Statement Frim The Barcelona taxi drivers

The assembly has decided to give back service

We have won an important battle but the war will continue in September if the agreement is not fulfilled

Thank you all for your support!!

Workers of the Unios world !!! 💪

See you on the street!!

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What Have Demos Ever Won For Us.....Are You Kidding!!!

It's all getting a bit monotonous, with drivers saying demos have never won anything, or we've never got anything from protesting.

Is their memory really that bad, or have the victories been blotted out by the fake news put out by orgs who refuse to upset TfL and call any protesting Taxi Drivers 'Loonies'.

Let's just reflect on the list of victories that protests, demonstrations and Flash Mob hits have achieved. 

A massive demo and coordinated rest day in the seventies stopped us having to collect VAT for the government on Taxi fares!

Another mass protested at the old GLA HQ stopped speed bus being introduced across London in segregated bus lanes similar to the cycle lanes we see today, which would have created large no-go areas for Taxis across the capital!

We demonstrated at Westminster Council House to stop Westminster council introducing licensed Private Hire offices across the west end, it proved successful even though the LTDA told its members to stay away!

Jim Wells led many night time protests which saw:

• Mr Ali's illegal operation finally closed down

• Rank extension at the Victoria Sporting Casino

• The booking desk at the Hippodrome removed

• Cab rank outside Stringfellows

•The lines of touts moved from outside Hombre and The Sports Cafe 

• Ranks appointed in Coventry Street.

Under LCDC's chairman Jim Wells leadership, we also created a data base of the registration numbers of virtually every private hire vehicle in London. Ideas was to have an on line data base that people could check to see if secondhand cars had been used as Minicabs. 

All these victories where achieved by rank and file driver protest, flash mods and demonstration. 

 

When TfL sublet the bus stand in Whitcomb street to a private hire operator (WestOne Cars) with Marshals touting sending potential passengers to a booking office in Leicester Square, we had a massive demo and the cars were forced to moved into the car park on the courier of Panton Street. Once out of view, it finished them off and the Marshals (financed by Westminster) disappeared. 

Killer on the Knowledge fiasco : 

We then heard through in insider at TfL, there was a Private Hire driver, (who had murdered his wife and also seriously assaulted his daughter) on the knowledge, we held two mass demos outside Penton Street and not only was he slung off the KoL, but the Managing Director for TfLTPH (Ed Thomson), was moved on. 

The TaG hit squads Flash demos at Tiger Tiger, Charing Cross Road and Swallow street led to new ranks being appointed as did the driver led action from the Mayfair Mob at Nobu, Hakassan and Novikov in the WestEnd and the Forge rank in the City. 

Not forgetting the night time demos and flash mob protests at Smithfield to get ranks at Smiths and Fabrics.

 I had a conversation over the weekend with a driver sitting on the Shard taxi rank who said "demos don't work". I pointed out to him, that the only reason he was able to sit comfortably on the Shard rank, was the fact that the LCDC had organised a protest at Palestra over Peter Hendy saying it was impossible to have a rank in St Thomas street for the Shard.

If protesting for the salvation of the trade that gives you and your family a living makes you a Loonie in the eyes of the LTDA general Secretary, then sign me up to the asylum

In my eyes appeasement for an easy ride and a seat at the table, is treason towards your trade and your fellow drivers.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : by Lenny Etheridge. 

Let's not underestimate the great British right to protest.

If the police got lemon - it would show the world how undemocratic the United Kingdom  is (not via the BBC obviously).

The last #ITA 5 day demo got our message into the newspapers and onto TV, on all 5 consecutive days!

How do you think the rape stats got into the media and public consciousness?

Proper on foot #DDD marches with bespoke placards, banners and leaflets.

The public and TV cameras could not unsee our message.

The Christmas sticker campaign went smashingly.

I still see them around London, eighteen months later!

A demo without a message, is worthlessness.

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What Have Demos Ever Won For Us.....Are You Kidding!!!

It's all getting a bit monotonous, with drivers saying demos have never won anything, or we've never got anything from protesting.

Is their memory really that bad, or have the victories been blotted out by the fake news put out by orgs who refuse to upset TfL and call any protesting Taxi Drivers 'Loonies'.

Let's just reflect on the list of victories that protests, demonstrations and Flash Mob hits have achieved. 

A massive demo and coordinated rest day in the seventies stopped us having to collect VAT for the government on Taxi fares!

Another mass protested at the old GLA HQ stopped speed bus being introduced across London in segregated bus lanes similar to the cycle lanes we see today, which would have created large no-go areas for Taxis across the capital!

We demonstrated at Westminster Council House to stop Westminster council introducing licensed Private Hire offices across the west end, it proved successful even though the LTDA told its members to stay away!

Jim Wells led many night time protests which saw:

• Mr Ali's illegal operation finally closed down

• Rank extension at the Victoria Sporting Casino

• The booking desk at the Hippodrome removed

• Cab rank outside Stringfellows

•The lines of touts moved from outside Hombre and The Sports Cafe 

• Ranks appointed in Coventry Street.

Under LCDC's chairman Jim Wells leadership, we also created a data base of the registration numbers of virtually every private hire vehicle in London. Ideas was to have an on line data base that people could check to see if secondhand cars had been used as Minicabs. 

All these victories where achieved by rank and file driver protest, flash mods and demonstration. 

 

When TfL sublet the bus stand in Whitcomb street to a private hire operator (WestOne Cars) with Marshals touting sending potential passengers to a booking office in Leicester Square, we had a massive demo and the cars were forced to moved into the car park on the courier of Panton Street. Once out of view, it finished them off and the Marshals (financed by Westminster) disappeared. 

Killer on the Knowledge fiasco : 

We then heard through in insider at TfL, there was a Private Hire driver, (who had murdered his wife and also seriously assaulted his daughter) on the knowledge, we held two mass demos outside Penton Street and not only was he slung off the KoL, but the Managing Director for TfLTPH (Ed Thomson), was moved on. 

The TaG hit squads Flash demos at Tiger Tiger, Charing Cross Road and Swallow street led to new ranks being appointed as did the driver led action from the Mayfair Mob at Nobu, Hakassan and Novikov in the WestEnd and the Forge rank in the City. 

Not forgetting the night time demos and flash mob protests at Smithfield to get ranks at Smiths and Fabrics.

 I had a conversation over the weekend with a driver sitting on the Shard taxi rank who said "demos don't work". I pointed out to him, that the only reason he was able to sit comfortably on the Shard rank, was the fact that the LCDC had organised a protest at Palestra over Peter Hendy saying it was impossible to have a rank in St Thomas street for the Shard.

If protesting for the salvation of the trade that gives you and your family a living makes you a Loonie in the eyes of the LTDA general Secretary, then sign me up to the asylum

In my eyes appeasement for an easy ride and a seat at the table, is treason towards your trade and your fellow drivers.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : by Lenny Etheridge. 

Let's not underestimate the great British right to protest.

If the police got lemon - it would show the world how undemocratic the United Kingdom  is (not via the BBC obviously).

The last #ITA 5 day demo got our message into the newspapers and onto TV, on all 5 consecutive days!

How do you think the rape stats got into the media and public consciousness?

Proper on foot #DDD marches with bespoke placards, banners and leaflets.

The public and TV cameras could not unsee our message.

The Christmas sticker campaign went smashingly.

I still see them around London, eighteen months later!

A demo without a message, is worthlessness.

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Justice Must Be Seen To Be Done : Wendy's Wheels Loses Licence For Being Not Fit And Proper

In the recent case against Uber, chumoxcracy judge Emma Arbuthnot, tried Uber not on the evidence presented to her, which clearly and indisputably showed (on Uber's own admittance) them to be 'not fit and proper', but on what the company might aspire to become in the future. 

It's like the judge saying to John Reginald Christie "we know you killed these women and that child, but if you promise not to do it again, you can carry on walking the streets of Ladbroke Grove as a special constable". 

Justice must not only be done....it should be seen to be done! 

Below is a case reported in the Yorkshire post which shows how Uber should have been judged. Let's hope that in the upcoming case against Uber in York, the case is heard in front of an unbiased, impartial recorder such as Angus Whithington and not one of the Tory faithful such as Emma Arbuthnot. 

The Case Of Wendy's Wheels :

A private hire firm in Bridlington has ceased trading with immediate effect after a court decided one of the owners was “not a fit and proper person” to hold an operators or drivers licence.

In a final bid to continue operating, joint owners of Wendy’s Wheels, Wendy Jackson and Andrea Noble appealed to the crown court in a bid to overturn the decision of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s licensing committee made in March 2017 to revoke their operator’s licence as well as Jackson’s driver’s licence.

The committee made the decision on the basis they showed a lack of compliance, poor standards and conduct as well as a lack of responsibility for promoting the aims of the licensing policy, which is there to protect the needs of residents and visitors to the East Riding.

Jackson and Noble appealed the revocation but in November 2017 magistrates agreed the committee had made the right decision and dismissed the appeal.

They took their final appeal to Hull Crown Court and after hearing the evidence Recorder Angus Withington, sitting alongside two magistrates, also agreed with the decision of the committee and magistrates and dismissed their claim.

Giving the judgement, Recorder Withington said the evidence that he had heard related to Jackson and there was no criticism of Noble.

He added that, despite a final written warning, Jackson had “consistently failed to comply” with requests from the council’s licensing officers and that after going through an amber traffic light three weeks after the appeal hearing at the magistrates’ court, “pushed the matter of legality to the absolute limit” and he was satisfied she did not meet the criteria of being a “fit and proper person”.

Recorder Withington said:

“We are perfectly satisfied there has not been the consistent and engrained compliance and approach towards all requirements placed on a driver and private hire operator. 

We are quite unable to say the decision of the licensing committee was wrong. It is our judgement and finding that the respective appeals made by Ms Jackson both in relation to the private hire operator’s licence and the drivers licence are dismissed. 

We therefore uphold the decision of the licensing committee in relation to both her and Ms Noble.”

Jackson and Noble must also pay council costs of £12,000. 

Paul Abbott, interim head of service for housing, transport and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

“This is the first time that the council has had a case which has gone through two appeal processes but we are pleased, after hearing the evidence, the courts agreed with the decision of the licensing committee and dismissed the appeal.

The council’s licensing team have been working closely with the drivers who were working under Wendy’s Wheels to ensure they have alternative work and this decision does not affect the number of drivers or vehicles available in the Bridlington area as bookings can be made with other licensed operators or Hackney carriages.

The council takes the conduct of its operators and drivers and the impact on the welfare and safety of the public very seriously.

We work very closely with private hire firms to ensure they have policies and procedures in place in order to protect their customers and we will take appropriate action where those standards fall short or an individual is no longer fit and proper to continue to hold a licence.

The council will deal with any breach of law, licensing policy or risks to safeguarding or public safety from licensed operators or drivers in a robust manner

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More Complaints From Uber Drivers About Low Wages, In The Face Of Uber’s Anti Slavery Pledge

 

Uber drivers say their take-home pay is being cut as the taxi industry disruptor responds to pressure from new entrants in the increasingly crowded "ride-share" market.

The Silicon Valley giant introduced "upfront pricing", which gives passengers the exact cost of their ride ahead of the journey, and launched a service called UberPool, which allows passengers travelling in the same direction to share a ride for a discounted rate.

Uber says the two initiatives are intended to grow its user numbers, which will help its "driver partners" to be successful. 

But drivers said the result has been they take home less pay for doing the same amount of work and have announced a two hour strike on Monday morning as part of the push for better conditions.

"Rates are already too low and unsustainable, leaving drivers with very little profit and well below minimum wage take-home pay," said Max B, an Uber driver who runs the advocacy group RideShare Drivers United.

"Now they have this to boot, a system that exploits them even more."

The group is calling for drivers to log-off the Uber system en masse from 7am until 9.30am on Monday, August 6.

Max B, who would not reveal his last name for fear of being "deactivated" by Uber, told Fairfax Media the shift to "upfront fares" saw drivers’ pay rates drop between 10 to 30 per cent, while drivers were losing up to 40 per cent on UberPOOL trips.

Like a traditional taxi meter, Uber now calculates the fare based on the trip’s distance, and time taken, but with current traffic conditions it’s almost impossible to give an exact estimate especially with the uncertainty of the Sat-Nav rout taken. It also crunches data from past trips but rarely gives an estimate anywhere near the final cost. 

Source : shm.com

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : 

The irony from this company is beyond belief 👀

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Report Says Companies Like Uber Increase Traffic Congestion by 180 Percent In Major Cities

Bruce Schaller, a transit consultant who served as deputy commissioner for traffic and planning in New York City, released a new report (“Automobility”) Wednesday examining the effect of transit network companies (TNCs) like Lyft and Uber on city traffic.

While Schaller’s findings highlight some benefits of ride-hailing apps, including increased mobility for riders with disabilities and as a valuable supplement to public transit in areas where bus service is inadequate, “Automobility” draws unflattering conclusions for SF-based TNCs.

A few of Schaller’s findings:

• Ride-hailing trips are concentrated mainly in a few large cities, including SF: “Seventy percent of Uber and Lyft trips are in nine large, densely populated metropolitan areas: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC.” These nine cities accounted for 1.2 billion rides in 2017.
• Ride-hailing trips are by far more popular in SF than anywhere else: In 2017, Schaller estimates that San Franciscans took 75 million trips via hide-hailing apps. That’s not only more than almost any other city, it’s also the most in terms of rides per population density, some 86 rides per person. The only city with a higher TNC ride volume is New York, which clocked 159 million; however, New York is also the sole city that still prefers taxis, taking 167 million cab trips the same year.
• Critically, Schaller alleges that TNCs compete with public transit, not private cars: “[Rider surveys indicate] about 60 percent of TNC users in large, dense cities would have taken public transportation, walked, biked, or not made the trip if TNCs had not been available for the trip.” 
• The report alleges that Lyft and Uber generate more traffic congestion: “Private-ride TNC services (UberX, Lyft) put 2.8 new TNC vehicle miles on the road for each mile of personal driving removed, for an overall 180 percent increase in driving on city streets.” 
• And TNC expansion won’t fix it: The companies often argue that in the long run, if ride-hailing apps become the norm instead of personal driving, it will lead to a net decline in miles. But Schaller estimates that “Lyft’s recently announced goal of 50 percent of rides being shared by 2022 would produce 2.2 TNC miles being added to city streets for each personal auto mile taken off the road.” 
• Self-driving cars would be most useful in the form of shuttle-like group commutes: “A widely-cited travel model for Lisbon, Portugal, for example, found that traffic could increase by approximately 50 percent if travelers favored autonomous ‘regular taxis’ that are not shared. On the other hand, the model showed a 37 percent decline in vehicle kilometers, and total elimination of congestion, under a shared-taxi scenario.” Presently, TNC rides remain primarily single-passenger trips.

For Schaller’s full report, including his list of cited sources, check it out here.

In response, Zipcar CEO Robin Chase penned a CityLab op-ed pointing the finger over traffic woes at car culture, not ride-hailing apps:

Cities have been congested and transit has been poorly used for years before these companies set up shop. [...] Taxis plus ride-hailing plus carsharing account for just 1.7 percent of miles traveled by urban dwellers, while travel by personal cars account for 86 percent. [...] Streets are congested and too few people choose mass transit now, like last year and the year before that and the year before that.

Uber spokesperson Matthew Wing told Curbed SF, “We wholeheartedly agree with several of Mr. Schaller’s proposed public policies.” But he called the study “fundamentally flawed in several areas,” arguing that ride-hailing trips increase mobility to areas underserved by public transit like small towns. 

Wing also said, “2018 has already dramatically changed the nature of our service,” emphasizing the company’s expansion into bikes and scooters.

Via email, Lyft spokesperson Campbell Matthews dubbed Schaller a “taxi cab consultant” (citing a Curbed SF story as the company’s source) and touted other studies, noting, “According to Inrix, congestion declined five percent in the Bay Area last year, even as Lyft trips increased 49 percent.”

Source : sf.curbed.com 

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In a bid to reduce the “rocketing” number of minicabs circulating within the congestion charge zone, Mayor Sadiq Khan said he may introduce tougher emission rules, limiting the type of private hire vehicles able to claim a 100 per cent discount on the £11.50 weekday charge next April. Not quite a promise.....more a threat!

Transport for London said if this were bought in, it could cut the number of minicabs in the zone by up to 45 per cent — from 18,000 to 10,000 — and raise about £115,000 a day. 

Black cabs will continue to be exempt from the C-charge as they can carry wheelchair users.

Taxi orgs must keep an eye on this issue as we don't want this to change suddenly in another "done deal".

The number of minicabs in central London, including Uber vehicles, has “rocketed” from 4,000 a day since the C-charge was introduced in 2003, TfL said. It blames the increasing popularity of Uber and the growth of home deliveries for causing congestion. 

Cutting the number of minicabs would reduce pollution and improve bus journey times, it added.

The new rules would require petrol and diesel minicabs to meet the EU’s “Euro 6” emission standards, emit no more than 75g/km of CO2 and be able to run for at least 20 miles in “zero emission” mode. TfL said about 10 per cent of minicabs that currently qualify for the discount would become ineligible. 

It is thought more modern versions of the Toyota Prius hybrid, used by many Uber drivers, already meet these standards and thus will continue to be exempt. Uber declined to comment.

However, the rules — which would be introduced alongside an ultra-low emission zone that will charge older polluting vehicles an extra £12.50 a day — would be tightened in 2021 so that only fully electric vehicles will get the discount.

TfL’s Alex Williams said: “It is only right we keep the discounts and exemptions for the scheme under review to make sure it continues to be effective.” 

Mr Khan wants 80 per cent of all trips to be made on foot, by bike or public transport by 2041.

Source : Standard 

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