regulator suggests that even our regulator is subliminally telling passengers not to use us. The closing words "for us" is meant to mean what?

You do know that Londons Taxis have been driving your tube staff home late at night on discounted rates for many years. Is that what is meant by "for us"?

On behalf of the London Taxi Trade I insist that this advert and all it's electronic images are forthwith removed immediately and a full apology made to the London Taxi Trade.

I have also made a formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Agency.

Len Martin
Chairman
United Cabbies Group

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Why Are TfLTPH Covering Up The Decision Not To Revoke Mohammed Halim's Licence?

On Thursday (August 25th) at Highbury Magistrates Court, Uber driver Mohammed Dalim was found guilty by District Judge Nicholas Rimmer of One count of assault by beating.

Dalim was fined £680 Court costs and £200 compensation to Jon Cox, the Taxi driver Dalim he punched in the back of the head knocking him to the ground, at Kings Cross on 23rd March, this year. 

Dalim was given a one year suspended sentence and also ordered to serve 150 unpaid hours of work by 27 August 2017.

It's been noticed that Mohammed Dalim is still recorded on the TfL Private Hire Licence Checker under the licence 188162. 

Taxi Leaks editor Jim Thomas decided to ask TfLTPH via their Twitter account if this was an over sight or even if Dalim had retained his PH licence after the criminal conviction of assault on a London licensed Taxi Driver. 

An easy enough question you would think?

TfLTPH ignored the question, so Jim asked again, and again and again. He even addressed the question to General Manager Helen Chapman. As of today, Jim has asked (the same question) 62 times. Each time, Jim's question ignored by Helen Chapman and staff at TfLTPH.

Questions that now need answering are: 

Why have Jim's question been ignored?

What are TfL trying to hide?

Are TfL too scared of Uber, to revoke one of their driver licence?

What makes Mr Dalim's case different from any other criminal assault case?

Would TfL have threaded the Taxi driver in the same way had the assault happened in reverse?

The most important question of all:

By their action (or indeed inaction), have TfL given Private Hire drivers the green light to assault licensed Taxi drivers in any confrontation?

This must be looked at by our representative orgs. 

This case in line with the recent exposure of the dangers associated with the fitment of PEDs in all taxis , calls into question TfLs fitness to be a licensing authority.

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#NOMORE....... BACK TO THE MET....by Dads Defending Daughters.

DaC Chairman Brian Rice Says : TfL Have Got This Totally Wrong.

There isn't any question that having the PED in the back of the taxi could be a threat to driver safety. That is why in March 2011 we at DaC sought and obtained permission from TfL to site our PED's in the front of the taxi, although it is wired to the taxi and gives a printed paper receipt, the PED can be passed to the passenger in the rear of the vehicle or through the luggage window and the driver remains locked in the front of the taxi.

I sought permission for the PED to be sited in the front because I was convinced at some stage TfL would mandate the acceptance of Credit Cards, which they have now done. The difference is we at DaC understand our trade, those employed at Palestra do not!

Since the 3 March this year I have sent over thirty e-mails to TfL highlighting their error regarding having the PED in the back of the taxi and six months later they inform me that it is still being discussed! 

Why are they being so pedantic about this situation? They have made a mistake and those of us that know our trade have pointed this out to them, why they choose to ignore our advice is beyond me, or is it they are so high and mighty and out of touch, they think they always know best?

They have got this totally wrong and if they persist on this disastrous course it is only a matter of time before one of our colleagues is badly injured or worse and the blame will be with TfL and they will have a huge lawsuit on their hands for negligence, especially as we can prove they were warned, but too stubborn to heed our warnings!

Brian Rice

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