First Barclays Partner Uber, Then Tesco, And Now Westfield Who Have Given Them A Rank.... By Jim Thomas

   

On top of the recent news this week, that Tesco and Westfield to partner with Uber and local councils are now advertising Uber promotional codes on emails to residents, we now find there is now a concerted effort being made in local and national news agencies to discredit the Taxi trade in anyway shape or form. 

News stories are being manipulated to make it look like Hackney Taxis are responsible for incidents ranging from indiscretions to heinous crimes. But the truth is, they are being committed by private hire and in particular Uber drivers.

Confusing advertorials are also being placed in the media giving out mixed messages, calling Uber cars, Uber Taxis. 

The BBC answer emails from Taxi drivers complaining that the word Taxi is being used to describe minicab drivers, by saying that the word Taxi is -in their opinion- a generic term used to describe both Taxis and Licensed Private Hire. Mind you, director general James Harding is George Osbourne's best friend (speaks volumes).

Over the last few weeks more and more stories have appeared in local press publications, with headlines:

 • Taxi driver refuses wheelchair

 • Taxi driver refuses guide dog 

 • Taxi driver rapes passenger

 • Taxis are taken off the road considered unfit

 • Taxis driven with no insurance 

 • Taxi driver defecates in residential street

 • The list is endless. 

All these stories appear on Google search when using the key word Taxi. Lasted one this morning was in the Bath Chronicle which advised its readers....should you be out and about tonight in town, Taxis are going to be very busy so make sure you book your Uber now for later. 

The fact that you can't pre book an Uber wasn't mentioned. 

The reason behind this fake news campaign is to dilute the negative PR that Uber gets every day in the run up to their new licence renewal date. 

Also complicit in the advancement of the demise of the Taxi trade are the directors and managers of Transport for London, who have put the protection and safety of the public to one side while they bent rules, changed regulations and greased the passage for Uber to operate. 

Directors Leon Daniels lied to the London Assembly over the on/off insurance which never existed, and the customer pre-booking landline that turned out to be Jo Bertram's private number.

Let's also not forget TfL defended Uber in the meter case.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse....now this:

Westfield Partner Uber With Dedicated Pick Up Point

OR AS WE KNOW IT...A RANK.

A few years ago, the trade used to be up in arms if a minicab driver was referred to as a Taxi driver or even a Cabby. Now the silence from those who purport to represent us is deafening. 

You don't have to be Einstein to realise  

Our trade is in danger of being killed off.

Not by those who seek to do evil against us!

But by those who look on and do nothing.

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London Bridge Closures. No Answer From The City Over Bank Junction Exclusion... By Jim Thomas.

                  Common sense, surely?

Update from TfL

Following the incident on London Bridge on Saturday 3 June, London Bridge and nearby roads are expected to remain closed to traffic during the morning peak on Monday 5 June. 

This is expected to lead to significant congestion in the area and on all central London river crossings. 

Please avoid driving into and around the London Bridge area if possible, particularly in the busiest period from 0700-1000, and allow more time for your journey. 

For real-time updates on road closures in the area, visit http://ift.tt/2rrmnn1

Yours sincerely,

Helen Chapman

General Manager, London Taxi & Private Hire

Editorial Comment :

With the closure of London Bridge today, and as its expected to affect all roads in the surrounding area, you would think that @TfL, @CityofLondon, @CityPolice @CityLordMayor and @Squarehighways would see sense and suspend the exception of the Bank Junction, untill traffic flow returns to normal. 

Unfortunately, getting all these agencies to see common sense is like asking them to complete Fermat's Last Theorem. 

In the absence of a formal request from our wonderful trade representative the United Trade Group, Taxi Leaks has made a request on behalf of the trade, for the scheme at Bank Junction to be suspended until the road closures are lifted and traffic flow reverts back to its normal mash up.

We made the request to TfL, City of London, Lord Mayor of London, City Police and Square Highways. 

The only reply we've had so far is from TfL who have -as their normal procedure- passed the buck over to City of London and Square Higways. 

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How a taxi driver saved the life of a student nurse in the path of London attacker

A student nurse who escaped the London Bridge terror attack has said she wants to find the taxi driver who saved her life.

Rhiannon Owen was on Borough High Street at a cash machine when a passing taxi driver shouted for her to run.

She said the actions of the unknown man saved her life and allowed her to find shelter in a nearby pub and to alert others to the danger in the process.

Talking to the Press Association the 19-year-old from Nantwich, Cheshire said: "He swerved towards me and screamed 'please run, you've got to run now, get back, get back.

"I turned around and saw this man with this huge blade and I just ran as fast as I could to the nearest pub.

"I shouted into the pub and said to everyone 'you need to get inside'. We all went upstairs for, I don't even know how long, and gunshots started and they went on for ages."

She said the police eventually came and said those inside could leave, but that they had to do so with their hands on their heads.

Describing the scene outside of Applebee's, the establishment in which she took refuge, Ms Owen said: "It was horrible, horrible. People were screaming and crying.

"Emergency services everywhere, blue flashing lights, armed police on every metre of road - it was completely packed."

Quizzed on if she saw anyone with injuries, she said she saw a man "bleeding out".

"The window was smashed and he was on the floor and he was screaming - I think he had been a victim of the stabbing," she added.

Following her ordeal the student nurse said she wants to track down the taxi driver who alerted her to the danger.

In an emotional plea she said: "I don't know who you are, but you saved my life. I could run away because you told me to. Whoever you are I want to say thank you so much."

Ms Owen said there were 30 to 40 people hiding in the upstairs of the pub with her, that they were "terrified" and with the sound of gunshots "everyone jumped to the floor".

She said she is "totally in shock" after what has happened, adding: "I've not even had time to cry because I've not processed anything properly yet."

Source: Hartlepool Mail 

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Hero Taxi Driver Reveals How He Tried To Knock Down Three Men 'Armed With 12in Knives' As They Went On A Stabbing Rampage.

A hero taxi driver has revealed how he tried to knock down three men armed with 12-inch hunting knives who reportedly stabbed pedestrians after mowing down up to 20 people with a white van on London Bridge.

Witnesses reported hearing 'rapid gunfire' amid reports that least seven people have been stabbed, leaving bodies 'strewn' on the road in central London. One of the casualties is reportedly a police officer.

But amid the horror a cabbie - who said he saw the men brandishing 'long blades' stabbing 'randomly' on Borough High Street - spun around his vehicle and attempted to halt the terror.

Speaking to LBC, he said: 'I thought, "I'm gonna try and hit him, I'm gonna try and knock him down".

'I spun the cab round, I was about to ram one of them, but he side-stepped and three police officers came running towards them with their batons drawn.

'I was shouting at everybody, just get away from the area, stay back, just run the other way. There were a good few hundred people out there.' 

Another taxi driver named only as Paul said: 'I was just going over London Bridge and on the left hand side it looked like someone had been knocked off a bike.

'A few yards on I saw another person laying down and a woman screaming.

'A few yards on from that there was a couple of bodies on the right hand side.' 

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Provincial Taxi Drivers hit back against TfL London Registered Uber Minicab Invasion

Licensed Leicester cab drivers say they are facing 'unfair competition' from TfL registered Uber drivers coming up from London and operating in the city.

The Private Hire Operators Association (PHOA), to which they belong, is fighting to prove their case.

Currently, Taxis and Private Hire in Leicester are licensed by the local authority, Leicester City Council - who regulates them in terms of safety.

---

What are the issues that divide Leicester's carriers?

PRIVATE HIRE	UBER
Licensed by local authority for specific geographical area	Operates under Uber app with no geographical limitations
Bookings taken through switchboard, which are relayed to drivers	Bookings made through free app direct to TfL registered drivers Totally illegal
Drivers employed as staff by council regulated firms	Freelance drivers do not qualify for holiday pay, sick pay or employee breaks
Large overheads of a structured business	Low-cost operation with minimal overheads

---

A driver based in Leicester also has to be licensed and the company has to have an operator's licence in the area where the driver works.

Uber drivers are being allowed to work everywhere under one licence, which the PHOA fear is not only unsafe, but illegal.

A spokesman for PHOA said: "The situation with Uber is causing chaos and harming the businesses of local drivers in Leicester and elsewhere in UK."

The association is working to prove that Uber should not be picking up fares 'across borders'.

They are currently gathering evidence from case law and other sources to prove it.

Meanwhile, Leicester City Council appear to have been got at. They maintain Uber drivers are operating legally here. It's alleged the councillors have no idea of the law regarding PH operation. 

Uber claim they are insured, as their drivers are all licensed. This has proved not to be the case in many instances when a Uber drivers have been checked by Cab enforcement officers, many just have fully comp insurance and not the more expensive Hire and Reward. Uber drivers have also been sharing with family and friends who are not registered PH drivers. In some cases, when stopped drivers have been working without a current British driving licence.

A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: "Changes to the law around taxi licensing, brought in by the Deregulation Act 2015, mean that drivers with a private-hire licence from a local authority can use it to operate anywhere in England and Wales.

"Drivers who use the Uber app are no different to other licensed drivers – who are all subject to the same enhanced DBS background checks which must be carried out by the licensing authority.

This is not the case

He added: "We are aware of the concerns of local private hire operators and will be monitoring the situation in Leicester."

One frequent user from Leicester is refusing to use Uber cabs here.

She said: "When a London vehicle is driving here, the council enforcement people are unable to send it for a vehicle check or MOT check, like they can with a local plate."

Uber is one of many companies in the relatively new "platform industry" where firms offer a way of connecting self-employed workers with potential customers.

The company provides a smartphone app that serves as the middleman between freelance cabbies and people looking for a lift home.

Uber's vast pool of workers that provides its core services do not get employment rights such as holiday pay, sick pay, or breaks like a contracted member of staff would.

This is one of several factors that has made the firm's operations controversial

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It's Not All Bad News, We Do Have Some Friends Out There. By Roger Brown.

So on wednesday evening I dropped a fare at The Mandarin Oriental, Knightsbridge. There was just one cab on the temporary rank so I put on behind. After around ten minutes the point cab got a ride so I moved up leaving myself just enough room to clear the merc people carrier with a phv licence parked in the loading bay. 

The merc soon moved off and almost immediatly another pulled up and backed in but really too close to me now the be able to pull out, still I thought I'll wait until I get a fare then ask him to pull foirward a bit.

Soon enough I got a fare two guys and a lady wanting to go to st james, I sounded my horn to get the merc to move forward but the driver was actually standing on the pavement so I very politely asked him to pull forward a foot or so then I could get out without having to have a few attempts at it. He though took exception and insisted I could get out which there was no way he'd parked too close. With that one of the guy's in the back said please open the door which I did he then in no uncertain terms (but very politely) told the merc driver to move!

Turned out he was Nigel Bowen (Head Concierge) of the Mandarin. Throughtout the short ride he said that we the London Taxi Trade have his and the hotel's full support, they never use anything other than black taxis the only exception is their own mercedes driven by regular drivers for those guests that request them. 

He went on to say that he was happy for me to share his details and that if I or any of you cabbies out  there ever have any issues with his door staff or any of their drivers to inform him. He is also a regular cab user (everyday).

I thanked him for his support and needless to say waived the fare, it was refershing to get the approval from him and a busy hotel such as the Mandarin he also added that the refurb will soon be finished and the normal three taxi rank will be back in use from July.

I've not published Mr Bowens details here but will be happy to share privately or if anyone has a complaint happy to take up on your behalf. Just contact me email: londontaxis@mail.com  twitter: @taxidriverapp ...

 

Be Lucky and let's support The Mandarin and hopefully get a lot more hotel's on our side...

 

Roger Brown

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TfL Registered Minicab Driver Defecates In Residential Street And Drives Off.

A security camera installed on the wall of one of the homes in a London side street captured what happened - in astonishingly grim detail

This is the disgusting moment a 'minicab driver' apparently caught short during his shift pulled up outside a row of houses and defecated in the street.

The incident is said to have happened in Streatham, south London, late at night.

A security camera installed on the wall of one of the homes in a side street captured what happened - in astonishingly grim detail.

The CCTV video footage begins by showing absolutely nothing happening at all - as it appears to be an average quiet night in suburbia.

Then suddenly a car with its headlights on appears and pulls up alongside the kerb to park.

Nothing particularly odd in that.

   

Title says Taxi driver. Again this is the Daily Mirror who don't know the difference between a Taxis and this TfL licensed minicab!

He then gets out and takes a look around as if to see if anyone is near - or is looking at him.

It's clear that he has something hanging from his neck similar to the identity tags worn by licensed minicab drivers.

He then saunters round to the back of his car as if he is going to fetch something from the boot.

But no - before you know it, he drops his trousers and crouches down behind the back of his car to do his business.

Once done, he jumps back up, and quickly pulls up his trousers and gets back to the side of his car - as if nothing has happened.

Nothing that is apart from the fact every second has been picked up by a security camera filming him.

After getting himself together, the man went back to his car to get a tissue, which he then used to pick up the mess.

When he drove off into the distance, the driver probably thought he had got away unseen.

But that was before the footage was uploaded and shared online...

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