Call 01908 263263 or email us to make your booking now

  • Excellent value for money

  • Fixed prices, regardless of traffic or time of day

  • Your driver will be waiting for you at arrivals

  • Flights are tracked, so your driver won't come to the terminal until you land

  • Free waiting time if you are delayed coming through to arrivals all you pay is the charges for short stay car park


CYBERCABZ is a family run business EST in 2003 open 24 hours 365 days a year. We specialize in providing Heathrows airport taxi transfers transportation and local journeys from London Heathrow Airport to any location in the UK or any long distance journeys to anywhere ,including Europe.Our cars and vito mini busses are clean, polite and all come with a smart driver that are all insured and properly CRB checked and cleared so you are completely in safe hands on every part of your car journey .

Our Airport transfers fare price are so good and you are guaranteed to get a no fuss and a no hassle cheap inexpensive taxi service with us. So if you are coming or going to or from any of Heathrows terminals or other places nearby or anywhere in the UK we can provide you with a smart reliable friendly drivers to transfer you to where ever you’re going and also transfer you back from your destination with great prices and a an amazing deal on waiting around for you if you need to return same day. There is likelihood that you will need a Heathrow Airport cab service at one point or another.so therefore its necessary you look for a good service provider who can efficiently offer you taxi transport services. You can easily find such professionals at http://www.heathrowcabz.co.uk/

Do you Need Heathrows Airport taxi cars ?

London Heathrow airport transfers come in handy when you are late, and do not have enough time to drive. You will be amazed at how well the taxi drivers know many destinations. They can tell when a street will be busy and how they can avoid heavy traffic. They are also trained to offer their services with efficiently yet with your safety in mind.

It is possible that you are so tired after a long flight, and that all you need is to rest upon arrival in Heathrow. Still, it is possible that you have a lot of luggage that will make it even hard for you to rest an inch. Heathrow Airport transfers will relieve you of all your that transport and luggage stress especially if you make early bookings for the services.

When your business associates or long-time friends are about to arrive at the airport, you should just go for Heathrow airport taxi services. You can call a taxi agency and give them the details of the times and dates when your guests will be arriving. Your friends will to find a taxi waiting for them at the airport and that they just have to sit back and have a good time.

Sometimes you want to arrive at a destination in style. You may want to impress your business associates or family friends. Driving your old car or asking your friend to drop you to the airport during such times may not make much sense. Rather, you can go for Heathrow airport taxi services and arrive in style. You can choose a limousine or any other classy ride as offered by the taxi agencies.

Do not panic when your car breakdown in the middle of your ride to Heathrow airport. During such moments, you need not to worry on whether you will miss a flight or not. All you need to do is calling taxi service providers and notify them of your problem. Before you know it, a taxi will be on the stand by waiting to take you to the airport.

You may be surprised that you can get there earlier that you expected.During those nights when everyone has retired to sleep, Heathrow airport taxi companies are still operating. You can make quick arrangements for transfers and soon you will be sorted out. You can ask the drivers to make reservations for you or your loved ones and the drivers will be waiting for you at the airport or any other destination. You can even raise concerns about taxi services at that particular time and there will be someone on standby to address you.

Rules for Good Taxi Service Providers

Best service providers in Heathrow airport transfer services are guided by a code of conduct. It means that they must maintain certain ethical standards in service provision. Firstly, they will arrive on time so that you do not end up getting late. Secondly, they will keep communicating with you, and confirming about your transportation details such as time, whether you have luggage and the number of people to Heathrow airport transfer.

Thirdly, they will handle the whole service delivery professionally. This means that their language, dressing and driving will thrill you. Lastly, the cars are well maintained so that every client will arrive at their destination safely.

About paying for your Cab

People have a notion that the Heathrow airport taxi services are meant for certain class of people. This is far from the truth! You can afford to pay for the services since there are options to suit every budget.

The price paid for taxi services depend on:

•The type of car that you choose. Some cabs will be very expensive; since they have classy appeal and are comfortable enough for everyone. Big cars that accommodate a lot of people can also be expensive as opposed to smaller cars.

• The number of hours of service delivery. If you hire a vehicle for a whole day, you will pay more than for someone who hires it for a few hours.

• Period of service delivery. When you hire a cab during the night, you will be charged more than someone who hires it during the day.

• Negotiation skills. With sharp negotiation skills, it is possible to pay less for taxi services. You can state your price, and ask the taxi company to provide a service that suits that specific budget. You will be amazed to find out that Heathrow Airport Transfer you can still get comfortable rides yet at an affordable rate.

• Distance covered. It costs more for long distance cab services than for short distances. Logically, you will have to pay for the gas consumption during long distances travel.

It is important to book for Heathrow airport taxi services in advance. This ensures that you are picked at the right time. The bookings can be done online; which is convenient. You can also ask for quotes online so that you can budget well for the services.

OUR TAXI TRANSFERS ARE THE BEST AND 200% RELIABLE SO CALL 01908 263 263




Monday, 16 July 2018

What's TFL's Connection With Baron Arbuthnot, Nothing To See Here...Mind The Gap!

Thales awarded London Underground Sub-Surface Lines resignalling contract

UK: Transport for London announced on August 3 that it had awarded sole bidder Thales a £760m contract to renew the signalling and train control systems on London Underground's Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. 

Collectively known as the Sub-Surface Lines, the four large-profile lines form a complex network of interlinked routes with numerous junctions which comprises 40% of the London Underground network and carries 1·3 million passengers/day. 

Work is expected to begin later this year. The first increase in capacity would be on the Circle Line in 2021, with the ‘main benefits’ of the project to be delivered by 2022, when the peak train frequency would increase to 32 trains/h in central London. The final improvements would come in 2023, with an increase in peak and off-peak frequencies on the Metropolitan Line. 

The deal replaces a £345m contract which TfL had awarded to Bombardier in June 2011. This was terminated in December 2013, with TfL saying the ‘complex nature of the railway’ meant Bombardier's programme ‘was simply not progressing and there was no guarantee it would have worked’. The contract with Bombardier had itself replaced a previous contract awarded by Metronet to Invensys under the London Underground public-private partnership. 

The latest contract represents a significant increase in cost, but TfL said it would be 18% less per km than ‘the successful modernisation of the Northern Line which was around half the cost of the Jubilee and Victoria line modernisations delivered under the flawed public-private partnership arrangements, ended by the Mayor five years ago.’ 

'Once completed, 60% of the London Underground will have been modernised using Thales signalling technology’, said Thales Chairman & CEO Patrice Caine. 

The overall budget for Sub-Surface Lines modernisation has been confirmed as £5·41bn, a reduction of £131m from an estimate announced on March 24. This total includes the cost of 191 S-Stock trainsets ordered from Bombardier, and related platform lengthening, track and depot works. The work is to be delivered within the existing TfL Business Plan, and the programme is expected to have a benefit-cost ratio of around 4·7 to 1. 

The project ‘will transform the journeys of millions of our customers, significantly increasing service reliability and frequency’, according to London Underground Managing Director Nick Brown. ‘We have a very clear delivery plan and timetable for the work and, as we have done with the modernisation of the Northern Line, we will keep London moving and growing as we do it.’ 

Once the Sub-Surface Lines have been modernised, work would begin to introduce new trains and control systems for the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines.


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None So Blind As They Who Will Not See....The Debate.

An interesting conversation took place yesterday on Twitter. 

One drivers was was giving it large to the gloom and doomers, saying another cracking night in a record breaking week. 

His argument was that he didn’t recognise what the gloom and doomers were on about, finishing with a shrug of his shoulders. 

Anthony Minas   Lenny Etheridge   Sean Paul Day.

The best reply came back from Anthony Minas, who said:
“There’s a difference between doom and gloom...and informative opinion and fact.
Lots of cabbies on here mistake both as the same. 
Good way to look at it: 
Does anyone think Uber would have been in question in the first place if everyone was just positive? 
There needs to be a balance!

“Lots who have been labelled as D&G give up their time & money to try to expose illegality! 
I’m all for positivity of course but if that was the only course of action, we’d be gone already!
Most who call out d&g wouldn’t sacrifice 10min for the trade let alone thousands of pounds!”

Lenny Etheridge also joined the debate with:
“Yep, I see loads of bods hacking away at informative tweets warning of how we're being f***ed over, as D&G.

I too have had a few good weeks.
But I know it won't last if we allow the status quo to continue.

They can't see the storm because their heads are in their lollybags.

“These dismissive drivers, whose elation at earning a fair day's wage drives them to post everything is great, obviously see no danger from Uber and others waiting in the wings, or unregulated apps, or TfL and the Government colluding to do away with the KoL and Taxis in general. (Operation Horizon ‘a one tier system’)

“I promise you, the biggest screamers -if our trade dies a death of a thousand cuts- will be those who couldn't tell the difference between Noah making a racket next door, and a spot of rain.

“Turn left, you get a roader.
Turn right you get a puncture.
That's the nature of the job!

“These blissfully dismissive drivers will be the first in line to demand "How did the Orgs let it happen?"

“But these (mostly) unpaid Org and Union reps will quite rightly reply "How did we? No! How did YOU allow it to happen?”
How did twenty thousand drivers allow it to happen?"

“Carry on happily selling all your tomorrows for the gift of today.
Dismiss those with foresight, as D&Gers.
Let them worry for you.

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying."

None so blind ...



Sean Paul Day then joined the debate:
“Absolutely! 

What policy has been put in place to ensure the viability of the cab trade? Fluctuations in work flows don’t count

Take a look at the link, and if it concerns you, then rest easy because Leon Daniels has secured a position of senior advisor”



The conversation was bought to conclusion by David, @blackcabLawyer...

“Hi Sean, good point. Hopefully we can keep the legal pressure up and commence a Judicial Review.

“Hopefully the taxi trade as a group will be in a position to decide the most appropriate way to proceed legally, in the next couple of weeks .”


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Saturday, 14 July 2018

Going, Going, Gone: Modified London taxis



The Austin FX4 taxi was a mainstay of city life for years, but it's rapidly disappearing off our roads, due to old age. Before they're all gone, here are some interesting variations, you might never have seen.

Evening News.



For a while in the 1960s, they found favour with the publishers of the London Evening News as the basis for a newspaper delivery van, with the super-tight turning circle being particularly appealing. 

FL2-Taxi-Hearse.




Later, the Birmingham-based Austin dealership and conversion specialists Startins offered an FL2-based hearse in limited numbers.


Below, you can take a look at some of the other conversions carried out on these models, plus an extraordinary pastiche model produced by a specialist Japanese manufacturer.

Nubar Sarkis Gulbenkian
Armenian petroleum magnet and socialite.
1896-1972



“I’ve had good wives, as wives go, and as
wives go, two of them went!”

“I wanted my taxi dolled-up, more comfortable inside
and more distinguished outside, without losing its mobility.

People recognize it. After a party or an opening they come and tell
me where it is and I don’t have to wait.”

The Gulbenkian taxis



Nubar Gulbenkian – odd name, and an even odder taste in cars. Usually described simply as an 'eccentric millionnaire', Mr Gulbenkian made his money in oil, and had a particular penchant for the London taxi, taking delight in reciting the well-rehearsed line: 'It turns on a sixpence, whatever that is!' to anyone who’d listen.

However, far from slumming it in a bog standard model, he used a relatively small amount of his vast wealth to have his own eclectic design of bodywork applied to the car. The result can be seen above, this being one of two FX4s he had converted by Battersea-based coachbuilders FLM Panelcraft Ltd (who also worked with Crayford on the BMC 1100 estate and P6 Estoura). 



Unlikely as it may seem, these contraptions proved to be quite sound investments: the second of his two FX4s cost him £3500 when new in 1966 – for which he could have bought two 3.8-litre Mk2 Jaguars! – yet it managed to achieve £6300 at auction five years later. It came up for sale again in 1993, this time making £23,000…
Royal Mail van



This boxy FL2-based mail van underwent trials with the Post Office at the beginning of 1967, to see whether the car’s much-vaunted turning circle would make it a worthwhile basis for a delivery vehicle. It seems the idea was scuppered by the van’s tall rear bodywork, which while offering an impressive 200cu ft load capacity, was found to make the van unstable when fully loaded. Needless to say, it was consequently not adopted for service.

London Taxi Exports Laundalette



Bedfordshire-based taxi specialists London Taxi Exports offered this stylish laundalette as an after-market conversion. Externally, the well-integrated black 'Everflex' roof was set off by chrome bumpers (where available) and side trims, alloy-look wheel trims and a specially-designed front grille.

Inside, features for the driver include power steering, an Italian wood-rim steering wheel and an RDS radio, while rear passenger compartment benefited from re-upholstered seats, special side trimming and new carpets. London Taxi Exports also offered a range of other conversions, including a cabriolet (which retained the rear side windows and framework); a delivery van, with twin rear doors; and a ten-light stretch-limo, longer than either of the semi-official versions featured below.

Stretching it



The general design of the FX4/FL2, with the emphasis placed on space for the rear-seat passengers, readily lent itself to use as a limousine. During the 1970s, following the introduction of legislation which all-but killed the market for the FL2 as a hire car, Carbodies and Mann & Overton decided to market the model as a limousine, and in the mid-1980s Carbodies introduced the London Sterling limousine to the US market, but both those versions used the standard wheelbase and bodywork. Here we take a look at a couple of attempts to provide a limousine with even more space.

The Tickford limousine



Tickford and Carbodies had been rival coachbuilders since the 1930s, but in the mid-1980s they collaborated to produce this one-off long wheelbase FL2-based limousine. With the extra length achieved by the fairly simple expedient of inserting a windowed fillet panel between the front and rear doors, the extra space liberated in the rear compartment was quite remarkable.

Fitted out with a couple of walnut-veneered cabinets – housing the obligatory cocktail set, sound system, TV and video player – there was still generous accommodation for four passengers, with the seats set facing each other. Sacrificing the cocktail cabinet would have allowed five to be carried, while also fitting an extra rearward-facing seat in place of the entertainment cabinet would have increased the passenger count to six.

The Coleman Milne limousine



In 1986, Carbodies commissioned this conversion from coachbuilders Woodall Nicholson (also responsible for building the Maxi-based Aquila) to see whether it might provide entry to a new market niche. The conversion – handled by WN’s limousine-and-hearse division, Coleman Milne – involved rehanging the rear doors so that they were forward-hinged, and then adding a further pair of forward-hinged doors, as well installing an extra row of seats in the retrimmed rear compartment.

The car gained some exposure ferrying special guests to and from the 1986 British Motor Show but no further examples were built, presumably due to the high costs involved in comparison to the production cars which Coleman Milne were used to converting. It has to be said despite the extra length of this car over the Tickford conversion – and indeed, its extra doors – the Coleman Milne’s rear compartment looks rather cramped and uninviting by comparison.

Faking it…
The Mitsuoka YÅ“ga



Around a year after the FX4 had been replaced by the TX1, Japanese company Mitsuoka came up with this extraordinary pastiche (call it a tribute if you must) in 1998. Based on the home-market only Nissan Cube (itself a development of the March, or Micra), the YÅ“ga did at least have one feature the FX4 could never boast – a hatchback. Quite what the PCO would have made of it, however, is anyone’s guess…



When production of the YÅ“ga ceased, Mitsuoka became the official Japanese importer and distributor for the TX1′s replacement, the TXII, which used the Ford DuraTorq engine in place of TX1′s Nissan unit.

Zombie proof TX4 
From the imagination of London based designer Donald O Keeffe with his love of horror films.



Part Sourced: Honest John.


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Brighton And Hove Taxi Reps To Meet With Lewes DC Over Uber Advising Drivers To Use Easy Option In Lewes.

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I have another meeting with Lewes DC next week along with Sean Ridley of Unite and George Beresforth ..Independent rep

This was my original statement to Brighton & Hove HNews which I fully expected to be edited down: 

We are very pleased that Lewes District Council has now taken steps to bring the conditions of licensing for LDC hackney carriage and private hire vehicles.

Background

As the conditions of Brighton and Hove licence vehicles are much higher than that of Lewes DC, Uber was giving recruiting information on its website by providing the comparison of time and costs to obtain licences between Brighton & Hove and Lewes DC to be able to work in Brighton & Hove. 

Brighton & Hove
Total estimated cost of obtaining a PHDL: £1112
Total estimated time to obtain a PHDL: 40 weeks
Total estimated cost of obtaining a PHVL: £134
Total estimated time to obtain a PHVL: 2 weeks

Lewes
Total estimated cost of obtaining a PHDL: £422
Total estimated time to obtain a PHDL: 8 weeks
Total estimated cost of obtaining a PHVL: £186
Total estimated time to obtain a PHVL: 2 Weeks

This is due to Uber in creating ‘Mythical Uber Regions’ in an attempt to calve up the UK and to reinvent the UK Licensing Authority areas by dividing the UK into nine ‘ Mythical Regional’ areas. This can only be seen as an attempt by Uber to create extraordinary larger licensing areas to try to change national Legislation via ‘Uber Stealth’. 

Brighton & Hove is in the ‘ South East Uber Mythical Region’ and Uber is encouraging out-of-town hackney carriage and private hire vehicle’s such as those from Lewes DC to predominantly work in Brighton & Hove

The difference in the standards required was put to the Licensing Panel at the Brighton & Hove Uber Renewal Hearing in April 2018 by the GMB and referred to by the Panel when the Uber representatives were questioned as to why its website looked as if it was encouraging drivers to obtain a licence in Lewes DC to predominantly work in Brighton & Hove.

A meeting between myself and the Unite representative Sean Ridley on April 18 2018 with Lewes DC raised the issue of Lewes DC being used as the lower end of licensing requirements for drivers who have no intention of ever working in Lewes DC because of the lower Conditions of Licensing

This is the result of the Deregulation Act 2015 which allowed what is known as ‘Cross Border Hiring’ which has been exploited by the likes of Uber to use drivers and vehicles from licensing authorities which have lower standards of licensing requirements to predominantly work in areas that have much higher standards. This is exactly why cities such as Brighton & Hove have been flooded with out of town private hire drivers/vehicles from places such as Reigate & Banstead, Sefton and Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton is by far the worst culprit having issued some 7500 + licences in 2017 compared to a mere 700 in 2014.

What will now happen is that ring fenced licensing revenue from those Licensing Authorities f higher conditions of licensing will now drop as cheaper and fast track licensing will be sought from councils with lower requirements.

In fact in 2017 Uber attempted to lower the standards of the licensing requirements of Brighton & Hove City Council in the removal of the ‘Knowledge test’ as the Uber legal representative stated that the use of SatNavs was in fact better. Fortunately the local councillors put Uber straight on the this and refused the proposal.

At the time of our meeting with Lewes DC we were told that there was a backlog of around eight weeks as council had been flooded with applications for licences since Uber had given out information that it was cheaper and quicker to obtain a licence there rather than in Brighton & Hove if the intention was to predominantly work in Brighton & Hove.

However at the time our meeting with Lewes DC we were informed that the current ‘Conditions of Licensing’ were now being looked at with the view for a complete overhaul and this could not come soon enough.

Historically Lewes DC would only have a few driver & vehicles applications a week but this took a dramatic upturn since that announcement on the Uber website resulting in the backlog and we can express some sympathy for Lewes DC as it has been exploited by Uber for its own cause.

Because of the flood of Lewes DC vehicles predominantly working in Brighton & Hove over the last few months the Brighton & Hove trade have has supplied Lewes DC with countless reports of its licensed vehicles not complying with the current ‘Conditions of Licensing’ where the driver/proprietor and even the council itself have breached its own Conditions of Licensing.

We have had to alert Lewes DC about ‘Dual Plating’ whereby the council does not allow a vehicle to be licensed in one area as well as in Lewes DC which the council contravened. 

Additionally we had to alert the Lewes DC about issuing a licence plate to a saloon vehicle that stated it was licensed to carry 5 people where this was clearly wrong along with Lewes DC drivers removing signage for whatever reasons.

Currently there are numerous Lewes DC hackney carriage and private hire vehicles showing expired licence dates on the vehicle plates

Effectively the Brighton & Hove trade has become the unpaid policing of Lewes DC private hire and hackney carriage vehicles.

However after months of the trade lobbying both Lewes DC and Brighton & Hove City Council we are pleased that Concordant Arrangements have now been put in place which means that the Brighton & Hove Enforcement Officers who make regular checks on the local licensed vehicles now have the power to carry out the same inspections on Lewes DC drivers and vehicles. We will now monitor the costs of this to ensure that the Brighton & Hove trade will not be paying for Brighton & Hove Council to be the exclusive Enforcement body of Lewes DC drivers and vehicles.

We are pleased that Adur DC have also granted the council with the same ‘Enforcement’ powers on Adur licensed vehicles but unfortunately other licensing authorities have refused to do the same.

Lewes DC Revision of Licensing Conditions

It is now very encouraging that Lewes DC appear to be taking responsibility in instigation a revision of the Conditions of Licensing. However we are greatly concerned where it has been reported that:
“The penalty for prospective taxi drivers found cheating on a knowledge test is also set to increase, with the introduction of a three-year ban. Currently a prospective driver found cheating on the test will be barred from re-taking the test for one year only.”

Just that statement alone puts Lewes DC in a concerning perspective.
Surely any potential driver of a Lewes DC licensed vehicle that has been “...found cheating on a knowledge test..” should be banned for life as that person is supposed to be ‘Fit and Proper’ to hold a licence to have the full responsibility for the wellbeing and safety of the public. Indeed it hardly compliments any licensed Lewes DC driver as no one will ever know if such a driver had previously tried to cheat the system.


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Judge who upheld Julian Assange's warrant questioned over links to security services

Julian Assange's supporters are questioning the integrity of the judge who upheld his UK arrest warrant, accusing her of being influenced by the British authorities and the secret service.

Earlier this week, Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected arguments presented by Assange’s legal team over why he breached bail conditions by seeking political refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012.

Judge Arbuthnot said she rejected the activist's request to have his warrant dropped out of fear that he could be extradited to the US, where he would face espionage charges. Since there is no extradition treaty between the UK and Ecuador, Assange cannot be arrested inside the embassy’s grounds.

After the ruling, the judge’s familial connections were brought into question by Assange’s supporters, some of whom insist she is linked to the establishment, as well as the UK’s security services.

Arbuthnot’s husband - and ex-Conservative MP - Baron James Arbuthnot is listed as a former director of Security Intelligence Consultancy SC Strategy Ltd. The other two listed directors are former Head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett and Lord Carlile.

The connections have outraged Assange supporters, who insist the legal system is stacked against the man that leaked evidence against the US, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

Fans of Assange took to Twitter to express their outrage.

Former British Ambassador Craig Murray posted the judge's connection on his website and accused the media of spreading fake news for not pointing out the connection.

“If anybody thinks the Assange case had anything to do with justice, they are very mistaken," Murray wrote.

Carlile and Scarlett formed the company SC Strategy in 2012, with their most prominent client being Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

Liberal Democrat peer Carlile told the Guardian his company provides confidential advice to several clients from around the world. In October 2013, confidential documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden listed Carlile as part of GCHQ’s strategy of “talking heads,” advocating for the agency ahead of a key report on the use of intercepted evidence in court cases. Carlile later argued that Snowden’s revelations amounted to a criminal act.

Handing down her judgment at Westminster magistrates court, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot said: “I find arrest is a proportionate response even though Mr. Assange has restricted his own freedom for a number of years."

“Defendants on bail up and down the country, and requested persons facing extradition, come to court to face the consequences of their own choices. He should have the courage to do the same. It is certainly not against the public interest to proceed," Arbuthnot added.

    



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Friday, 13 July 2018

Cyclist 38 Dies After Being Hit By A TfL Licensed MiniCab On Goswell Road



Cyclist, 38, dies days after Goswell Road crash.

A 38-year-old cyclist who was hit by a car in Goswell Road in the early hours of Friday has died today, police have said.

The man’s bike collided with the vehicle at the junction with Percival Street at 12.20am. He was left in critical condition and had spent the last five days in hospital.

The driver of the car stopped at the scene and has not been arrested.

Anyone who can help officers in their investigation can contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Alperton on 020 8991 9555and quote CAD 97/6Jul.

Officers are particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw the crash and has it on camera.


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Exclusive : Sean Paul Day's Complaint to Judicial Conducts Investigation Office

Below is Sean Paul Day's letter of complaint to the Judical Conducts Office.
Why is it that again, an ordinary rank and file working driver has had to do what drivers are paying their respective orgs to do. 



I’m writing amidst the growing concern over what appears to be a conflict of interest where certain political affiliations might be construed as showing favour in respect of a particular company,  undermining the Chief Magistrate’s impartiality in two cases.
 
Senior District Judge (chief magistrate) Emma Arbuthnot oversaw proceedings at Westminster Magistrates court on the 6th July 2018 and Reading Magistrates Court on the 10th July 2018. The first case was brought by Uber as a matter of  appeal under the Private Hire Vehicles Act 1998 and by Reading Council in a case to determine if a driver using the Uber ‘model’ on the dates given was Plying for Hire? Both cases can be found here 
 
Case 1
 
Case 2
 
The conflict arises due to Magistrate Arbuthnot’s marriage to Baron James Arbuthnotand his friendship with the former PM David Cameron. Cameron’s close relationship with individuals working for Uber in marquee positions is well documented. This is further evidenced by Uber’s close links with  the previous administration at Number 10 & 11  who now enjoy financially rewarding positions with companies who invest heavily in Uber Technologies Inc. Cameron also nominated James Arbuthnot as a Life Peer in the Dissolution Peerages List 2015 of August 2015. The concern is that JamesArbuthnot’s closeness to the former PM might compromise Magistrate Arbuthnot’s ability to apply discernment in cases involving Uber. The concern is legitimately heightened on learning the same Magistrate has presided over a second trial involving Uber and both times Magistrate Arbuthnot has ruled in Uber’s favour. 
 
Without considering the merits of both cases in detail the conflict of interest was compounded on during the Reading verdict when Judge Emma Arbuthnot on Page 4, section 14 (how the app works)…in her summary stated that it was the driver who accepts the job and only then Uber makes the booking. This is illegal act that contravenes  legislation laid out as part of the 1998 PH Regulations.
 
TfL Operator License explicitly state in their terms that a Private Hire booking can only be accepted by a licensed operator at their registered operating centre.. There is a specific duty on private hire operators to keep certain records of their operation. These include booking records which must include ‘the main destination specified at the time of the booking’ (paragraph 4(d) of the PHV (London) (Operators’ Licence) Regulations. To disambiguate, the defining characteristic of a PHVs is that it must beaccepted through an operator. The Act also references  that no person other than a Private Hire Operator (PHO) shall make provision to accept a booking.  
 
No person shall in London make provision for the invitation or acceptance of  Private hire bookings unless he is the holder of a Private Hire Operators license for London (In this Act, referred to as London is PHV operators license
 
A  person who makes provision for the invitation or acceptance of Private hire bookings or who accept such a booking in contravention of his section is guilty offence and liable  on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level four or standard style.
 
The statutory structure/definition is referred to frequently by TfL and was referenced in the legislative provisions before Justice Ouseley. 
 
CITATION Number: [2015] EWHC 2918 Admin Case No: CO/1449/2015. 
 
Conversely, at the earlier trial on the 6th, Magistrate Arbuthnot was unhesitant in her acceptance of an explanation that Uber had altered its app, and was now equipped with a feature informing the user that the booking had been accepted by Uber London LTD (ULL). Only afterwards is the user linked with a driver. If this is the case, and as yet there is no evidence to suggest it has been altered,  the app would now comply with current legislation. 
 
This I starkly inconsistent with  ‘the driver accepts...then uber confirms the booking…‘nevertheless, Arbuthnot ruled that his actions did not constitute plying for hire. Itshould be noted also that Uber do not hold a PHO licence in Reading. 
 
The case holds gravitas as a ruling either-way could detrimentally impact on the lives of tens of thousands of sole traders and their families. It would also elevate a corporate entity to a position that resides above the law of the land. The concern here, is that a certain ruling will be used to determine future  Government policies which are relevant to both cases.
 
Whilst the complexity of the issue  – such as what constitutes a Hackney Carriage- cannot be understated and until such clarity can be addressed in the Courts, it would be easy for perspicacity to prevail and weight the trial in favour of vested interests. A seismic shift culturally, in the way we move about has implications that reach far beyond taxi and minicab rivalries, and a Magistrate influenced  by a conflict of interest could prove to be a very dangerous one
 
I trust the matter will be looked in to. 
 
Yours Faithfully
Sean Paul Day
London Taxi Radio


 


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