News From Unite Union Cab Section... Uber Illegally Granted A Booking Office Licence In Glasgow.

Yesterday at the Burgh Court, Uber Scot Ltd was illegally granted a Booking Office Licence, in breach of the The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Booking Offices) Order 2009. 

In an assault on the democratic process, the Licensing and Regulatory Committee, advised by Licensing Solicitor, Mairi Millar, refused to hear three objections from Unite the Union Cab Section, Glasgow Taxis Ltd, and Greater Glasgow Private Hire Association. Objections were late as the statutory notice was only viewable on the door of 69 Buchanan St for 21 days. The notice was not in the print media, not on the GCC website, in fact it had no online presence anywhere. It was preposterous to expect anyone to notice an A4 sheet on the door of an inconspicuous office building on a pedestrianised shopping thoroughfare.

Despite objections being late, Glasgow City Council Licensing & Regulatory Committee has at its discretion the power to hear late submissions. All three objectors were only allowed to give the reasons why the objections were late, but forbidden from mentioning reasons for objecting. Glasgow Taxis Ltd Solicitor, Tom McIntaggart, put up an extremely convincing argument for hearing the objections, citing examples where GCC Licensing had accepted late objections in the past. 

Councillors who voted against hearing our objections and denied us the right to be heard were as follows:

Baillie John Kane, Scottish Labour Party, Govan (5)

Baillie Hanif Raja, Scottish Labour Party, Pollokshields (6)

Cllr Aileen McKenzie, Scottish Labour Party, Springburn/Robroyston (17)

Cllr Robert Connelly, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Calton.

Those councillors that believed in the democratic process and wanted to hear our objections were as follows:

Cllr Rhiannon Spear, Scottish National Party, Greater Pollok (3).

Cllr Graham Campbell, Scottish National Party, Springburn/Robroyston (17).

Gary Gray, Scottish Labour Party, Canal (16).

Special mention to Cllr Rhiannon Spear who made clear her concerns over aspects of Uber’s operation and was clearly unhappy with what transpired.

Just to recap, all traditional taxi and private hire companies in Glasgow are registered at their respective licensed premises in Glasgow for the booking, dispatch and payment of fares. This means that they are within the jurisdiction of Scottish law enforcement and the Scottish legal system. It also means that they are subject to UK tax and VAT.

Uber is the exception. Glasgow work is dispatched from Uber BV in the Netherlands, trip data is recorded by Uber BV in the Netherlands, payment is taken by Uber BV in the Netherlands, and a receipt is issued by Uber BV in the Netherlands. Glasgow City Council yesterday licensed a sham booking office that attempts to legitimise dispatch of work from an unlicensed foreign company, Uber BV. 

Yesterday Uber’s Solicitor pointed to 4 million trips taken in Glasgow since it started. Some crude arithmetic based on an average of £5 per trip:

4M x £5 = £20M

Uber’s cut (25%) after drs are paid =£5M

UK Corporation tax @21% on £5M ~£1M+

UK VAT @20% on £20M = £4M

So, with what we admit are very crude workings, Uber has avoided UK tax and VAT in the region of £5M in Glasgow alone, in the 30 months it has been operating. That is starving the public purse of much needed revenue for schools, hospitals, housing etc. Glasgow City Council Licensing not only had solid legal grounds to reject Uber’s application, it also had a strong moral case to reject it. 

Don’t take our word for Uber’s illegal operation in Glasgow. At the November, 2017, Joint Taxi and Private Hire Trade Meeting, GCC Licensing Solicitor, Mairi Millar, stated that Uber Britannia Ltd did not satisfy the criteria to hold a Booking Office licence. Well the Licensing Solicitor can now make that two illegal booking offices ‘operational’ in Glasgow now.

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THE HIDDEN COSTS OF OWNING AN ELECTRIC CAR - SO IS IT REALLY CHEAPER THAN A PETROL OR DIESEL?

As electric vehicles rise in popularity, so does the price to run one - and motorists are being hit with extra charges

DRIVING an electric car might seem like a cheaper option, but drivers are being hit with hidden costs as the motors become more popular.

The number of electric vehicles on British roads has risen by 33 per cent in the last year, but that’s been matched by a hike in charging costs

The majority of public charging points no longer offer free electricity, with plug-in drivers now forced to fork out for monthly subscriptions to power up their motors.

In some cases, drivers can expect to pay as much as £17 per month subscription in addition to charging fees.

According to a study by What Car?, the cost to charge a Renault Zoe ZE40 to 80 per cent varied largely depending on location.

They found motorists could pay as much as £17.46 to use a Source London Flexi – fast (7.4 kW) charging station, or as little as £7.70 for a Polar Instant – fast (7.2 kW) charger

The price to charge an electric car also varied depending on whether or not there was a registration fee, and whether the cost was charged by monthly subscription, by the hour or by kWh unit cost.

Research found that public charging could cost drivers twice as much as if they were to power up their vehicle at home

But a lack of public parking means many motorists are forced to pay public charging rates.

Steve Huntingford, Editor at What Car? said: “Plug-in electrics are still relatively new to consumers and so they might not be as clued up as they would be with a petrol or diesel equivalent.

“Plug-ins should remain an extremely worthwhile and affordable investment for many, but it’s essential that prospective owners are doing their research and making sure they’ve got the right car for their needs and lifestyle.”

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ComfortDelGro acquires London taxi circuit operator Dial-a-Cab for £1.2 million

Com Cab owners ComfortDelGro, have acquired London taxi circuit operator Dial-a-Cab's business and assets for £1.2 million (S$2.2 million), the company announced on Thursday (Apr 19). 

The deal was undertaken by ComfortDelGro's wholly owned subsidiary in the UK CityFleet Networks. 

ComfortDelGro's managing director and group CEO Yang Ban Seng said the acquisition will "enable the Group to grow and strengthen its position as the leading taxi circuit operator in London through an expansion of the customer and driver base".

Radio taxi circuits are operators of a door-to-door transportation service that uses London's black cabs.

Currently, ComfortDelGro is the largest taxi circuit operator in London with around 1,900 London taxis. The acquisition will add about 1,100 black cabs to bring the total fleet to 3,000.

Mr Yang also added that London Councils and Transport for London recently awarded CityFleet the Taxicard and Dial-A-Ride contract for another three years, with an option for a fourth. 

Taxicard is the largest public sector day-to-day transport service in London for passengers with serious mobility impairments or who are severely sight impaired. 

CityFleet has held this contract over several decades through its taxi subsidiary Computer Cab. 

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THE LTFUC PURCHASE A MUCH NEEDED SPECIALLY ADAPTED TRICYCLE FOR LITTLE HOPE, AGED 5

On Tuesday 17th April I went along with our Appeals Officer, Colin Greaves, to officially present little Hope aged 5 with a Tricycle, cost £945, to help and enable her to walk again as she suffers from a very rare metabolic condition called GA1 (Glutaric Aciduria 1), which unfortunately also caused her to suffer brain damage.  Her condition affects muscle tone, strength and motor control throughout her body which has made her very weak and her mobility extremely difficult.  The Tricycle has been specially adapted for her and will great benefit her physically, socially and emotionally.

Hope lives with her grandparents who said since she has received the Tricycle she cannot wait to get back on it after school and it is obvious that she has already started to get a tremendous sense of enjoyment and achievement from it, accompanied by lots of fun.

Every month Colin looks into the numerous Appeals that the LTFUC receive and the Committee were very pleased on this occasion to grant this appeal for such a worthy cause.

Raymond Levy (PR)

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BREAKING NEWS: Statement from The ITA to the City of London

At midnight on Sunday 15th 2018  the ITA decided to withdraw the motion to call direct action over the decision made by the City of London to grant access through Bank Junction for the duration of The Commonwealth Games.

Members of the ITA reserve their right to resume direct action at any other time.

The decision is in response to concerns by  officials that the security risk in the area could rise sharply if the area became ‘over populated’. 

The point must be emphasised that whilst the ITA considers statements that pertain to a compromise in safety, we will not automatically take on board the legitimacy of  that statement.

The ITA has it’s own checks and balances set in place before direct action is announced publicly. 

More-so, the propensity for local authorities to ‘scare monger’ is a tried and tested one, and we will not succumb to disingenuous rhetoric to justify unjust policies.

Compounding on this, it is a timely reminder that the restriction imposed on licensed Taxis using Bank Junction as a ‘through route’ is implemented under the banner ‘Bank of Safety’. The service provided by London’s Licensed taxi trade (black cabs) is- according to TfL and the CofL’s own verifiable data- the safest transport option available, so once again, we call upon the City of London to lift the restriction on taxis forthwith. 

Failing that, provide a satisfactory reason why the public should be denied access to the only door-to-door public service option available. 

Assuming an observant position, we urge the City of London to lead the way and resume negotiations with relevant trade groups. It is not the mark of a progressive or democratic process to dismiss trade representatives who’s advocacy to serve their members is far higher than that enjoyed by the policy makers.  

We trust the City of London will find our request reasonable

ITA.

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THE LTFUC PURCHASE A MUCH NEEDED SPECIALLY ADAPTED TRICYCLE FOR LITTLE HOPE, AGED 5

On Tuesday 17th April I went along with our Appeals Officer, Colin Greaves, to officially present little Hope aged 5 with a Tricycle, cost £945, to help and enable her to walk again as she suffers from a very rare metabolic condition called GA1 (Glutaric Aciduria 1), which unfortunately also caused her to suffer brain damage.  Her condition affects muscle tone, strength and motor control throughout her body which has made her very weak and her mobility extremely difficult.  The Tricycle has been specially adapted for her and will great benefit her physically, socially and emotionally.

Hope lives with her grandparents who said since she has received the Tricycle she cannot wait to get back on it after school and it is obvious that she has already started to get a tremendous sense of enjoyment and achievement from it, accompanied by lots of fun.

Every month Colin looks into the numerous Appeals that the LTFUC receive and the Committee were very pleased on this occasion to grant this appeal for such a worthy cause.

Raymond Levy (PR)

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Mercedes Finds An Outlet For Unsold Taxis With Ride Share App.

In recent years, we have seen many big-name vehicle manufacturers trying their hand at the private-hire market, coming up with all sorts of ideas on how they can get a slice of the ride-hailing and ride-sharing economy. 

Whilst Uber are waiting to hear from. The court about their licence renewal appeal, Mercedes believe they have found a gap in the London market.

Not a great surprise really, as they needed an outlet for the vehicles designed to be London Taxis, now that the Taxi trade can no longer licence any new vehicle other than an electric vehicle.

Regulation Out The Window At TfL.

It seems the regulation that stop purpose built Taxis being used by Private Hire companies, is another regulation swept under the carpet under the watchful gaze of Mike Brown's TfLTPH.

The German car-makers have this week announced that they are introducing an on-demand ridesharing Vito's boasting  a strong demand in London for ride-sharing solutions.

ViaVan is the name of this new service; a joint venture between Mercedes and American ridesharing service; Via. Together, the businesses will allow commuters of Zones 1 and 2 to access vans with vacant seats in real-time, allowing them to jump in and share ride fairs with those heading in the same direction as them.

Having already tested the model in Amsterdam, they say they will be excelling where Uber very much fell flat. This venture is centred on safety and reliability, with ViaVan offering the residents and visitors of the capital city an honest, easy way to travel. Doesn't mean diddley squat as customer who use Uber don't give a fig about safety or reliability....they just want cheap!

In a statement to the press, Chris Snyder CEO of ViaVan said:

“Our mission is to power truly dynamic mass transit systems, which reduce congestion in our cities while offering drivers the opportunity to earn a decent living.# “We are delighted to launch in London and finally give Londoners an alternative to expensive and inefficient private car services.”

Same Old Workforce, Still A Danger To The Public

Unfortunately for unsuspecting Londoners and Visitors alike, they will be drawing on the same work force that Uber have exploited and let's not forget that 13,000 of this workforce have acquired their PH licence using fake Criminal Record Check DBS certificates plus many have fake medical. 

Last year custom rape from this workforce rose by 50% to over one a week with sexual assaults rising to almost one a day.

London is to be flooded with new ride share apps in the wake of a Uber licence renewal knock back and TfL are still dishing out operator and driver licenses like sweeties to kids, (trying to make a dent in the forecast £1b deficit for the next financial year). Over. Recent years, we've seen a dramatic escalation in road traffic collisions where these untrained drivers take their eyes off the road and smash into other vehicles. People have died and the blood is on the hands of the directors at TfL who have shirked all responsibility once they've taken the cash.

Gone out the window are the days when public safety was paramount. 

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