Bus Use In London Falls To Lowest Level In Decade, As Buses Slow Down To Walking Speed.

DfT says London recorded its first drop in bus use since 2012 as congestion increased rapidly this year. Nothing to do with the CSH and 110,000 minicabs then?

Transport for London (TfL) said it expected new "Hopper" fares to reverse the decline.

Campaigners blamed congestion ( surprise, surprise), which they said has slowed the pace of buses to almost walking speed, for the decline.

Bus fares have increased 1.8% but the DfT said this was "similar" to other price rises in line with the 1.6% Retail Price Index of inflation. Funny that, Taxi fares increase by 0.6% and everyone's shouting for us to slash our fares. 

There were 4.5 billion journeys made by bus in England in 2015-16, the lowest figure since 2006.

In the capital, bus usage was down 3% in a year, to 2.29 billion journeys.

Lianna Etkind, public transport campaigner at the CBT, said: "The news that bus use is falling in London is worrying, but as buses are now moving only marginally faster through the city than the average adult can walk, it's hardly surprising. 

    BLOOMSBURY 11:45 pm...

"Congestion is bringing London to a standstill and needs to be urgently tackled." 

Gareth Powell, TfL's Director of Strategy for Surface Transport, said there had been a "small reduction" in bus journeys due to congestion caused by a number of factors, including development across London and "increased internet delivery traffic". Again, nothing about the CSH or the every increasing numbe of private hire vehicles, presently roping 110,000. I'm surprised they didn't try to blame Taxis over-ranking  (Is Gareth on the list for a £120,000 golden handshake yet? if not...he should be)

    LONDON BRIDGE MIDNIGHT MADNESS.

He went on to say "bus network reliability has now stabilised," he said, and the completion of major road projects and the introduction of a "Hopper" fare was expected to have a positive effect on passenger numbers. Well Gareth, licensing minicabs was intended to drastically cut their numbers from 30,000 in 1998. 

A DfT spokesman said: "We provide some £250 million a year to support bus services in England and about £1 billion is spent annually to give nearly 10 million older and disabled people in England off-peak bus travel."

Only way now to dramatically encourage bus use, is to speed up the traffic. Take some of the £250m subsidy and rip up the segregated cycle lanes which are causing congestion pollution which is killing thousands of people in the capital. 

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With Mandate Looming, Taxi Leaks' Has Serious Questions That Need Serious Answers

As we approach the deadline for a mandate which forcibly implements Credit Card acceptance on every Taxi driver, there are still many questions that TfL have repeatedly failed to answer. 

We are told that under an act written in the 19th century, they have the right to attach certain conditions to issue of licenses. We are also told that the London Cab Order 2016 facilitates the necessity to take all the credit cards by an applicant for a Taxi drivers licence. 

Funny though, in the infamous Uber meter case (where TfL argued heavily in favour of Uber's right to use a mobile phone as a Taxi meter) when pointed out that in the private hire act 1998 and previous London cab orders, Hackney Carriage acts going back to the mid 1800's, it stated quite clear that only licensed Taxis can use a meter using both time and distance to determine a fare...TfL argued that Smartphone technology wasn't available when these acts/orders were written so didn't apply. 

Well we would argue that under the act TfL are now using to enforce the CC mandate, Credit Card technology wasn't available when he act was written. So how can TfL use the same act that was written ore technology to enforce one issue but argue in court that they can't use a ore technology act to enforce against another issue....is this is just TfL showing and agenda against the Taxi trade and bias towards its friends at Uber?

Then we have the new conditions of fitness being imposed on Taxi owners (and drivers).

1) What legislation gives TfL the right to stop Taxi drivers being able to work, should you choose not to install a machine fitted by one of their authorised partners?

2) what legislation gives TfL to force a Taxi driver to stop working, should his machine develope a fault?

3) How can TfL completely disregard the driver, siting the machine in a position where safety can be easily compromised.....do Taxi drivers lives not matter?

4) What legislation gives TfL the right to insist a Taxi driver cannot pass on transaction costs to passenger, and yet minicab drivers can (and do) ?

5) Who's job was it, to take the measurements to produce the new partition window sticker ?

We are not minicabs, most of our pick ups are unrecorded strangers....this is why we have attack shields between us and the passenger. We also have the right to lock ourselves in the vehicle. This will all be compromised with rear fitment of CC readers. 

When asked the question on driver safety and security at the the LCDC AGM, neither Helen Chapman or Peter Blake could give examples of any data of research on this issue....they didn't give the driver a second thought, putting this together. 

Don't want to pay 5% transaction charge plus a weekly or monthly rental fee....then get iZettle, CabApp or PayPal say TfL....but if you do remember, there is a 90% chance that next year, TfL will mandate meter connection to all CC machines, leaving drivers who have made the £400+ investment, high and dry.

Apparently 83% of TfL's consultation want to see all drivers taking cards.....as I do, but NOT under these crazy incompetent and chaotic regulations. 

The whole issue needs a serious rethink.   

So, at present, where is the legislation to back TfL/T&PH up on this? 

TfL/T&PH issue a form of drivers licence. This licence does not entitle the driver to do anything other than drive a taxi. It does not entitle the driver to trade or be a merchant, so I am at a loss as to why TfL/T&PH have amended the London Cab Order 1934 by adding the London Cab Order 2016 s4 Debit and Credit Card Acceptance.

(1) The following is added after article 31 of the Principle Order –

31a Debit and Credit Card Acceptance.

(1) Every cab-driver’s licence shall be granted subject to a condition that, if so requested by a passenger, the licensee shall accept payment by credit or debit card using a payment device approved by Transport for London”.

It states in the Metropolitan Public carriage Act 1869 s9(1) For regulating the number, of persons to be carried in any hackney or stage carriage, and in what manner such number is to be shown on such carriage, and how such hackney carriages are to be furnished or fitted:

s3 For fixing the rates or fares, as well for time as distance, to be paid for hackney carriages, and for securing the due publication of such fares; provided that it shall not be made compulsory on the driver of any hackney carriage to take passengers at a less fare than the fare payable at the time of the passing of this Act:

s4 For forming, in the case of hackney carriages, a table of distances, as evidence for the purpose of any fare to be charged by distance, by the preparation of a book, map, or plan, or any combination of a book, map, or plan :

Therefore any furnishings or fittings must come under the Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness and there is nothing in this legislation giving TfL/T&PH the powers to dictate how the fare is paid. 

The form of payment is determined when the verbal contract is struck between the driver and customer; it has nothing to do with any other person including TfL/T&PH.

London Cab and Stage Carriage Act, 1907 

s1. The Secretary of State shall have power by regulations made under section nine of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act, 1869, to fix the fares to be paid for the hire in London of cabs fitted with taximeters, either on the basis of time or distance or both, and so as to differ for different classes of cabs and under different circumstances. Provided that the fare fixed for horse cabs fitted with taximeters shall not be less than at the rate of sixpence for every mile so far as the fare is fixed on the basis of distance, and of sixpence for every twelve minutes so far as the fare is fixed on the basis of time, and that no fare shall be less than sixpence. 

(2) Regulations made under this section, so far as inconsistent with any enactment relating to the fare to be paid for the hire of cabs in London, shall take effect notwithstanding that enactment, and any enactments relating to cabs in London shall, as respects cabs for which fares are fixed under this Act, be construed as if a reference to the fares so fixed were substituted for a reference to the fares fixed under any of those enactments.

Nothing there to suggest how the payment should be made.

London Cab Act 1968 s1 Power to regulate fares for non-obligatory journeys.

(1)The power of [Transport for London] under paragraph (3) of section 9 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 and section 1 of the London Cab and Stage Carriage Act 1907 (regulations governing cab fares in London) shall include power to prescribe fares for the hire of cabs in respect of all journeys in London whether or not the journey is one which the driver of the cab is obliged by law to undertake.

[(1A)The power conferred by subsection (1) of this section is subject to paragraph (4) of the restrictions specified in section 9 of the said Act of 1869.]

(2)In this section “cab”, “fare” and “London” have the same meaning as in the said Act of 1907, and for the purposes of this section a journey shall be treated as a journey in London if it begins and ends there.

s2 Power to increase length of obligatory journeys. 

(1)[Transport for London] may [by London cab order] direct that for the reference to the distance of six miles in section 7 and paragraph (2) of section 17 of the London Hackney Carriage Act 1853 (being the length of a journey which the driver of a cab is by law obliged to undertake) there shall be substituted a reference to such greater distance as appears to [Transport for London] to be appropriate.

(2)[A London cab order] under this section may be limited so as to apply only in relation to hirings in respect of journeys which begin, or which end, at such places as may be specified in the order, and may substitute different distances in relation to such hirings or any of them and in relation to other hirings.

(3)The power to make [London cab orders] under this section includes power to vary or revoke a previous [such] order. . . .

(4)Before making [any London cab order] under this

section [Transport for London] shall consult with such bodies appearing to [Transport for London] to represent the owners and drivers of cabs as [Transport for London] considers appropriate.

Nothing there either, to suggest how the payment should be made.

It is the responsibility of the cab proprietor regarding the vehicle, not the driver and therefore should the driver be refused under London Cab Order 2016 s31a a form of licence issued by Transport for London, then that should be challenged in a court of law.

The fact that the driver may also be the proprietor is neither here not there. 

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A Giant Vote Of No Confidence In TfL's Current Administration.

There was a stark difference set around yesterday's demo. This protest manifested purely from driver momentum. 

The words on everyone in the trades lips:

"should TfL ignore this action, it will be at their own peril".

Today's message was a giant vote of no confidence in the current TfL administration.

Well over 5,000 taxis assembled at two separate pre-planed objectives, causing gridlock first outside Palestra, then on a second front at Tenison Way, Waterloo. Reports came in that most of the city had been paralysed trying to get south over Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges.

The disruption saw TfL desperately trying to diverted their buses, but there was nowhere for them to go, as SE1 ground to a halt. 

The demo had a lighthearted atmosphere with the officers policing the demo, who mostly said they supported our stance. Leaflets were given out to passers by, many of whom were actively deleting the Uber App.

Just before 6pm, on a given signal from the organisers, attention focused on Parliament square, completely catching the police off guard.  By 7pm all approach roads into the square were solid, buses caught in the chaos emptied, as passengers made an exodus towards the tubes. 

TfL's director of surface operations Peter Blake told the Standard, " there is no need for this protest, we urged the organisers to call it off. The mayor has recently launched a comprehensive Taxi and Private Hire action plan that is aimed at driving up standards and improving services". 

Is this man for real?

If TfL are worried about safety, why are they refusing to publish the minicab related sexual assault/rape statistics recorded across the 32 London boroughs for the year Feb 2015-Feb2016 ?

Why are TfL slowly dismantling the Private Hire Act 1998 in favour of a company that has circumvented regulation and legislation to suit it's self at every opportunity. 

Instead of enforcing existing regulation, TfL are now openly revising regulation to protect this company. 

Over the last few months, there has been a mounting of evidence showing collusion from TfL's top level of management. It's time the government got involved and held a public inquiry into the alleged corruption and open bias from TfL.

Yesterday protests saw a new era in style of demonstrations, no egos, no recruitment drive, just driver lead momentum. 

The Independent Taxi Alliance (ITA) organisers have today stated that should TfL continue to ignore the Licensed Taxi Trades grievances, then this type of action will be escalated and could eventually become a daily event. 

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Letter To Taxi Leaks : Are The CC Machine Suppliers Using TfL's Authorisation To Rip Us All Off.

Drivers who are still in a daze about them being forced to fit card readers into Taxis without any statutory UK legal duties yet still find themselves pressured 
doing so under TFL duress no choice or consideration regarding intellectual study surrounding what is truly beneficial to a singular Taxi driver & his own personal life situations or business.

The passenger has clearly been given all the perceived advantages regardless of the law of the country contradicting any supply of goods or services in fair & balanced reasoning. TFL have simply no idea how we operate in terms of conditions hours or risk & have simply lumped us all as one business model...this is simply without doubt pure discrimination because there are so many different factors in the carriage of passengers or goods how can TFL make any fair assumption of our service with a one tier solution?

If for example You are a nervous driver who has experienced several serious issues of bilking over the years (the police call it a civil matter...remember that) & you now decide you are no longer going to accept street hirings because of the losses and safety so you opt for a radio or App base who supply entirely account work (which you are perfectly entitled to do) you will not need any card readers in your vehicle (I know several drivers who do exactly that)...... yet on the rear of the "Positioning of Signage" letters we all received from TFL states on exemptions "no such exemptions will be granted" & this has still been taken into account despite all the raised safety concerns surrounding TFL's isolated fixing demands, that is very worrying indeed as it abandons you just as the police do with bilking.

All of Londons Taxi business competitors without exception are notably are forced to accept card payments until they receive advance credential authorisation, and the same applies to the entire TFL transportation network as you simply cannot pay a fare in arrears (and will be fined if you are caught doing so)

If anybody in London... Britain..or the Planet does not consider this discriminatory against London Taxi Drivers then they can only be employees of the Undemocratic dictatorship of Transport For London Taxi section, as Private hire are not affected.

I discovered late last week Paypal are now on the list for Metrocab drivers and all will be revealed on Monday, But on closer product inspection ....particularly equipment pricing things are starting to look quite uncomfortable in a cartel sense and the pricing issues that are surfacing are not making sense?

Firstly, A singular Contactless Paypal reader can be now bought for a reduced price of £39.99 (£47.99 incl vat) and a Suitably good quality Bluetooth android printer for between £35-£50 incl Vat worse ways £100 incl for the pair, ...so that currently leaves the £298.80 paypal "bundle" costing amost whopping £200 more for supplying 2 fitting brackets and they still have to be fixed at a cost of £70 plus vat or more if you have a Metro or Vito, 
note, Izettle also use the same Muira M010 equipment as paypal and theirs is even dearer at £358.80 incl vat.


No matter how you look at this issue...it is a rip off, and the word "TFL approval" jacks the costs up, so buy you fixings separately, and as the tfl ultimate plan is to make all readers joined up with your meters why pay over the odds for equipment?

I am certain there will eventually be legal light shone on this whole enforced TFL card reading agenda which will result on final driver choice being made on appropriate needs driven by individual choices of safety and personal business need and other derivatives and not the simply dictatorial agenderist opinions of TFL employees who as we are currently seeing are making calamitous errors of judgements all over our trade without any self consequences of incompetent penalty.

Be out in force Monday to demonstrate outside the cockroach nest otherwise known as TFL, as enough is enough.

Be Lucky

greenbadgejohn (on twitter)

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Please Sign This Important Petition To Stop Cross Boarder Hiring

I’ve made a petition – will you sign it?

Click this link to sign the petition:
http://ift.tt/1LwloEj.uk/petitions/169464/sponsors/JkKfCqxgTWrvMI1lIIAi

My petition:

Cross border hiring is dangerous to the public. Sub-contracting is no better.

ALPHA and the GMB have UNITED to bring to the attention of the government the issues within the Taxi & Private Hire trade from the Deregulation Act.

By inserting the word Predominantly into the Laws from both the Deregulation Act 2015 and the previous out of date laws, this would close the loop holes currently being used for drivers who circumvent the licensing system and the operators who use these drivers. The changes to the Taxi & Private Hire were questioned when this Act went through Parliament, the 10 days given to debate was on reason. The whole act was not consulted correctly, we can not let the public be in danger due to this.

---

Click this link to sign the petition:
http://ift.tt/1LwloEj.uk/petitions/169464/sponsors/JkKfCqxgTWrvMI1lIIAi

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Independent Taxi Alliance Demo Statement : TfL....We're Coming For You.

It's perfectly clear to us all, TFL have an agenda to destroy the London Taxi Trade. There has been widespread incompetence and alleged corruption at TFL and by taking part in demos, we are showing TFL we have had enough. 

The message behind the protest is simple:

 • NO MORE DEREGULATION 

 • NO MORE DISMANTLING OF THE TAXI TRADE

If you care about the survival of your job, please turn up and support your colleagues in the fight for the continuance of this iconic trade. 

We are now at the tipping point where doing nothing is no longer an option anymore. Groups like ITA,  DDD, MM, LCDC and the UCG, are openly working together more and more, to fight the aggressive agendas coming from TfL.

For those who promote the misnomer that demos don't work, see the LCDC's badge out on Monday and read about TfL's U Turn over the fake medicals issue, after Thursdays on foot demo on Blackfriars Road.

Please tell your friends and family to come along on Monday afternoon and support this action. 

DO NOTHING and we will be gone within a few years. 

Only you can make the difference.

Editorial Comment:

Taxi Leaks has been informed that the Independent Taxi Alliance (ITA) are calling upon the trade to assemble, on

Monday 17/10/16 at Palestra on foot or cab. 

From 3pm until 7pm. 

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Will TfL Put Stops On Uber's Recalled Prius's As They Did With TX4's....LOL.

Have you ever thought, how come so many Uber drivers are causing so much damage to themselves and other motorists on London's streets?

Apart from the fact there are 3,365 Private Hire drivers licensed by TfL who -as of September 2916- don't hold a current UK licence (probably why so many ar driving the wrong way down knew way streets)....it's now emerged that a faulty parking break could suddenly and without warning disengage and automatically lunge forward. 

Take a look at this news story posted on Apple News: 

WARNING TO PRIUS OWNERS

If you purchased a 2016 or 2017 Toyota Prius, you'll probably want to heed the company's latest announcement. 

Toyota has issued a recall for over 300,000 Prius vehicles due to faulty brakes. In total, 212,000 of the vehicles are in Japan, while 94,000 are in the United States. 

Thousands of the cars in Europe and Australia have already been recalled.

In a statement, the company said: 

A Toyota spokesman confirmed that the faulty cars were produced at the company's Tsutsumi Plant in Japan. Additionally, no other models are affected. 

The spokesman declined to discuss any accidents that were caused due to the issue, saying, "Alleged crashes, injuries, and fatalities are reported in many ways to many different organizations."

The spokesman added, with regards to any accidents caused by the issue, "Based on a diligent but not exhaustive review of available data, we are not aware of any reports of crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this condition as of October 3, 2016."  

The spokesman added that the company is still "urging customers to have this repair completed when parts become available." 

The company plans to contact all known owners of the affected cars starting in November.

                          ..................………… 

A few years ago the London Taxi trade had a problem with TX4 which were catching fire. In what seem to be no time at all, TfL stepped in and put full stop notices on a 1,100 vehicle batch, posting their chassis numbers online. 

Over the last year we have seen Prius's spontaneously combust but no such action from their regulator. 

Now we have news that over 340,000 Prius's have faulty breaks which could very well provide the reason behind the increasing amount of Prius RTAs. 

The question is will TfL step in and put stop notes of these vehicles? So far....TfL haven't said one word about this situation.  

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