Dublin's Nightmare, Turning Into London Reality.

Back in September 2014, Taxi Leaks posted an article 

(Click Here) explaining, in the 4 years since the deregulation of the Taxi trade in Dublin, 50 Taxi drivers had committed suicide.

Here in London, Taxi Leaks' Semtex was regularly stating "Men Are Coming To Kill Us". We all firmly believed this and it seems he/we were right.

 

But we never thought we'd see London Taxi drivers taking their own lives in numbers similar to that of their Dublin colleagues. 

Unfortunately, the nightmare is fast becoming a reality. 

We've been told by a driver in a FaceBook Taxi driver's group, that an ex-cabby, now a paramedic has attended 5 attempted suicides recently, all of whom are believed to be London Taxi Drivers.

Below is another strong, brilliant post from Harry Wall.

I can't believe what I've been reading.

Cab drivers reaching such depths of despair they attempt suicide?

All because of TFL?

Of course it is.

This news is a game changer for me, the absolute last straw. We can no longer sit and wait to see what happens.

We can't worry about other people's opinion of us anymore.

Nor can we wait for one of these poor sods to be successful, it's up to us to put this right, NOW!!

If ever there was a time for solidarity, it's NOW!!

TFL, Johnson, Hendy, Daniels, Emerson, Chapman, Shawcross, Brown ("it's nothing to do with me") and now Sadiq Khan are all equally responsible for this unbelievable situation, I still can't believe this is happening.

This is the cost of all orgs trying to work towards their own goals and not being astute enough to recognise the obvious fact that this war can only be won by forming a coalition, working out a strategy and going on the attack with the most absolute conviction possible. No more lies, no more "stuff going on behind the scenes bullshit", or my favorite one, see what the committee says and then we'll see.

Action is needed now!

Never in 23 years driving a cab have I ever seen such a dreadful state in this trade. And whether we want to admit it or not, we are to blame. We're to blame for breeding a culture of apathy, greed and cowardice. Apathy is obvious, greed with those drivers who work during demos and cowardice for choosing not to fight for what we've earned the right to have, a living. We've allowed thieves to take what's ours, rich corporates to muscle in on our industry and our own regulators to be bribed into facilitating our downfall, and if we're not really careful we'll have allowed our own to take their own lives as a result.

Do you really think cowardice is too strong a word?

I feel thoroughly ashamed of our trade.

I was once told it was a noble trade and to be proud of it.

This recent news has rocked me to the core.

I was a cab driver for a year and a half when my wife and I received the devastating news that my son needed a liver transplant. Fortunately, six months later we got the call and told a liver had become available. Nine hours later my boy was on the table receiving the gift of life and thank God that day came as we would have lost him otherwise. Twenty years later he's fit and healthy, working and competes for his country at the World Transplant Games. 

I'm telling you this because it wasn't until two years post transplant that I managed to return to some semblance of real and proper working pattern, prior to that I was always having to take time off for various reasons, either for my son, my wife or me. 

The strain during that 4/5 years was at times unbearable and I'll admit to shedding  the odd tear now and again under the weight of debt, you're forever trying to find the balance between being a dad, a husband and the bread winner, but at no time did I ever consider suicide.

Whatever these men are feeling it's obviously ten times the strain I felt and we must arrest this situation and deal with it immediately.

Face it, TFL will do nothing, Sadiq Khan will do nothing, nor will Shawcross or anyone else, its up to us.

We as a trade need to recognise this as rock bottom and take control of what happens next instead waiting for the inevitable nothing to happen. Sooner or later men or women will take there own life.

When TFL get wind of this and the trade orgs better make sure they do, they'll no doubt offer "counseling to those who need it", NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! 

They are responsible for it and please don't ever forget that.

Remember we didn't lose a tender for the work, the establishment went the corporate route and sold our right to our livelihood thinking they could. But if we're not careful, sooner or later that decision may cost the life of a cab driver because of a desperation so unbelievable and overwhelming it seems the only valid way out.

I know I'm constantly banging on about demos but surely this latest dreadful, frightening revelation must breathe new life into every one of us, especially trade leaders, to finally go for the jugular. No more settling for being fobbed off with false promises, we must mount an onslaught on TFL like they've never imagined, ruthless, relentless and without any regret whatsoever because mark my words, the first successful suicide that occurs will be on us because we did nothing or not enough to stop it.

That all may sound a bit dramatic but can you even begin to imagine the drama and trauma going on in those poor sods heads?

I've got some idea but mine probably pales into insignificance by comparison.

WE MUST TAKE OUR TRADE BACK!

Quite literally lives are at stake.

The orgs bare some responsibility for this because we've all put our trust in them and they've failed. For years they've gone there own way, winning their own little victories they see as validation for their existence. This revelation proves otherwise. No more little victories can be tolerated and I call on every trade leader to get around the table and form a coalition now. They don't have to like it but they're all duty bound to do as they're told by the drivers they represent, so please tell them asap to do the job we entrusted them to do before it really is too late.

Harry Wall

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"There Are Three Kinds Of Lies: Lies, Damned Lies, And Statistic"

To top off road safety week, we've been sent the results of a freedom of information request plus an announcement from the London Fire Brigade. 

First up, sent earlier this week...is in regards to the amount of Prius's that appear to be spontaneously combusting. 

The FOI request shows there has been 34 fires in Prius's in London between Jan 2015 and Nov 2016, TfL have indicate that Toyota have no idea why this is happening. Although this problem has been apparent for quite awhile, TfL have refused to take these vehicles off the road untill the problem is solved, like they did during the spate of TX4 taxi fires. 

A spokesman for TfL said they are 'monitoring' the situation, although when asked they didn't have a clue how many PHV Prius had been affected. 

Second: The London Fire Brigade announcement concerns the number of road traffic collisions (RTCs) they have been called out to, over the last five years. Fire crews have attended 18,591 in this period (The statistics show a rise of 15%)

Uber has been licensed 5 years

In that five years ince their licensed was issued, the London Fire Service has recorded a 15% increase in RTCs... Coinsurance???

Charity Brake, say that 41% of their subscribers believe that distracted drivers are the biggest threat to road safety. I wonder how many of then use a car service who's drivers have little training and have to keep looking at a sat nav on their mobile. Add to this problem that TfL are licensing 600 of these phone gazers every week.

Finally, with the opening of the night tube in August this year, there were concerns that the new 24 hr service would see an increase in crimes and anti-social behaviour.

TfL are falling over themselves putting out the statistics which show there has only been 67 (reported crimes) in almost 1.5 million journeys. 

Not quite what we've been hearing on Twitter and FaceBook though!

Funny how TfL aren't falling over themselves to get out the minicab rape and sexual assaults statistics for all London boroughs for last year!

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"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistic" : British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli

To top off road safety week we've been sent the results of a freedom of information request plus an announcement from the London Fire Brigade. 

First up sent earlier this week is in regards to the amount of Prius's that appear to be spontaneously combusting. 

The FOI request shows there has been 34 fires in Prius's in London between Jan 2015 and Nov 2016, TfL have indicate that Toyota have no idea why this is happening. Although this problem has been apparent for over a year, TfL have refused to take these vehicles off the road, like they did during the spate of TX4 taxi fires. 

A spokesman for TfL said they are 'monitoring' the situation, although when asked they didn't know how many PHV Prius had been affected. 

Second: The London Fire Brigade announcement concerns the number of road traffic collisions (RTCs) they have been called out to, over the last five years. Fire crews have attended 18,591 in this period (The statistics show a rise of 15%) 

So Uber has been licensed 5 years

Since their licensed was issued, the London Fire Service has recorded a 15% increase in RTCs... Coinsurance???

Charity Brake, say that 41% of their subscribers believe that distracted drivers are the biggest threat to road safety. I wonder how many of then use a car service who's drivers have little training and have to keep looking at a sat nav on their mobile. 

Finally, with the opening of the night tube in August this year, there were concerns that the new 24 hr service would see an increase in crimes and anti-social behaviour.

TfL are falling over themselves putting out the statistics which show there has only been 67 (reported crimes) in almost 1.5 million journeys. 

Not quite what we've been hearing on Twitter though!

Funny how TfL aren't falling over themselves to get out the minicab rape and sexual assaults statistics for all London boroughs for last year!

  

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Uber In Landmark EU Court Battle On Tuesday : Plus, Uber Declared Illegal In Bangladesh.

Uber [UBER.UL] will seek to convince Europe's top court next week that it is a digital service, not a transport company, in a case that could determine whether app-based startups should be exempt from strict laws meant for regular companies.

The European Commission is trying to boost e-commerce, a sector where the EU lags behind Asia and the United States, to drive economic growth and create jobs.

The U.S. taxi app, which launched in Europe five years ago, has faced fierce opposition from regular taxi companies and some local authorities, who fear it creates unfair competition because it is not bound by strict local licensing and safety rules.

Supporters however say rigid regulatory obligations protect incumbents and hinder the entry of digital startups which offer looser work arrangements to workers in the 28-country European Union looking for more flexibility, albeit without basic rights.

Uber found itself in the dock after Barcelona's main taxi operator alleged in 2014 that it was running an illegal taxi service. The case concerns its UberPOP service which the company halted after the lawsuit.

Uber says it is a digital platform that connects willing drivers with customers and not a transport service.

The Spanish judge subsequently sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based European Union Court of Justice.

A ruling characterizing Uber as a transport service could expose it to stricter rules on licensing, insurance and safety, with possible knock-on effects on other startups such as online home rental company Airbnb.

The case has drawn global interest. The Netherlands, where Uber has its European headquarters, Finland, Poland, Greece and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have submitted written observations that tend to support Uber.

Spain, France and Ireland in their submissions however say Uber is a transport service. A grand chamber of 15 judges will hear the arguments, with more than 200 participants signed up for the hearing.

The case is Case C-434/15 Asociación Profesional Elite Taxi.

BANGLADESH GOT MORE BACKBONE THAN TfL

Uber declared illegal just days after launch.

Bangladesh said yesterday the Uber ride-sharing service was operating “illegally”, just days after it launched in the capital.

A notice placed in a high-circulation newspaper by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority told drivers not to work through the popular phone app.

“Uber, the online-based taxi service, is being operated completely illegally,” said BRTA director Mohammad Nurul Islam in the advertisement.

There was no immediate comment from Uber, which launched its on-demand car ride services in Dhaka on Tuesday saying it would help reduce traffic in one of the world's most congested cities by encouraging ride-sharing.

Uber appeared to have government backing when a junior minister said the launch was “part of our efforts to build smart cities”.

The service has revolutionised car share rides across the globe since it was launched in 2010, becoming one of the world's most valuable startups. But it has faced protests from established taxi operators in many places and been hit by a series of lawsuits and regulatory hurdles.

BRTA operations director Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas told AFP there was no “legal framework” for Uber to operate in Bangladesh.

“It can tie up with the country's two existing taxicab companies because we've fixed their rents and other guidelines. But its app cannot be used in other private cars or vehicles,” he said.

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"Number of buses on Oxford Street could be slashed", or is it just shuffled about a bit? ...by Jim Thomas

London's Oxford Street has been labelled in the media as the most polluted street on earth, with 131 buses in each direction every hour. Today, Transport for London announced proposed changes to 23 routes to help deliver Mayor Sadiq Khan’s promise to remove vehicles from Oxford Street by 2020.

But here's the rub, buses won't be completely removed, instead they would be re-routed away from Oxford Street or have their routes cut short, with some terminating at Marble Arch or in Bloomsbury. Passengers wishing to travel across London will have to find alternate rout or use the underground. 

We've seen air pollution levels drop massively by over 50% on bus strikes days. So, all the clues are there!

This is a prelude to the lead up to full pedestrianisation which will happen around 2020. Shoppers worried about how they will access the top shopping street in the UK have been told to use CrossRail which is due to come on line around the same time. 

So what about the disabled and wheelchair users ?

There will be only 2 stations on Oxford street regarding CrossRail which is to be known as the Elizabeth Line, Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road. 

Well according to TfL board member Tanni Grey Thompson, she manages to get around Westfield by herself, so not interested in any campaign to allow fully wheelchair accessible Taxis access to Oxford Street....trouble is not every wheelchair user is a Paralympic athlete !

Reducing the amount of busses using Oxford street will have zero effect to London's pollution from traffic emissions as the buses will still be there, polluting other streets. The Mayor's new measure will increase congestion and pollution in the surrounding streets, a bit like sweeping dirt under the carpet. 

Leon Daniels said when the Elephant and Castle reverts back to two way working, the result will be a place people will want to be.....another Leon lie, as the result has caused a nightmare to through traffic adding to congestion and pollution.

Now we have the Lancaster Gate scheme which is causing two way 24 hour congestion along the Bayswater Road, resulting in many vehicles using side streets, which is upsetting locals with traffic noise and extra exhaust fumes. 

Sadiq Khan wants the world to know London is open.

But TfL's road network users will tell you, access to much of London is actually closing down.

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UK Economy Takes Hit From TfL's Licensing Of NonDomicile Company, Fuelled by Self-Employed.

The UK's "gig economy", powered by self-employment and casual work, is starting to hit government revenues.

TfL are a government body that has licensed a foreign company they know pays no corporation tax in this country. 

A company that relies on cheap labour, pays no NIC through hiring self employed drivers at below the minimum wage. These workers have to survive on government hand outs like tax credits housing benefits and such. 

By operating a predator pricing scheme which in itself is illegal, they are undercutting a regular trade body that has no control over its own prices which are actually controlled by parliament. 

The regular trade who all pay tax, are being forced out of the market, many will sign on and receive hand outs in the form of job seeker and housing benefits, so no longer will be contributing to the countries economy. Many businesses on the periphery of the trade, who pay tax and employ workers (who pay tax and NIC), will also go under

TfL are obliged by law to keep issuing licenses to new applicants at the rate of 600 a week, because the government refuse to impose a cap.

A group of Uber drivers have established that they were employed by Uber, which should give them some statutory rights. 

But according to Andy Chamberlain of the IPSE, it doesn't effect their tax status, which is still one of self-employed.

He said: 

"For instance the ruling on the Uber drivers last month that established that they were workers, employed by Uber, gives them some statutory rights. But it doesn't effect their tax status, which is still one of self-employed."

It's not just Uber! if you employ someone for £100,000, you pay the taxman about £13,000 in NIC. If you pay a self-employed person the same amount, the government loses that tax revenue. The loss in tax revenue for the government is not because self-employed workers are paying much less. The real differential is because the employer is no longer paying National Insurance Contributions (NIC).

No money coming in to the exchequer, but billions going out. 

Now ask yourself the question "WTF is the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond on". 

Remember what Dickens said in his wonderful novel David Copperfield:

Perhaps this Christmas the Chancellor should be given a copy of David Copperfield to study for the sake of the country's economics. 

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An Offer From 'The Cab Driver' That Shouldn't Be Ignored.

This month saw another taxi protest that was not as well covered by the media as it could have been.

Several drivers have told us that over a number of these protests, they have had other drivers approached them in an angry fashion, asking them why they were working and not joining in with the protest.

The simple reason (they say) is because they didn't know about the protest. 

'The Cab Driver' understands their view, if they are not followers of social media and don't frequent taxi establishments such as green huts or the eating places used by cab drivers, then it's quite possible not to be in the 'taxi driver loop'.

Social media is a great way of getting messages around and no trade paper, especially one that comes out every two weeks, can come anywhere near social media for speed. But the trade needs to understand, we are missing a large section of the target market.

Press releases to the trade press before protests, with bullet points of what the protest is about, would also enable all drivers involved to be singing from the same hymn sheet.

Some trade organisations were telling reporters that we will protest thing about Uber!

Yet I heard one driver on the radio stating "it's not about Buber with protesting about the incompetence of TfL".

The whole trade needs to be on the same page. 

We at Cab Drivers would be happy to publish details of these proceedings as other trade papers would too no doubt.

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