Sunday Report :"Only license Taxis can rank up", Said EdThompson...They Lied Back Then...They're Still Lying Now.

It has been bought to the attention of Taxi Leaks that a reply to driver’s complaints from then spokesperson Luke Howard included a number of incorrect statements.

Mr Howard says;

“It is perhaps worthwhile letting you know something about the current legislation covering 'immediate hirings'. There were a number of court case rulings before 1976 that stated that minicabs should not be available 'for immediate hire'. This changed however, when legislation was passed in that year (for areas outside London) and in 1998 when legislation introduced private hire licensing in London for the first time.

The act of 1976 as Mr Howard quite rightly points out does not apply to London and therefore is irrelevant full stop.

The 1976 and 1998 legislation does not have this 'not for immediate hire' restriction.

Even though the 1998 act makes no reference to ranking or parking of mini-cabs, doesn't make it legal for them to do so. 

Just going back to the year 2002, a judge made a decision on the definition of “plying for hire” and found two mini-cabs cabs guilty of such an offence based upon case law...

The PCO/TfL have never sort to overturn the judgement laid down by the court and we believe, in this instance, they may be acting outside their remit and role by interpreting what they believe the “right to ply for hire” actually is, even though they and their lawyers know of recent court decisions like the judgement in Eastbourne......!

The requirement now is that the booking must be recorded before the journey commences, so it is legitimate for the vehicles to be waiting as describe.

In the complaints made to TfL/PCO the private hire vehicles in question were describe as being parked on red routs, double yellow lines, zig zag lines and 24 hour bus lanes. Legitimate?

This was a very misleading statement from Mr Howard and we asked why it was made?

At that time, TfLTPH did not reply!

Just because the legislation of 1998 did not include the phrase "minicabs should not be available for immediate hire" does not mean that it is now legal for them to do so. 

This part of the original act has never been repealed, replace or challenged and still stands in common law.

This is again more proof of the lenient attitude shown towards private hire’s illegal activities and proof also of TfL/PCO reluctance to enforce current legislation.

  

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Sunday Special Report : They Lied To Us Then....They're Still Lying To Us Now. Blast From The Past.

It has been bought to the attention of the Anderson shelter that a reply to driver’s complaints from spokesperson Luke Howard includes a number of incorrect statements.

Mr Howard says;

“It is perhaps worthwhile letting you know something about the current legislation covering 'immediate hirings'. There were a number of court case rulings before 1976 that stated that minicabs should not be available 'for immediate hire'. This changed however, when legislation was passed in that year (for areas outside London) and in 1998 when legislation introduced private hire licensing in London for the first time.

The act of 1976 as Mr Howard quite rightly points out does not apply to London and therefore is irrelevant full stop.

The 1976 and 1998 legislation does not have this 'not for immediate hire' restriction.

Even though the 1998 act makes no reference to ranking or parking of mini-cabs, doesn't make it legal for them to do so. Just going back to the year 2002, a judge made a decision on the definition of “plying for hire” and found two mini-cabs cabs guilty of such an offence based upon case law...

The PCO/TfL have never sort to overturn a judgement laid down by the court and we believe, in this instance, they may be acting outside their remit and role by interpreting what they believe the “right to ply for hire” actually is, even though they and their lawyers know of recent court decisions like the judgement in Eastbourne......!

The requirement now is that the booking must be recorded before the journey commences, so it is legitimate for the vehicles to be waiting as you describe.

In the complaints made to TfL/PCO the private hire vehicles in question were describe as being parked on red routs, double yellow lines, zig zag lines and 24 hour bus lanes. Legitimate?

This is a very misleading statement from Mr Howard and we would ask why it was made?

Just because the new legislation of 1998 did not include the phrase "minicabs should not be available for immediate hire" does not mean that it is now legal for them to do so. This part of the original act has never been repealed, replace or challenged and still stands in common law.
This is again more proof of the lenient attitude shown towards private hire’s illegal activities and proof also of TfL/PCO reluctance to enforce current legislation.

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4 May is Remembrance Day (Dodenherdenking) in The Netherlands.

An occasion that is very dear to our family. My uncle Ronnie was wounded as he dropped into a field during Operation Market Garden (17–25 September 1944) an unsuccessful Allied military operation planned, and predominantly led by, the British. 

The success of the operation depended on taking a series of nine bridges, the last being at the city of Arnhem over the Rhine river. Airborne and land forces succeeded in the liberation of the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, but failed in keeping their farthest positions in and around the city of Arnhem including the bridge over the Rhine.

4 May is Remembrance Day (Dodenherdenking) in The Netherlands. On this day we remember the victims of wartime violence.

Members from the team from the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, join members of the British embassy to attend Remembrance ceremonies  across The Netherlands.

London Taxis, taking our veterans to ceremonies across The Netherlands 

London Taxi Radio's team (Joe Cartwright, John Cox) have been keeping us informed on Periscope. See video link below:

https://www.pscp.tv/LondonTaxiRadio/1gqGvpEvAjQxB

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Brighton Council Explain Why They Never Relicensed Uber.

Brighton is the latest to revoke the car-hailing service’s license. Here’s why…

It’s official: Uber’s application for a new license in Brighton has been rejected by Brighton and Hove City Council on the basis that the company is not a “fit and proper” private car hire operator.

Councillor Jacqui O’Quinn explained the decision, saying: “Our priority is the safety of residents and visitors and, due to the data breach and the lack of commitment to using drivers licensed here, we were not satisfied that UBL (Uber Britannia Limited) are a fit and proper person to hold an operator’s licence.”

She added: “All Brighton and Hove private hire and Hackney Carriage drivers in the city operate under the same licences and guidelines contained in the Blue Book and undergo the same background checks, whichever company they drive for.

“In the original application in 2015, UBL gave a firm commitment to adhere to the standards set out in the Blue Book and only to use Brighton & Hove licensed drivers. We do not feel the spirit of this commitment has been kept to.

“In the panel’s view, large numbers of taxis operating in the city that do not meet our Blue Book standards puts the safety of residents and visitors at potential risk.

“We recognise there are strong feelings on this issue and would like to thank all those who took the time to make submissions to the hearing.”

“Our priority is the safety of residents and visitors”

The announcement comes months after Transport for London (London’s transport regulator) decided to strip the firm of its license, based on concerns about Uber’s “approach and conduct” and passenger safety.

Speaking about the move last September, TfL concluded that Uber had shown “a lack of corporate responsibility” with regard to potential safety and security issues.

“Private hire operators must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that they do so, in order to operate,” said TfL in a statement.

They added: “TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license.”

In all this time, TfL has refuse to talk about the increasing amount of Uber rapes and sexual assaults. Uber parapet rose last year by 50% to over one a week. 

Also TfL swept the 13,000 fake DBS certificates scandal, under their carpet. 

Uber has announced its intention to appeal both London and Brighton’s “disappointing” decisions.

Addressing Brighton’s ban on their cars, a spokesman for the company said: “This is a disappointing decision for the thousands of passengers and drivers who rely on our app in Brighton and Hove. 

“We intend to appeal so we can continue serving the city.”

Uber is licensed to operate in 80 areas across the UK, having succeeded with 35 applications in the last year, including in Cambridge, Glasgow, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield. 

The firm – which has also seen its license to operate revoked in York – has since taken steps to comply with various initiatives in London to improve safety, and its appeal against TfL is due to be heard in the high court in June.

However, it emerged last November that Uber, which has 75 million users across the world, had concealed a hack that affected 57 million customers and driversin 2016.

It was hidden by the company which paid hackers a ransom of $100,000 (£75,000) to delete the data.

At the time, Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told the BBC: “None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it.

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This is why Uber has been banned in Brighton : TfL Happy To Have 10,400 Unchecked Uber Drivers In London

Brighton is the latest to revoke the car-hailing service’s license. Here’s why…

It’s official: Uber’s application for a new license in Brighton has been rejected by Brighton and Hove City Council on the basis that the company is not a “fit and proper” private car hire operator.

Councillor Jacqui O’Quinn explained the decision, saying: “Our priority is the safety of residents and visitors and, due to the data breach and the lack of commitment to using drivers licensed here, we were not satisfied that UBL (Uber Britannia Limited) are a fit and proper person to hold an operator’s licence.”

She added: “All Brighton and Hove private hire and Hackney Carriage drivers in the city operate under the same licences and guidelines contained in the Blue Book and undergo the same background checks, whichever company they drive for.

“In the original application in 2015, UBL gave a firm commitment to adhere to the standards set out in the Blue Book and only to use Brighton & Hove licensed drivers. We do not feel the spirit of this commitment has been kept to.

“In the panel’s view, large numbers of taxis operating in the city that do not meet our Blue Book standards puts the safety of residents and visitors at potential risk.

“We recognise there are strong feelings on this issue and would like to thank all those who took the time to make submissions to the hearing.”

“Our priority is the safety of residents and visitors”

The announcement comes months after Transport for London (London’s transport regulator) decided to strip the firm of its license, based on concerns about Uber’s “approach and conduct” and passenger safety.

Speaking about the move last September, TfL concluded that Uber had shown “a lack of corporate responsibility” with regard to potential safety and security issues.

“Private hire operators must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that they do so, in order to operate,” said TfL in a statement.

They added: “TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license.”

Uber has announced its intention to appeal both London and Brighton’s “disappointing” decisions.

Addressing Brighton’s ban on their cars, a spokesman for the company said: “This is a disappointing decision for the thousands of passengers and drivers who rely on our app in Brighton and Hove. 

“We intend to appeal so we can continue serving the city.”

Uber is licensed to operate in 80 areas across the UK, having succeeded with 35 applications in the last year, including in Cambridge, Glasgow, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield. 

The firm – which has also seen its license to operate revoked in York – has since taken steps to comply with various initiatives in London to improve safety, and its appeal against TfL is due to be heard in the high court in June.

However, it emerged last November that Uber, which has 75 million users across the world, had concealed a hack that affected 57 million customers and driversin 2016.

It was hidden by the company which paid hackers a ransom of $100,000 (£75,000) to delete the data.

At the time, Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told the BBC: “None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : by Jim Thomas.

IN THEIR DREAMS....PULLING THE WOOL OVER THE MEDIA'S EYES 

IN REALITY : Juma Ali Omar, 43, of Barking was charged with dangerous driving on 6 April.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

Omar has also been charged with possessing identity documents with intent, using a motor vehicle without third party insurance and driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

One of Ubers's 13,000 drivers with a fake criminal record DBS certificate. TfL knew about these fakes in January 2017 and swept this information under the carpet.

When this news broke in the national press, Helen Chapman said that all 13,000 would be required to resubmit their DBS checks. Only 2,600 did this and TfL have not insisted on the other 10,400 taking action. Instead they feel it's ok to have all these drivers out there with no criminal record checks saying that the matter will sort itself when they need to relicense in three years time.

Another three years with 10,400 unchecked drivers like Juma Ali Omar out there ???

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Don't Panic, Twitter Warns Users To Change Password After Bug Leaves Details Exposed

Twitter is currently warning all of its 330 million users to change their passwords after it found a bug that left user details exposed on an internal system. 

Unfortunately, if you use a third party platform to access Twitter, like the now defunked Twittelator Pro, you won't see the warning. This only appears on the original Twitter app.

The company is saying that nobody breached the system and said it was warning users out of an “abundance of caution”, although the warning is disarming for users at a time of heightened concerns over internet privacy. 

Twitter said the bug meant that passwords were stored without “hashing”, or encryption. While Twitter does encrypt user passwords, the bug meant they were also accidentally stored in normal text on an internal system, although it's not clear how many passwords were exposed in this way.

DON’T PANIC

Twitter is assuring users it was not breached and that although the passwords were exposed by the glitch there was "no indication of breach or misuse by anyone". 

Twitter’s head of technology Parag Agrawal initially tried to play down the bug, saying the company didn’t have to share the news, but later backtracked claiming he thought it was “the right thing to do”.

THE DANGER WITHIN

While the episode appears to have done no lasting damage to Twitter (its shares have remained steady so far) the danger to users from an internal leak are in the spotlight. 

Facebook was this week revealed to have fired an employee who described himself as a “professional stalker”, using the company’s user database to search for information on Tinder matches. 

Facebook even has a internal system for when an employee accesses another’s account, known as a “Sauron alert”. There is no such warning for users, prompting concerns on how much data social network employees can find on users without them knowing.

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Green Tomato teamed up with Toyota in 2015 for London’s first hydrogen-fuelled private hire vehicle.

A project to test the capabilities of hydrogen-powered fleets across three European capitals gets underway in London this week.

ZEFER (Zero Emission Fleet vehicles for European Roll-out) will see a total of 180 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in service, divided equally across London, Paris and Brussels. The €26m project is designed to explore how hydrogen fleets perform in the real world, and the cars will be deployed as taxis and private hire vehicles (170) as well as police cars (10), driving long distances each day and requiring rapid refuelling.

Led by Cambridge-based consultancy Element Energy, the ZEFER consortium also includes hydrogen suppliers (Air Liquide and ITM Power Trading), vehicle end users (Green Tomato Cars, HYPE and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime), observer partners (BMW and Linde) and partners supporting the analysis and policy conclusions (Cenex and the Mairie de Paris). The trial begins this week in London, with Green Tomato deploying 25 Toyota Mirais as private hire vehicles.

“This is a truly unique project where investors in hydrogen technology, manufacturers of hydrogen cars and Green Tomato Cars as the end users, have come together with a commitment to make hydrogen transport work for the good of the people and the environment,” said Jonny Goldstone, managing director of Green Tomato Cars.

As well as testing the cars under high-mileage operation, the project aims to bolster the hydrogen infrastructure in each of the cities. With the vehicles in daily use, each will create hydrogen demand roughly four times that of a regular privately-owned car. According to the consortium, the goal is to gather data and disseminate results to demonstrate the business case for future FCEV adoption.

“We are delighted to be leading this major project which will demonstrate commercially viable use cases for hydrogen fuelled vehicles in high mileage urban fleets,” said Ben Madden, director at Element Energy.

“The increasingly widespread hydrogen infrastructure network in leading European cities as well as new FCEV models from manufacturers are beginning to drive real market adoption. We are excited to see first large-scale users starting to take up the technology in large fleets to do the day to day work of vehicles which operate in urban centres.”

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