PLANS to limit the colour of cars which can be used as taxis in Barrow, will "force cabbies out of work", say drivers

'It's like forcing every shop in town to paint their frontage the same colour'

Barrow hackney taxis will be brought in line with Carlisle where the vehicles are white. Taxi driver Wayne Casey from Carlisle.

Barrow Borough Council's licensing department has launched a consultation to adopt a new regulatory policy which will apply to all 365 hackney carriage and private hire drivers currently licensed.

The new policy includes imposing restrictions on the colour of vehicles allowed as hackney taxis and banning any vehicle which is older than seven years for all drivers.

The proposed changes state the exterior colour of all 157 hackney carriages must be white, except for the London type black cab; which can be either white or black. Private hire vehicles must be any colour, other than white.

All drivers are self-employed which means any expenses incurred have to come from their own pockets. 

Bob Mullen from the Furness Taxi Trade Association said the stress and cost would add to the "already unhealthy lifestyle that we are forced to lead". 

Mr Mullen, a taxi driver of 14 years, said more than 150 hackney cars would be forced to adhere to the 'white-only' rule. 

The reason given is to distinguish between hackney and private hire vehicles but as has been pointed out by the trade time and time again at trade liaison meetings all that needs to be done is to remove roof signs from private hire vehicles, then if the vehicle has a roof sign it’s a licensed hackney taxi," he said. 

"It’s like forcing every shop in town to paint the frontage the exact same colour. 

"Nearly every wheelchair accessible vehicle in the area is private hire and white which would not be allowed under the proposed rules. 

"Evidence can show that any other colour except white is very difficult to source and that these vehicles are very expensive, therefore these proposals would lead to either a vast price increase or a scarcity of wheelchair accessible vehicles. This is disability discrimination at its worst."

Responding to Mr Mullen's concerns, Cumbria County Councillor Sol Wielkopolski said the Conservatives would "scrap this insanely petty rule" if his party was in power on Barrow Borough Council. 

The chair of Barrow Conservatives said: "If Furness Conservatives are elected in Barrow we'd scrap this insanely petty rule and listen to taxi drivers."

If @FurnessCons are elected in Barrow Elections we’d scrap this insanely petty rule and listen to taxi drivers. >https://t.co/wUKdaf5ars<

— Sol 🇬🇧 (@SolWpolski) October 26, 2017

The restriction on the age of a vehicle is being brought in to drive up standards. Around a third of current taxis in Barrow are believed to be older than seven years.

Mr Mullen said: "The age restriction would lead to a vast increase in expense both for the owner driver and the operators who rent out vehicles to drivers.

"We have already noticed a scarcity of new faces entering the trade and any of the operators will confirm that they are struggling to recruit new drivers."

Barrow Borough Council's licensing committee is expected to decide whether or not to adopt or amend the new policy in December or January.

Latest new restriction to hit Barrow taxi drivers

The proposed changes are the latest in a series of new restrictions and regulations being imposed on Barrow's taxi drivers.

Applicants for licences now need to undergo the test and existing drivers would need to take the exam when their licence is up for renewal. Failure to reach the pass mark would result in their licence being revoked.

Taxi drivers will have three attempts to take the test – if they fail the third test, they will be banned from resitting it for six months.

Last Christmas, a number of drivers were pulled up for decorating their cars with festive signs and ornaments.

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Uber Finally Sees Decline in Riders

For all of Uber’s screw-ups, none of them ever seemed to hit their bottom-line money making. The self-driving cars running red lightsdidn’t do it. The sexual harassment scandals didn’t do it. The fare manipulation and price gouging schemes didn’t do it.

Maybe it was a combination of all of the above, but something finally did it. According to CNet, Uber has experienced its first-ever decline in ridership, according to business travel expense accounting firm Certify.

“Whether it’s a reaction to the latest headlines or the introduction of new features like tipping, the power of consumer choice has become a major factor in travel and entertainment expense spending,” Certify CEO told CNet in a statement.

Certify only tracks business travel, by monitoring expenses and receipts. Uber’s not obliged to disclose their general ridership numbers across the board because they’re not yet a public company. But the business travel community is beginning to buck Uber, according to Certify data.

Admittedly, it’s only a one percent drop for Uber business nationwide. Though here in San Francisco, the birthplace of Uber, the rideshare company saw its largest decline with an eight percent loss of its business riders. The city may be home to massive corporations, but that doesn’t mean our residents have to be its pawns.

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TfL, Not A Fit And Proper Licensing Authority Part 3. The Production Of Fake Medical Certificates ?

Last month, I had to have a medical, inline with the terms and conditions, of my TfL Taxi driver licence.

Both myself and my doctor are of the opinion that because of the way driver medical procedures are currently set up, TfL have made it extremely easy for anyone (of a mind), to produce a fake medical certificate. 

At present, medical application forms are sent out to drivers, who then take the form to the doctor to be completed at the surgery. On completion, the form is given back to the applicant, who then has to provide an envelope and a stamp. 

It is then up to the applicant to post the form back to TfL.

It is extremely easy to produce a copy of the form, which the doctor will then fill in and return to the driver. 

The applicant could then transfer the information to the original form, changing details to insure a pass.

It is also extremely easy to stop this abuse.

All it would take to stop this abuse, is for a stamped return envelope to be sent out with the medical form. That way the doctor could fill in the form and post back to TfL without the need to return the paperwork back to the applicant. 

It would cost very little (under £1 per application) to produce a stamped addressed return envelope and even if TfL were to decide not to cover the cost, a small amount could be added to the licence fee. The safety of the public should transcend such a small amount. 

My doctor said he would be more than happy with this procedure, as it would stop future fraudulent abuse.

A simple idea to say the least, but then the best ideas are normally just simply common sense. 

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT: 

Blast from the past. 

We all read the expose' below in the Sun (also carried by other national publications) in October last year. But since the article hit the headlines, like everything Uber/TfL related, the scandal soon became a wall of silence. 

ROGUE GPs are coining it from minicab and Uber drivers by lying on vital forms about their fitness to carry passengers.

Three doctors caught by The Sun were happy to sell a faked medical all-clear — required to get an official cab licence.

• Have these two doctors 'Dr Ashraful Haque Mirza and Dr Abdi Issa Creek' been struck off ?

• A third doctor in Barking was also I'm,I acted but unnamed in the article.

• Have the drivers who paid for fake medicals had their licenses revoked ?

The Sun's investigation from August 2016:

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Are 13,000 Uber drivers, without proper DBS certificates, currently picking up members of the public?

Last month, it came to light that over 13,000 Uber drivers have been licensed by TfL after presenting fake criminal record check DBS certificates. 

Helen Chapman took it upon herself last month, to defend these drivers at a meeting with Taxi trade orgs, saying (in her opinion) all drivers would subsequently pass a proper enhanced TfL certified DBS. 

As a result, all 13,000 were given 28 days to re-present. 

Helen also appears to be quite happy with the fact that 13,000 drivers without adequate checks have been picking up members of the public since January. TfL actually said nothing about this scandal, until the story was given to the Sunday Times by the LCDC.

When asked why Taxi drivers (caught up in a backlog of licence applications renewals) weren't being allowed to carry on working, Helen Chapman said she wouldn't be able to live with herself should a Taxi driver without a certified DBS commit an offence, while waiting for the enhanced criminal record check to go through.

We wonder what suddenly changed her attitude when it came to 13,000 Uber drivers without proper DBS clearance? 

Taxi Leaks would suggest that any member of the public who has been a victim of an attack by one of the drivers without a proper DBS, should sue TfL, who have admitted they knew about this and chose to say nothing for 10 months.

Another question that should be asked:

Are Uber currently paying a licence fee to TfLTPH whilst appeal going through? 

Or operating for free, courtesy of TfL?

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TFL Not Fit And Proper, Part 2 : TfL Licence Uber Driver Banned By Bath Council

Appeal For Unwanted Clean Clothing And New Sanitary Products. .... By Dean Thomas.

If you have any unwanted clean clothing please drop at LTDA house Woodfield Road #taxiwarmclothing.

We will be distributing it to the homeless community on Wednesday 29th November outside Charing cross police Station in Agar Street.

Wanted : 

• Men and Women's warm, clean clothing

• Men and women’s underwear

• Sanitary products are wanted (but must be new).

Last year was an amazing success and we would like to match or go bigger.

Everyone is more than welcome to attend from 7.30 pm.

We are London taxi drivers who care about the homeless on our London streets.

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Not Fit And Proper To Be A Licensing Authority? Part 1.... By Jim Thomas.

A few weeks ago, drivers started reporting sightings of private hire vehicles, sporting liveries for a certain Russian Cable News Channel. 

The sighting were passed on via Twitter to TfLTPH, who confirmed that the full vehicle livery seen in the images, in some cases covering the rear TfL roundel, was not authorised and should be removed by the owner. TfLTPH said the information would be passed to compliance and on street enforcement, for them to deal with the matter.

Not forgetting....Addison Lee took absolutely no notice of TfL compliance/enforcement, when told their Rugby World Cup livery was illegal, they carried on and saw their contract through. 

When asked if any action had been taken against Addison Lee, TfLTPH confirmed that no action was taken.

Sighting continue on a daily basis 

It now seems that compliance/enforcement have not dealt with this issue and it  now appears we have another advertiser, taking no notice of TfL....why should they, as no action was taken in the past with Addison Lee! 

Hypocrisy Or Bias?

Recently, Taxi drivers were warned at ranks, that their Taxis could have their TfL licence revoked if they left a certain copy of a trade publication in the back window. N one incident caught on camera, a TfL CO removed the publication from the vehicle, while her colleague was talking to the driver.

TfL PCOs were insisting drivers removed copies of the Taxi paper from view, with some COs saying the paper was being used as unauthorised signage, while others stated the paper constituted unauthorised advertising. 

    

 

Is this more proof of TfLTPH's bias against the licensed Taxi trade?

At present, TfL appear to wait until they have a complaint against an individual PH vehicle carrying the livery before they take action. They then inform the person complaining that the vehicles owner will be contacted by compliance and told to remove the livery. Going on the abundance of sightings (often the same vehicles already reported), this doesn't appear to be happening. 

We asked TfL TPH if the legislation had been changed recently to allow full liveries on PHV's, and this was the reply they gave us...

  

A Tip, For TfLs Head Of Compliance And On-Street Enforcement, Siwan Hayward And TfL General Manager Helen Chapman.....

Surely (if TfLTPH compliance is serious), it would make more sense to contact the company supplying the wraps/stickers, inform them that the work they are carrying out on London minicabs is in breach of current legislation and ask for a complete list of PHVs already supplied with front, side and rear strikers. Then every owner/driver can be notified in just a few days. 

Just incase TfL have any trouble locating the company responsible for the illegal stickers, we've investigated and found it to be a company by the name of 'StickerRide'.

• Their European base is at the White Collar Factory, 1 Old Street Yard, London EC1Y8AF.

• Their contact number is +442039481106 

• And their email address is info@stickerride.com.

This way, every vehicle in contravention of the PHV act 1998, can be notified within days and all illegal adverts removed. 

Even the Met police are now stopping non-compliant PHVs.

In this security conscious climate, the Met have more important issues to deal with, without doing TfLTPH compliance's job for them.

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T-Charge Starts Monday, All You Need To Know...

The T-Charge starts this Monday. Here’s everything you need to know about the new tax...

When does the T-charge come in?

The charge will be brought in on October 23, 2017.

It will apply between 7am and 6pm on weekdays.

Where does the T-charge apply?

Who does the T-Charge apply to?

The charge will apply to vehicles that do not meet Euro 4 standards.

This typically applies to petrol and diesel vehicles registered before 2006.

How do I know if my vehicle is affected by the T-charge?

Your vehicle registration certificate will tell you what its Euro ranking is.

Transport for London also has a T-charge checker you can use to find out if you will need to pay the new fee as well as the congestion charge.

You can check your vehicle >here<.

Who is exempt from the T-charge?

• Disabled blue badge holders.

• Motorcycles, mopeds and scooters that are exempt from the congestion charge.

• Taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) are exempt from paying the congestion charge and the T-charge when actively licensed with TfL. The exemption for PHVs only applies to private hire bookings.

• Vehicles with a historic tax class (40 years and older) and/or commercial vehicles manufactured before 1973. These are still subject to the congestion charge.

• Emergency service vehicles, such as ambulances and fire engines, which have a taxation class of ‘ambulance’ or ‘fire engine’ on the date of travel.

• NHS vehicles exempt from vehicle excise duty, and Ministry of Defence vehicles.

• Roadside recovery vehicles and accredited breakdown vehicles registered for a 100% discount from the congestion charge.

• Specialist off-road vehicles such as tractors and mobile cranes (that are exempt from Low Emission Zone).

There are also a number of other exemptions and discounts available - check here for the full list.

While the charge has been welcomed by many, it has also had some critics.

Conservative London Assembly environment spokesman, Shaun Bailey, said the charge would inflict “crippling additional costs on small businesses”, as well as “expense, disruption and bureaucracy for London residents.”

    Assembly member Shaun with Dodgy Dave

According to the BBC, he also claimed it would not produce “any significant results” when it came to the battle against air pollution.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT :

So, all taxis licensed by TfL are exempt at all times.

All private hire vehicles licensed by TfL are exempt, but only applies they have a booking.....How is this workable, how will TfL know if a PHV has a pre booking on board. They don't even have a proper definition of pre booking or plying for hire now. What's going to be different on Monday?

Obviously, space will be made available, should TfL wish to clear up this confusion over pre bookings, straight away bookings, immediate eHailing and plying for hire.

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