Another Week And Another Scandal Rocks TfL.

On Friday afternoon, the latest TfL scandal hit Twitter. This time it's even more disgusting than previous. 

Work carried out by 'the Real LTDA' group, was leaked and within minutes, was plastered all over social media.

The emails allegedly show that TfL were gravely embarrassed by the Uber sexual attack statistics gained from the Met police by FOI request, which appear to show information given to the trade by TfL, was as we always feared, design to defer from the true facts about the escalation of rapes and sexual assault in Uber vehicles.

Worst of all, TfL seemed to be annoyed that they hadn't been given the normal anonymous tip off by the Met. 

As I f this wasn't enough!!!

We also found this week that a large number of DBS certificates sent to TfL by a third party on behalf of Uber drivers, are not worth the paper they are printed on as details had been left out or changed. 

This comes on the back of fake topographical test results and fake medical certificates (both scandals featured in the national press which appeared to have been swiftly swept under the carpet).

Again it would appear that TfL opted for third party authorised partner (Onfido) to handle Uber's DBS checks, much in the same way they allow only authorised partners credit card equipment in Taxis.

TfL have recently refused to accept checks made by Uber's preferred company Onfido, as they are not satisfied all details are being passed on.

I've also been informed there is so much more to come, in respect of sexual assaults on passengers of Uber cars, whose journey begins in London but actually finish outside the Met.

These attacks do not show up on the Met stats. 

New FOI requests are showing the victims of sexual attacks are not specifically limited to vulnerable females. Its alleged that male passengers and children have also been abused and raped.

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Uber Banned From Using Private Hire Cars In Ireland

Controversial ride-sharing company Uber will not be allowed to operate in Ireland using private cars as it does in other countries. 

Currently Irish customers can only book a taxi or limousine through the Uber app rather than a private car. 

Uber links passengers with private car owners through an app. It has been described as a “disruptive technology” as it threatens the traditional model of taxi and limousine hire. 

In a letter issued through a Freedom of Information request from RTÉ, the NTA said the proposal for a pilot scheme in Limerick that would allow private car users offer their services to passengers through Uber was “undesirable”. 

The authority told Uber it was not legal to operate an unlicensed ride sharing serving in Ireland. 

It went further to state that, even if such a service was legal, it would not support the Uber proposal. The NTA said operating an unregulated regime would undermine the regulated taxi sector. 

The authority told Uber: “Notwithstanding the above legislative position, it should be stated that the NTA is unsupportive of this proposal. 

“Operating parallel regulated and non regulated regimes, even on a pilot basis is undesirable in our view and can only serve to undermine the regulated transport system . . . the issue of unfair competition arises. This is not an approach which could be supported by the NTA.” 

Although it is legal in countries such as the United States and Britain for Uber to operate through private car owners, many European countries have banned the company from operating such a service. 

France, Spain and Belgium are among the European countries that have banned Uber using private drivers over fears over how it would disrupt the regulated taxi industry. 

Uber has been mired in controversy since the beginning, and co-founder Travis Kalanickquit his position after allegations of systemic sexual harassment at the company. 

Source : Irish Times 

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Will The Government's Petrol And diesel Ban Throw UK Petrol Industry Into Chaos ?

The government is due to announce shortly that new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned from 2040. The measure is part of plans to tackle the UK’s air pollution problems. It mirrors the approach being taken by France and other parts of Europe. While tackling air pollution is laudable, the move looks set to throw the UK’s petrol industry into chaos.

The price of clean air

Clean air is obviously a good thing. However, achieving it could have costly economic implications at a time when the UK economy needs careful handling. Car manufacturers can easily adapt to producing electric and hybrid cars. 

Many already plan to do so, with BMW being the latest to announce its plans for fully electric vehicles (in this case Minis). Little has been said though, of what will happen to the petrol retail industry when the number of electric vehicles on the UK’s roads rises steeply.

Just under 45 billion litres of road fuel is sold in the UK every year. 

That works out at around 77 million litres of diesel and 45 million litres of petrol per day. 2.69 million cars were registered in the UK in 2016, the vast majority of which were petrol and diesel models. 

The sudden disappearance of more than 2.5 million customers per year, when all those buying new cars purchase electric models, could very quickly destroy the petrol industry as we know it. If the government has considered this angle, it’s certainly keeping quiet about it thus far.

What about other vehicle types?

The government has also been conspicuously quiet when it comes to plans for other classes of vehicles. Lorries and buses contribute plenty of nitrogen dioxide to our air, yet the government seems to be pushing the responsibility to tackle those out to local authorities.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has stated, “What we’re saying to local authorities is come up with an imaginative solution to these proposals.” This puts the ball firmly in the court of local councils when it comes to tackling pollution from public transport. The government will dish out some £200m in funding to those local authorities, which will need to focus on tackling the worst polluted roads through measures such as making buses less polluting, changing road layouts and re-shaping traffic flows.

Is a rethink needed?

While it’s good to see the government finally on the brink of announcing its plans to tackle air pollution, is the industry missing a trick by ignoring recently announced technological advances relating to the cleanliness of diesel.

Could it be that the emissions testing scandal vilified diesel to such an extent that the government is unwilling to shout about developments such as Continental’s Super Clean Electrified Diesel technology, which reduces real world emissions by some 60%? 

Surely it would be more sensible to make it compulsory to retrofit super diesel technology into all diesel cars by 2025, for example. Such a plan could provide a serious head-start on tackling air pollution, with other measures still able to follow in due course.

What’s missing from the government’s plans?

Glaringly absent from the government’s plans is the much-anticipated diesel scrappage scheme. 

Ministers are believed to be due to consider such a scheme in the autumn, but any firm commitment to do so has been lacking. The possibility of local council diesel scrappage schemes has also been mentioned – a clear sign that the government wants to distance itself from paying any kind of compensation to diesel drivers who feel let down by the U-turn in approach to their vehicles.

Also in doubt are plans for ‘clean air zones’ within cities. When pressed on the issue of charging drivers of high polluting vehicles, Michael Gove commented,

“I don’t believe that it is necessary to bring in charging, but we will work with local authorities in order to determine what the best approach is.”

Again, it seems that central government is keen to sidestep the issue and push it out to local councils to deal with. Could it be that, even with the pressure to produce detailed plans to tackle air pollution by the 31 July deadline, and the announcement of plans to ban new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, the government is still unwilling to tackle the issue head on?

Do you think of the government’s plan to ban petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040 is the right move? Or should there be more of an effort to embrace newer, cleaner technologies to reduce emissions instead? 

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Meg Whitman emerges as an Uber CEO frontrunner

Former eBay and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman has emerged as a front-runner to become Uber's next chief executive, Axios has learned from multiple sources. But it is not a done deal, nor is there consensus among the members of Uber's executive search committee. Bloomberg was first to report that Whitman was on the short-list.

• Why Whitman: She checks all of the boxes. Tech bona fides? Check, as the former CEO of eBay and Hewlett-Packard, plus the current CEO of HP Enterprise. Experience taking a Silicon Valley company public? Check. Political relationships that could aid in regulatory battles? Certainly, as a former California gubernatorial candidate and visible backer of Republican Party candidates and causes (save for President Trump, whom she did not support). The preferred gender for a company that was thrown into C-suite chaos over allegations of sexual discrimination? Check again.
• Timing: Uber has publicly said that it wants a CEO in place by Labor Day, which means an official offer would need to be made soon.
• Other roles: Sources say that Uber is not actively searching for most of its other open senior positions until the CEO role is settled.

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TfL...The Sanctimonious Hypocrisy Of A Perfidious Public Body.

Bad news for Singapore-based startup oBike, which have bought their dock less bike hire platform to London's streets.

While oBike attempts to propel the bike sharing revolution in the UK, not everyone was too pleased when around 400 yellow bikes showed up on the streets.

The company has now been ordered to remove thousands of bikes from the street. 

TfL said they had no idea Obikes had started operating in London were furious when they found out.  The company from Singapore say they want to transform cycling in the capital and are disappointed  

According to Hammersmith & Fulham council, bikes were left obstructing footpaths and creating potential hazards for pedestrians throughout the borough.

It seems that although H&F are positive about cycling in the borough, it appears they don't trust the cyclist users to use the cycles in a responsible manner. 

"We're really positive about cycling in H&F ... But these bikes appeared without any consultation at all with H&F council. 

Plus we have concerns about the way they had been placed on the streets, and protecting the health and safety of people in the borough," said the council in a statement.

“We're very much in favour of cycling,” said councillor Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham council.

“But we expect companies to properly consult with us first. This launch could have been much better thought out.”

So it seems TfL and H&F council are not happy about a foreign company, who don't pay tax in this country, abide by no local regulations, have set up an operation that has challenged Boris Bikes by undercutting and using disruptive technology. 

Hypocrisy to say the least. 

OBike have agreed to remove the cycles and said it will meet with TfL and local councils to discuss ways to make the cycle scheme work.

Feryal Demirci, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, Transport and Parks in Hackney, added that Hackney welcomes any scheme that makes it easier and cheaper for residents to cycle, but it was disappointed that oBike had not contacted the council.

"We want to enter into a dialogue with companies to agree the way bike share schemes should work in the same way that we do for car clubs," she said.

oBike aims to Undercut the price of Transport for London's Santander Cycles, formerly known as Boris Bikes -which are part funded by the taxpayer.

The startup charges users a deposit of £49 with rates of 50p for a 30-minute ride.

As corporal Jones said in Dads Defending Daughters Army "They don't like it up em sir !!!"

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Two Years Of Massive Disruption And Congestion In Marylebone, Curtesy Of TfL And Thames Water.

Baker Street:

Until early 2019, work is taking place to convert Baker Street and Gloucester Place to two-way traffic. During this time there will be changes to the road layout on these roads, between Park Road and Portman Square. For more details, please visit http://ift.tt/2h5ez7a. Additionally, there are lane restrictions on Baker Street southbound at the junction of Marylebone Road until mid-November, for Thames Water works. 

Vauxhall:
From 21:30 on Friday 28, until 06:00 on Monday 31 July there will be lane closures on South Lambeth Road southbound at the junction of Harleyford Road. This is for a crane operation

English language requirement
The deadline for new or renewal private hire driver’s licence applicants to provide evidence of their ability to comply with the English language requirement has been extended from 30 September 2017 to 16 July 2018. Please click here for more information 

Taxi rank locations now available to app developers
We are now publishing information about taxi ranks, including locations and operating hours, in our API, which means this information can be used by developers in apps. For example, customers can now search for their nearest rank in Apple Maps. Ranks listed include the new ranks at UCL Hospital Beaumont Place, DoubleTree Hotel in Kingston, and Hither Green Station (Fernbrook Road). 

OnRoute
The latest issue of OnRoute magazine features articles about our compliance resources, RideLondon, how you can help stop human trafficking, and much more. Read it now here 

Space for cyclists
To improve cyclist and driver safety, officers from the Met Roads and Transport Policing Command are undertaking a new tactic. Officers from the team will be patrolling in plain clothes, wearing video cameras and riding unmarked bicycles, to identify and deal with the offences that most deter people from cycling. Driving and cycling safety advice is available here

Waterloo proposals
We’re consulting on changes around Waterloo. The consultation closes on 20 August and you can find details here

Draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy
The draft Mayor's Transport Strategy sets out his plans to transform London's streets, improve public transport and create opportunities for new homes and jobs. Our public consultation on these plans is open until 2 October 2017. 

Read more and respond to the consultation here

Lambeth Bridge north and south proposals
We’re consulting on changes to Lambeth Bridge north and south. The consultation closes on 20 August and you can find it here

Fiveways transformation
We are working with Croydon Council on proposals to make Fiveways in Waddon simpler and safer for all road users. The joint consultation will close on 18 September. 

For full details, and to share your views, please click here

Camden Town Station 
We’re consulting on improvements to Camden Town Station. This follows a consultation in January 2017 on development above and around the proposed new station exit. The consultation closes on 18 August and you can find the new consultation here

Battersea
We would like your views on a number of proposed changes to the layout of Nine Elms Lane and Battersea Park Road. This consultation will run until Sunday 20 August. You can find full details of the proposals and respond to the consultation here

Charlie Brown’s Roundabout
We’re consulting on proposed change to Charlie Brown’s roundabout. The consultation is open until 4 August and you can find it here

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Owners Of ComCab -ComfortDelGro taxis- to offer QR code payment in DBS tie-up.

SINGAPORE: 

Passengers of ComfortDelGro taxis can now choose to pay for their fare using a quick response (QR) code, in a tie-up between the taxi company and DBS Bank.

Passengers just need to scan the QR code on the taxi’s cashless payment terminal and the app will automatically process the payment. (Photo: ComfortDelGro)

This is the first time QR code payment – a type of barcode read by devices – is being introduced for taxis in Singapore, DBS said in a press release on Thursday (Jul 27).

Starting Aug 10, users of the bank’s mobile wallet DBS PayLah can scan the QR code on the cashless payment terminal of any of the 16,000 ComfortDelGro taxis, and the app will automatically process the payment.

ComfortDelGro taxi CEO Ang Wei Neng said the move is part of the company's plan to provide more cashless and more convenient payment options for passengers.

"Cashless transactions account for one-fifth of all our taxi trips. We expect its volume to grow steadily as passengers become more accustomed to paying using such payment modes,” he added.

DBS said it has witnessed "a dramatic shift" in the behaviour of consumer's payments, who are becoming more inclined to cashless payments and withdrawing lower amounts of cash from ATMs.

Between June 2016 and June this year, the number of DBS PayLah transactions and payment volume more than doubled, DBS said

Source: CNA

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