Remember Walls Have Ears...And The TfLTPH Twitter Police Are Listening In.

Taxi leaks has known for some time that everything we say on social media is closely monitored by TfLTPH. 

Going back to 2011, our editor Jim Thomas, received an email (still in his possession) from John Mason, on which he'd forgotten to redact the attached train. Further along the line was a communication from his assistant Helen Chapman,  who had been spying on Jim and attached screen shots from Twitter and the London Taxi Drivers forum of virtually everything he'd posted the previous day. 

(Reason for this was John Mason had in fact been blocked by the Forum and most of the drivers on Twitter).

At Taxi Leaks, we've always known TfLTPH take an interest in what we produce as our Stats checker can be used to show certain systems that click onto the blog (in TFL's case, we have a list of terminal ISP addresses). 

A busy day already at Racheal Grundy House

Screen shot from our commercially available Stats Checker program which monitors visitors to Taxi Leaks Blogs.

Recently Taxi Leaks have experienced problems when advertising posts on Twitter. We've appealed several times but have had no communication back from Twitter. Our blog has been flag up as unsafe....which is a blatant lie. Will will continue to post using what ever means we have at our disposal as we won't by bullied off line.

In the past we've posted proof that the LTDA wi-fi set up at Taxi House, was being used to spread discord amongst drivers from different representative orgs using the comment section of The Old Anderson Shelter Blog. When the proof was published in an issue of the 'United Cabbies News', it suddenly stopped. 

Carrying on from this surveillance, it has been bought to our attention that drivers have started to receive threatening letters from TfLTPH's Twitter Police team, over what's been alleged to have been said on social media.

And, it's no good blocking @TfLTPH as we believe their Twitter team are using a number of 'troll type' accounts to follow drivers. 

So please be very careful what you say on all social media platforms as its alleged they (TfL) have also managed to infiltrate private drivers groups on FaceBook. 

It would be a better use of TfLTPH resources to follow up on Tweets like this one below and take action, rather than what a few cabbies are saying to each other!

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MP Finds George Osbourne's behaviour over BlackRock And Evening Standard Job, Worrying.

Ronnie Cowan Sir Bernard Jenkins Baroness Browning

Ronnie Cowan of the Scottish Nation Party spoke out in parliament about worrying impropriety of former Chancellor George Osborne. In a debate about the Thirteenth Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, he said:

"As Sir Bernard Jenkin mentioned, the situation with George Osborne has been particularly worrying. That the former Chancellor of the Exchequer has been taken on as an adviser to the BlackRock Investment Institute on a salary considerably in excess of his previous salary as Chancellor, in a sector that he was responsible for regulating, seems to show little care for even the appearance of propriety among Ministers. 

"That the body that was supposed to be regulating the revolving doors between Government and industry had to hear that he had accepted a high-profile position as editor of the Evening Standard in the news, without him having consulted them or waited for clearance, shows that the system is broken. 

"That the president of BlackRock could tell investors that there is no way of knowing whether Mr Osborne will draw on (or disclose or use for the benefit of yourself or the organisation to which this advice refers) any privileged information that he gained from his time in Government shows that this is an absolute mockery.

"As the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex said, the ACOBA chair, Baroness Browning, said to the Committee:
Every bus driver and hairdresser you know should apply for any of those jobs. I can tell you factually, not one applied.”

Sir Bernard Jenkins called on the government to;

considered the Thirteenth Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, HC 252, Managing Ministers’ and officials’ conflicts of interest: time for clearer values, principles and action, on the role and effectiveness of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA); 

notes that ACoBA regulates applications for business appointments by former Ministers and civil servants who have recently left the public sector; 

he believes that ACoBA is an ineffectual regulator which fails to inspire public confidence or respect; 

expresses concern that the Committee’s inquiry revealed numerous gaps in ACoBA’s monitoring process with insufficient attention paid to the principles that should govern business appointments; 

agrees that failures of consecutive governments to address ACoBA’s deficiencies have damaged public trust in politics and public institutions and led to repeated scandals; 

calls on the Government to bring forward major reform by introducing a principles-based system to ensure that individuals act with integrity and behave according to those principles; 

and further calls on the Government to fund independent checks by ACoBA across all Government departments and executive agencies to reinforce those principles.

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2018-06-28b.1130.0&s=taxi#g1134.0 

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Skateboader Left Critical after Failing To Hear Approaching Electric Uber Prius

A skateboarder was left critically injured in a road crash after failing to hear an approaching electric minicab. 

Theo Fallstrom, 24, suffered a brain haemorrhage, broken left shoulder and damaged right ear in the collision with the hybrid Toyota Prius in Mayfair. But he was saved by medics from London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance who arrived in minutes.

Today his mother called air ambulance medics “the SAS of first responders”.

Mr Fallstrom had been skating home at around midnight in Albemarle Street and had been unable to hear the car, powered by its quiet electric motor.

LAS was on the scene in three minutes, followed by an air ambulance fast- response car four minutes later. Its medics Dr David Cooper and paramedic Rob Twitchen put Mr Fallstrom in an induced coma to protect his brain and he was taken to the major trauma centre at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington.

He spent about three weeks in a coma and more than a month of rehabilitation at Wellington Hospital, St John’s Wood, where he had to relearn to talk and walk. His mother Leonie, from Holland Park, told his story at London Air Ambulance summer gala last week.

After the accident on August 20 last year, Mr Fallstrom was bleeding from his ear, flailing around and punching out due to the brain damage. Ms Fallstrom said: “He didn’t hear the electric Prius. The driver on his way to collect a fare didn’t see him.” Describing the effect on the windscreen of him slamming into it she added: “Theo hit with such force he scored a bullseye.

“He needed to be put in a coma, and fast. [The medics] called for silence and performed the complex task. London’s Air Ambulance are the SAS of first responders. These absolutely incredible people and their speed and expertise.”

Theo, a chef at Daylesford organic shop in Marylebone, cannot remember the accident. It was regarded as a “no fault collision”. Theo said: “I feel put back together. If it wasn’t for their speed and skill I wouldn’t be here or quite possibly not able to speak or walk.” It costs £8 million a year to keep LAA’s two helicopters and fleet of fast cars in operation and most is raised from donations. 

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It's All Been A Game Of Connection. After Our Dunkirk Moment, We Fight Them On The Streets.

Remember the Leytonstone Uber driver slasher attack?

Turned out he'd been sectioned under the mental Health act, had been on medication for mental health problems....but TfL gave him a private hire license to driver for Uber. After initial reports of the attack, subsequent news has been removed from Peres and TV news channels!

Then the story broke in the press, about Uber drivers buying fake medical pass certificates online.

Reports of an illegal immigrant Uber driver with fake documents, who ran down 11 pedestrians outside the Natural History Museum...sanitised from national media other than the headline "It wasn't a terror related attack"!!!

Then last week, after admitting in court they processed 2 million illegal jobs a week for almost 6 years (that's approx 624,000,000 jobs in total)...after the hacking of customer accounts, after using GreyBall to avoid detection from regulatory agencies, after the biggest data lost in history and after admitting they failed to pass on customer complaints of driver sexual assaults to the Police...Uber are given new 15 month licence by a judge with links to David Cameron's chumocracy!!! 

Now we're informed that an Uber driver terrorist, who wanted to be a martyr, attacks police outside Buckingham palace with Samurai sword, shouting "Allahu Akba...shoot me"......and after 19 hours of deliberation, the jury can't decide if he's guilty of an offence.

Helen chapman who covered Uber's back after finding they had been licensed illegally, then swept under the carpet the fake medical, the 13,000 fake criminal record check DBS....promoted from General Manager to Director, just before she leaves on maternity leave....

But then failure has always been rewarded by TfL. 

Look at the packages received by recent director departures....its scandalous. 

Performance related bonuses they call it....we know it as back handlers and pay offs. Some of the more recent departures should have wound up in court facing malfeasance charges. 

Has London Fallen???

TfL certainly has.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT :

The catastrophic events of the last few weeks has seen the London Taxi trade go through its Dunkirk moment. 

We must now realise that our problem will not be solved by our current trade leaders, men without a plan are not a solution but part of the problem. 

Waiting and seeing, hoping to rely on legislation laid down for our protection by parliament, was the worse strategy trade orgs could ever have employed. 

They just ignored (changed) legislation and ran roughshod over the British legal system, directed by high ranking  government officials.

Our troubles will not be solved politically, or through the court. Don't even think of compensation....it won't happen.

The unfolding events of the past few weeks have been orchestrated to climax just as we see our work levels reaching a seasonal peek. Drivers have been silenced as tourists fill the capital for Queens and Wimblebon. Followed by the arrival of our guests from the Middle East. 

But what happens in September when they all leave? 

We've just gone through one of the worste kippers the trade has ever seen. Yes there will always be the carpet brigade, the lucky few, but generally it has been awful out there. We've seen over 1,500 drivers leave the trade. 

They're taking away our streets, taking away our ranks and taking away our sole right to ply for hire. But there's one thing they can't take away from us and that's our Dunkirk spirit. The spirit to reform and fight back.

The London Taxi trade has the ability to bring this city to its knees. We can shut it down costing businesses many millions of pounds on a daily basis....it may sound futile to some, but it's all we have left. 

After Dunkirk, Churchill stood up and said "we will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them on the streets....well that's all we have left....the streets and that's where we must take this fight.

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Transport for London holding £300m 'cash mountain' left on dormant Oyster cards

Warning millions in potential refunds has gone unclaimed as scheme celebrates 15th anniversary

Transport for London (TfL) has been urged to help customers reclaim their share of the "cash mountain" sat on dormant Oyster cards as the contactless scheme marks its 15th anniversary.

Official statistics released by the transport authority show the total balances and deposits on cards that have not been used for more than a year currently stands at £321m.

Lib Dem London assembly member Caroline Pidgeon has accused TfL bosses of remaining "incredibly quiet" about the growing pot of cash sitting in dormant Oyster accounts.

"As we celebrate Oyster's success we should not overlook the staggering rise of dormant Oyster cards, creating an immense cash mountain for TfL," Ms Pidgeon said.

“The total amount left on dormant Oyster cards is soaring, almost certainly in part due to the increasing number of people who have switched to contactless payment.

"TfL never stops bombarding us with advertisements and information campaigns, but highlighting this cash mountain is one issue that they remain incredibly quiet about. 

"It is time TfL devoted far more time and energy telling the public how they can get their own money back."

More than 100 million people have used Oyster cards since they were launched on 30 June 2003.

The scheme has revolutionised the way in which public transport is paid for in the capital and can be used for travel by Tube, rail, bus, boat and cable car.

Fares are capped, meaning users will never pay more than they would for an equivalent paper ticket for their day's travel.

Oyster users are able to reclaim the £5 initial deposit they paid for their card, as well as up to £10 pay-as-you-go credit.

However, few are choosing to do this and the TfL is sitting on an ever increasing fund of cash accumulating on dormant cards.

The figure has risen by almost £100m in the past two years, up from £223m in August 2016.

The transport authority is however planning for a £1bn deficit next year after a fall in passenger numbers prompted by factors such as changing work patterns and the rise of internet shopping has hit its revenues hard. 

Several Tube upgrade programmes have been shelved after it lost a government grant worth £700m a year, while a significant number of bus services are also due to be cut.

"The Oyster card is an essential part of London and we're delighted with how popular this innovation has become in the last 15 years," said Shashi Verma, TfL's chief technology officer.

"It has transformed travel on public transport in London, become a world-recognised product and helped provide more affordable and convenient travel for everyone."

The transport authority is however planning for a £1bn deficit next year after a fall in passenger numbers prompted by factors such as changing work patterns and the rise of internet shopping has hit its revenues hard. 

Several Tube upgrade programmes have been shelved after it lost a government grant worth £700m a year, while a significant number of bus services are also due to be cut.

"The Oyster card is an essential part of London and we're delighted with how popular this innovation has become in the last 15 years," said Shashi Verma, TfL's chief technology officer.

"It has transformed travel on public transport in London, become a world-recognised product and helped provide more affordable and convenient travel for everyone."

Additional reporting by PA

The transport authority is however planning for a £1bn deficit next year after a fall in passenger numbers prompted by factors such as changing work patterns and the rise of internet shopping has hit its revenues hard. 

Several Tube upgrade programmes have been shelved after it lost a government grant worth £700m a year, while a significant number of bus services are also due to be cut.

"The Oyster card is an essential part of London and we're delighted with how popular this innovation has become in the last 15 years," said Shashi Verma, TfL's chief technology officer.

"It has transformed travel on public transport in London, become a world-recognised product and helped provide more affordable and convenient travel for everyone."

Additional reporting by PA

The transport authority is however planning for a £1bn deficit next year after a fall in passenger numbers prompted by factors such as changing work patterns and the rise of internet shopping has hit its revenues hard. 

Several Tube upgrade programmes have been shelved after it lost a government grant worth £700m a year, while a significant number of bus services are also due to be cut.

"The Oyster card is an essential part of London and we're delighted with how popular this innovation has become in the last 15 years," said Shashi Verma, TfL's chief technology officer.

"It has transformed travel on public transport in London, become a world-recognised product and helped provide more affordable and convenient travel for everyone”.

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Former TfLTPH John Mason Takes To Twitter, To Give His Opinion On Uber Appeal.

Former Director of TfLTPH John Mason, took to Twitter late on Friday night, to give his few remaining  Taxi driver followers, his take on the Uber appeal division and the verdict of judge Emma Arbuthnot. 

In a series of eight tweets John said:

Without wanting to poke the bears that are my last London taxi driver followers, at the end of this week I would put forward the following:

The decision this week was not about whether #Uber should have been licensed. 

I read all the skeleton arguments and supporting evidence and I personally feel that TFL put up a strong justification for their action. Given #Uber agreed that the decision was correct then the Magistrate seemed to only have to decide whether #uber were fit and proper now.

I could be wrong of may have missed it but given the speed it looks like those conditions were provisionally agreed between TFL and #Uber if the Magistrate was minded to issue a licence.

I thought Helen was robust and TFL Counsel Martin Chamberlin was very good. He led the Add Lee Bus Lane action and was very good from my experience.

I do agree with a lot of the irate taxi drivers and indeed PHV operators that are on Twitter that this decision is inconsistent. I agree that smaller operators and individuals would not get such an easy ride if they admitted what #uber had.

I know a lot of cabbies that may end up reading this may still feel aggrieved that they were licensed in the first place. I maintain they were licensed as the met the conditions of licensing at the time.

I struggle to see what legal action the UCG or any other Org can take that may have any chance of success but I’m not party to info and advice they have.

In conclusion, based on what they admitted they did and what TFL started they did, I am surprised. I don’t buy into the whole Chumoracy stuff but in this day and age who know?! Maybe it was the Russians?

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Open Letter From Jim Thomas To TfL Commissioner Mike Brown.

Open letter to Mike Brown

Dear Mike, can you please tell us how many laws you will allow Uber to break before revoking their London Licence under the terms laid down in the recent court case by Judge Emma Arbuthnot. 

Uber have been granted a probationary 15 month license in the same way as a convicted felon being let out of prison on licence. One hit and your out. With the felon, first further arrest and back to the nick, so with Uber, one serious complaint about the company and the licence should automatically be revoked. But Mike, is this really the case, will you act on a one hit and your out basis with Uber?...or will all contraventions be dealt with, by a nod and a wink from TfL, as with the 13,000 Uber driver fake DBS certificates...Will the Taxi trade have to take TfL to court to get you to do your job???

The day after Uber were given their probationary license, they carried on breaking the law by picking up passengers outside the Met Police district of Greater London -such as Stanstead and Gatwick Airports, using the Uber app- Under the terms of cross border hiring they can only do this if the customer has requested a trip with a licensed operator in these areas, then the booking is subcontracted over to Uber.... this isn’t happening...Uber are still plying for trade with their app directly in the vicinity of these areas, as they do in many other areas they are not licensed to operate in. 

Will TfL now revoke their licence with immediate effect....?

MIKE, WILL YOU NOW MEET WITH THE TAXI TRADE TO DISCUSS THESE CONTRAVENTIONS NOW THE COURT CASE IS CONCLUDED...instead of hiding away again?

Uber in Southend:

UBER has been told to stay away from Southend after it won the right to operate in London again. Uber cars could regularly be seen picking up at Southend Airport.

The controversial minicab firm was awarded a temporary licence for the capital this week after previously being denied a five year licence over safety fears for passengers.

The company accepted it had made “serious mistakes” and Transport for London was correct in its September decision. 

But it told an appeal hearing this week it had made reforms. Although the reforms haven’t actually been made public, we just have their word on this. 

Tony Cox, conservative councillor for Shoebury, has been a fierce opponent to Uber due to being concerned about the safety of the the taxi service.

He said: “It’s a hollow victory.

“I was saying long before TFL took notice that Uber wasn’t fit for purpose or to hold an operator’s licence.

“I was shocked it took them so long to do something about it.

“They compromised people’s safety.

“You actually cannot get an Uber car in Southend itself now.

“They are not welcome here and if they ever want to come here I will campaign heavily against them.

“It’s good riddance.”

Uber was asking for a five-year licence when TFL rejected the application but the judge issued the shorter one with stringent conditions after concluding the firm had made “rapid and very recent” changes.

Under the licence, Uber must inform the Metropolitan Police of criminal allegations, face regular independent audits and not employ anyone who has helped evade law enforcement.

Even though Uber won the appeal, they unusually offered to pay  TfL’s £425,000 legal costs.

John Watson, managing director of Southend-based AC Taxis, said: “We as a trade are disappointed with the ruling as there are clearly lots of public safety issues in the way Uber operate.

“These haven’t been addressed, for an example they will be operating in areas where the local enforcement officers will have no authority over them.

“As for Southend, Uber does not have a Southend licence so had decided two months ago to geo-fence their app meaning TFL cars are unable to work in Southend.

“Our view is that Uber is welcome to work in Southend as long as they have a Southend licence so their drivers are kept to the high Southend Safety Standards.”

Mark Flewitt, cabinet member for public protection, added: “We understand Uber has been given a short term licence to continue to operate in London, and we will be monitoring the situation for further developments.”

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT.... LEAST WE FORGET:

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