Time For Mayor To Honour Pledge And Publish Taxi & PH Collision Data !

Oxford leads the world in zero emissions (as long as everyone walks!)

With the government’s new aim to stop the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, towns and cities around the country are looking at ways to reduce traffic and pollution. Oxford claims to be leading the way with its aim of being the world’s first zero-emissions zone. However, is the promise really all it seems?

The scheme

Oxford’s proposal aims to slash air pollution, which has risen to above legal limits in some areas due to the amount of harmful nitrogen dioxide in the air. The plans are currently undergoing consultation. They involve prohibiting any non-zero emission taxis from the centre of the city, followed by light commercial vehicles and then buses by 2020.

Critics of Oxford’s rather grandiose plan to host the world’s first zero emissions zone might well latch onto the fact that banning traffic from a city centre is not really a viable way to reduce emissions – not unless our cities are prepared to roll out fleets of electric taxis, buses and delivery lorries in the very near future. 

Additionally, the map of the proposed scheme’s boundaries (PDF) demonstrates the rather small scale of the initial zero emissions zone, which covers just a handful of streets.

Nevertheless, Oxford is going ahead with the consultation for its ‘world first’ plan. The city aims to have a zero-emissions zone that will cover all non-electric vehicles, including HGVs. This zone would expand to cover the whole of the city centre by 2035, according to plans created jointly by the city and county councils. This would result in a 75% reduction in the levels of nitrogen dioxide by the time the scheme completes in 2035, as most of these pollutants come from vehicle exhausts.

Changing position

The plan comes after Oxford was one of 11 cities to breach the (so called) safe limit for toxic particles known as PM10s in a study by the World Health Organization last year. It also breached the limits for PM2.5 particles.

The city council has secured some £500,000 worth of government funding in order to install electric charging points for new taxis, along with a further £800,000 to create 100 electric vehicle charging points for residents. However, officials admit more will be needed to deliver the planned zero-emissions zone.

Problems around the country

Many towns and cities around the UK are facing a similar problem, but the Oxford model doesn’t work for everyone. Part of the reason for this is that the university city already has a high percentage of pedestrianised areas where no vehicles travel. This means there is less traffic in the centre of Oxford than in many other cities of a similar size.

Other cities have already tried. London operated a scheme until 2015 that aimed to create a low emissions zone. Founded in 2008, the scheme saw vehicles that failed to meet a low-emissions standard having to pay to enter the city. The aim was to dramatically reduce the polluting gases and particles that Londoners were being exposed to daily.

Unfortunately, the scheme had little impact. The predicted 10% drop in oxides that was expected by 2012 didn’t happen and, three years later, the air quality had not improved at all.

Understanding the problems

According to experts, one of the problems was that the scheme came alongside the growing realisation that diesel vehicles were much more polluting than everyone thought. The scheme has now been replaced with the Ultra Low Emission Zone, along with a plan to convert all double-decker buses in central London to hybrids and all single decker buses to zero emissions by 2020.

Yet this doesn’t deal with the problem of taxis, delivery vehicles and HGVs, which are still polluting the air space. The Oxford model of simply banning these vehicles certainly wouldn’t be feasible in London. It seems that further work is needed before we have a model that can work in all of the UK’s cities and help improve the air quality for everyone.

Source Lisa Edwards PetrolPrices.com

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT :

What else can we do to reduce air pollution in our cities? 

How long will it be before we have a plan in place that’s both realistic and effective? 

Leave a comment to share your views. 

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Khan's Uber Ban UNDER THREAT ? : Drivers Can Register With deregulated Councils.

Another Rat Deserts Uber's Sinking Ship

Uber’s European policy chief just quit

In another blow to the company, Uber’s European policy chief Christopher Burghardt has left the company, the Financial Times reports [paywall]. 

Burghardt’s departure follows the departure of Uber’s U.K. boss earlier this month and comes in the middle of Uber’s battle with London over the future of its services there. Burghardt is leaving to become managing director for the electric vehicle charging network company Chargepoint in Europe. 

His role there will begin in November. Burghardt told the FT his decision to move on was “independent of anything that is happening at Uber.” He also noted:

For me this is a choice because I really believe in Chargepoint and the advent of the electric vehicle. Europe at the point of getting to mass market adoption of electric vehicles, and Chargepoint is at the forefront of that.

“I’m still a great believer in what Uber does. [New Uber CEO] Dara [Khosrowshahi] really has vision that will take the company into a bright future.”

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Hull On The List Of Councils Where Uber Will Not Apply For A Licence.

Uber will not be operating in Hull as it scraps expansion plans in nine cities.

Taxi-giant Uber has abandoned its plans to expand into Hull after losing its license in the capital earlier this month.

Earlier this year, Uber announced its plans to launch in nine new cities including, Hull, Oxford, South Tynesyde and Bournemouth.

But now it has withdrawn its applications for the use of its cars in these locations, reports the Times. 

The decision to withdraw the applications was made after Uber was asked a series of questions by the Local Government Association (LGA).

The LGA wanted to determine whether the company’s claim that it “does not provide transportation services” and simply operates using an app connecting “independent contractors” with passengers are true.

Questions included: “If Uber has no involvement in the contract between the customer and the driver of the vehicle, who accepts the booking? If Uber accepts the booking, how does it have no involvement in the contract between the customer and the driver?”

Uber is already in danger of losing its license in Brighton after it was revealed it had broken its promise to only use local drivers and vehicles.

Uber has also been refused a license in Reading and has been told it will not be granted one in Southend-on-Sea.

Transport for London also refused to renew the company’s license last month, although Uber still continues to take bookings in the city, pending an appeal. The decision was back by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Hull City Council has confirmed Uber has withdrawn its application to use its taxis in the city.

Uber said: “Uber has been granted more than 80 licenses by councils. Over the last year a small number of licence applications lapsed while we focused on other areas.

“On rare occasions we’ve not pursued applications as proposed conditions didn’t fit with how our app works.”....you really couldn't make that up lol.

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Sadiq Khan’s ‘40,000 pollution deaths a year’ is a zombie statistic and isn’t true, says respiratory physician.

At last the truth about London's pollution.

Sadiq Khan’s figure on pollution deaths is a “zombie statistic and it’s simply not true,” according to a respiratory physician.

Figures have been released claiming pollution causes almost 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK. Air pollution is also said to cause a total 340,000 years of lost life in the UK.

Figures originated from a Royal College of Physicians report and Mr Khan has cited the figures in announcing measures to cut pollution in London.

But Tony Frew, respiratory physician at the University of Brighton, told Julia Hartley-Brewer this is merely an example of a “zombie statistic”, meaning “however much you try to kill it it comes back and it’s simply not true.”

He explained that the 340,000 life years figure doesn’t equate to real life, and in reality each person loses only about three days from their lifespan as a result of pollution.

Frew also said that the 40,000 deaths a year figure is “a guess” using information about two pollutants which overlap.

He added that pollution levels are “illegal because we made it illegal, not because it’s dangerous.”

Source : Stemorris . com

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Jeremy Corbyn's Speech To Young Labour: An Uber Co-Op Run By The Drivers, Sharing Profits.

Jeremy Corbyn's speech to the Co-Op party (the one the United Cabbies Group [UCG] have alined themselves with) ahead of the Young Labour Policy Conference.

"Labour is thinking radically about how we can use the power of new technology in the coming decades to make our economy work for us all.

"Technology of the digital age should empower us as workers and consumers, allowing us to cooperate in a way that wasn’t possible in the past.

"Imagine an Uber run co-operatively by their drivers, collectively controlling their future, with profits shared or re-invested."

And again! No mention of the high number of rapes and sexual assaults from this company who enabled it's drivers to work with fake DBS criminal record check certificates!!!

Jeremy, we've all ready got that....a collective of professional highly regulated drivers non dependent on foreign multi billion dollar slave drivers, controlling their own future in line with government legislation and local regulation....it's called the Hackney Black Cab Taxi industry!!!

Jeremy, imagine a London devoid of the traditional Black cabs...25,000 full tax paying drivers put out of work by a foreign Non-dom tax avoiding company who uses slave labour, most drawing state benefits, many with fakes criminal record checks on its drivers, fakes medicals, allows the hacking of customers accounts, spies on its customers and doesn't report complaints of sex attacks by its drivers on customers to the police??? 

Is this the future Labour wants for the UK Jeremy?

Taxi Leaks Extra Bit :

London also has one of the largest and most comprehensive bus networks in the world, with 9000 buses running on 700 bus routes, as well as 20 tube lines providing a 24hour service at weekends and around 100,000 non-Uber Minicabs and Taxis.

Even if Uber are not relicensed, no one will find themselves stranded in London. 

If TFL capitulates to public and political pressure based on the arguments being made, that they have 3.5 million users, it could set a very troubling precedent. 

If a company can get away with illegal and unethical behaviour simply because it has a lot of customers, it would send out the message that the richest corporations are above the law in London. 

Let's get one thing straight....uber drivers are self-employed as Minicab drivers!

If uber lose their operators licence, the drivers still remain self-employed Minicab drivers....they haven't lost their licenses.

They can work as self-employed Minicab drivers for anyone of the other 2,500 fit and proper TfL licensed operators in the capital.

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