Uber Driver Touting Levels Reach Record Levels. Calls For Internal Investigation At LTPH.

One thing about working alongside the dedicated drivers of the Mayfair Mob, sitting outside night venues, you get to see exactly what's going down in regards to touts and they way they operate. 

Obviously you have the old fashioned blatant touts who stand outside the door, relaxed in the knowledge they have more chance winning the lottery than being arrested for touting. Alongside the touts are the regular pimps and drug pushers, working in conjunction with door staff. 

It's the same faces turning up night after night and every now and then you catch a glimpse of the old hand shake, the kind drug dealers are keen on to transfer little packages.  Many of the touts, licensed and unlicensed operate class A drug delivery services to clubs...illegal yes, but it's what the public want!

Then there are the clip board johnnies who do the touting for the drivers, walking passengers up to cars illegally plying for hire outside venues, under a semi legal cloak of the STaN agendas satellite office licence. 

But almost unnoticed is the new fashion of illegally plying for hire, using fog lights to show out to prospective customers that the car parked by the roadside is indeed available for immediate hire.

This is now the favoured modus operandi of the Uber driver. As we know, to creat a situation where there is more demand than availability, drivers are encouraged to switch off their app. The fact that there is a perceived shortage of cars, results in a surge in rate. 

So what do the drivers do while they are sitting around with their app turned off....well, according to their drivers forum, they tout. All their regular customers are informed that if there is surge pricing in your area, walk along the street waving your smart phone and a vacant driver will flash you with his fog lights. 

The Mayfair Mob team see this quite clearly going down, mostly over the weekends.

Unfortunately, the TfL operatives involved in Operation Neon seem to be blind to this practise. 

Drivers are constantly complaining to the supposed "monitored" site on Twitter (@TfLTPH).

But as we've come to expect TfL account operators are complacent and just make excuses for the actions of the Uber drivers.

It's time that the police were bought in to LTPH to carry out an internal affairs style investigation. 

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Shocking Report From America : Incidents Involving Uber And Lyft.

REPORTED LIST OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING UBER AND LYFT

Uber’s process for onboarding drivers is dangerously negligent. Neither Uber nor Lyft uses fingerprints or law enforcement to background-check their drivers. And Uber doesn’t even bother to meet with drivers in person before allowing them to ferry passengers.

 

The result is a series of incidents involving “ridesharing” passengers being harmed and criminal offenders behind the wheel:

For individual stories, click on links.

Deaths | Assaults | Sexual Assaults | Kidnappings | Felons | Imposters | Driver DUIs & Other

Deaths from Uber Accidents

Woman Dies After Being Run Over by the Rear Wheel of an Uber Vehicle in Columbus, OH  (8/28/15)

Manhattan Uber Driver Strikes and Kills Pedestrian (3/10/15)

Seven-Year-Old San Francisco Girl Struck and Killed by Uber Driver; Uber Denies Responsibility (5/7/14)

Alleged Assaults by Uber and Lyft Drivers

Australian Woman Allegedly Attacked by her Uber Driver Suffers a Broken Leg and Blood Clot from the Ordeal (9/8/15)

A Los Angeles Woman Says Her Uber Driver Threw Her onto the Street(6/4/15)

Denver Uber Driver Allegedly Drove Woman to Airport, then Went Back to Rob Her Home (4/1/15)

Hiring a Lyft: Uber Safe or Uber Dangerous? (3/18/15)

Boston Uber Driver Charged with Indecent Assault and Battery(2/9/15)

Off-Duty LA Uber Driver Accused of Sexual Assault (2/3/15)

Alleged Assault by Chicago Uber Driver (12/10/14)

San Francisco Passenger Struck In Head with Hammer by UberX Driver (9/30/14)

Uber Driver Pulls Gun on Valet in Atlanta (9/8/14)

Philadelphia Uber Driver Beat Model, Pushed Earring through Skin in Traffic Jam (7/14/14)

Uber Driver Punches Passenger in Oklahoma (6/3/14)

Lyft Driver Attacks Pedestrian in San Francisco (1/14/14)

San Francisco Uber Customer Claims Abuse and Assault by Uber Driver (11/25/13)

Lyft Driver Brandishes Knife in Los Angeles (10/29/13)

Writer and Activist Reports Being Choked in DC; Uber Denies the Event and Responsibility (9/16/13)

Uber Customer Sues for $2M over Alleged Driver Stabbing in DC (9/8/13)

DC Uber Driver Allegedly Assaults Passenger for Burping (3/8/13)

Alleged Sexual Assaults and Harassment Incidents by Uber and Lyft Drivers

Lyft and Lyft Driver Sued by Passenger for Alleged Sexual Battery, Gender Violence, Civil Rights Violations and Negligence (10/30/15)

‘Ridesharing’ Driver Charged with Allegedly Raping a British Tourist in Sydney, Australia (10/22/15)

Community Advocacy Director at Austin, Texas Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Prevention and Counseling Nonprofit SafePlace Testifies the Organization Has Counseled 4 Victims of Sexual Assault by TNC Drivers in 3 Months (10/16/15)

Uber Driver Sought for Alleged Sexual Assault in Toronto in June, 2015 (9/25/15)

Toronto Uber Driver Accused of Sexually Assaulting a Passenger in His Vehicle (9/17/15)

Woman in Ohio Allegedly Sexually Assaulted by Uber Driver (9/10/15)

Uber Driver in New Jersey Accused of Raping a Female Customer (8/28/15)

An Uber Driver in China Charged with Robbery and Rape (8/26/15)

Philadelphia Uber Driver Accused of Rape in June Loses Bail Request (8/12/15)

Uber Driver Accused of Kidnapping and Raping a Female Passenger in South Carolina (8/12/15)

Uber Driver Charged with Sexual Battery in Virginia (8/6/15)

Uber Driver Accused of Sexual Assault in Dallas (8/1/15)

Uber Driver Allegedly Caught Masturbating In Front of Female Passenger in India (7/22/15)

Uber Driver Linked by DNA Evidence, Witness Accounts to Five Other Sexual Assaults in Boston between 2006 and 2010 (7/14/15)

Uber Driver in Chicago Allegedly Exposes Himself to a Female Passenger, Uber Admits He Should Have Failed Background Check(6/26/15)

Virginia Mother Alleges Uber Driver Molested Her 13-year-old Daughter (6/16/15)

Lyft Driver in Seattle Allegedly Drags Customer Behind Car After Demanding Sex (6/5/15)

Uber Driver in New Jersey Fondles Himself in Backseat with Female Passenger (6/3/15)

Uber New Delhi Molestation Case: Uber Cab Driver Suspended After He Molested Female Passenger in Gurgaon (6/1/15)

Mississauga, Canada, Uber driver is facing a charge of sexual assault after allegedly assaulting a female passenger (5/20/15)

University of Southern California Student Says Uber Driver Raped Her After Party (5/1/15)

New York Woman Says Uber Driver Grabbed, Assaulted Her (4/30/15)

Wisconsin Woman Tells Police Uber Driver Inappropriately Touched Her (4/27/15)

Houston Uber Driver Accused of Rape Started Work After 14 Years in Federal Prison (4/7/15)

Houston Uber Driver Accused of Sexually Assaulting Customer (4/2/15)

Uber Driver Arrested on Sexual Assault Charges in Paris (3/25/15)

Philadelphia Woman Says She Was Raped and Kidnapped by an UberX Driver (3/24/15)

Uber Driver Investigated After Alleged Sexual Assault in Mar Vista, California (2/3/15)

Chicago Uber Driver Charged with Sexual Assault, Unlawful Restraint and kidnapping of 21-year-old male passenger (1/14/15)

Uber Driver Arrested Over Alleged Sexual Assault in Melbourne,Australia (1/10/15)

London Uber Driver Asks Rider for Oral Sex (12/11/14)

Uber Driver in India Accused of Rape (12/8/14)

Orlando Uber Passenger Allegedly Touched by Uber Driver (9/25/14)

Three San Francisco Women Say Uber Driver Sexually Harassed Them(9/25/14)

DC Uber Driver Accused of Molesting Rider (7/28/14)

Uber Driver Charged with Fondling Passenger in Chicago (4/10/14)

New York-based Journalist Sexually Harassed and Stalked by Uber Driver (3/28/14)

DC Uber Driver Arrested for Alleged Rape but Not Charged Despite Strong Evidence (9/14/13)

“Rideshare” Driver Sends Seemingly Endless Amount of Creepy Text Messages to Rider (7/16/13)

Alleged Kidnappings by Uber Drivers

Philadelphia Woman Says She Was Raped and Kidnapped by an UberX Driver (3/24/15)

Uber Driver Takes NYC Woman on Nightmare $293 Zigzagging Odyssey(12/13/14)

Los Angeles Woman Claims Uber Driver Kidnapped Rider; Uber Claims “Inefficient Route” (10/14/14)

DC Uber Driver Takes Riders on High Speed Chase (7/9/14)

Driver Allegedly Kidnaps Drunk Woman in LA (6/3/14)

Felons Behind the Wheel

California District Attorney Says Flaws in Uber’s Background-checking System Allowed 25 Drivers with Criminal Records (8/19/15)

8 California Uber Drivers with Extensive Criminal Histories (8/11/15)

Dallas Uber Driver Arrested for Sexual Assault Had Prior Conviction of Felony Weapons Possession (8/1/15)

ISIS Sympathizer/Uber Driver arrested by FBI in Miami (7/17/05)

Houston Uber Driver Accused of Rape Served 14 Years in Federal Prison (4/7/15)

Convicted Felon in California Passes Uber’s Background Check(4/24/14)

Chicago Felon Found Driving for Uber (2/14/14)

San Francisco Uber Driver Accused of Assault Had Served Prison Time for Felony (1/6/14)

Driver DUIs & Other Offenses

San Francisco Uber Driver Threatens to Rape and Kill Woman After She Cancels Her Ride (10/16/15)

Uber Driver Stopped in Chapel Hill has Three Warrants in North Carolina, including Assault with a Deadly Weapon (10/14/15)

Uber Driver Charged with Unlawful Restraint in Texas (9/27/15)

LA Uber Driver Used Gig As a Cover to Sell Drugs (8/21/15)

Arlington, Virginia Police Seeking Alleged Uber Driver in Assault (8/3/15)

Chicago Uber Driver Arrested for Threatening to Shoot Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Others (7/20/15)

UK Uber Driver Leaves Woman a Voicemail Threatening to “Cut Her Neck” after She Canceled a Ride (7/8/15)

Florida Man Faces 4th DUI while Working as an Uber Driver (6/6/15)

Qunnipiac University Student Assaulted in Presumed Uber Taxi(4/1/15)

Imposters

Man Impersonating an Uber Driver Picks Up Woman in Portland (10/28/15)

Chicago Criminals Posing as Uber Drivers to Commit Robberies(9/22/15)

Fake Uber Driver Tried to “Lure” a Simmons College Student into a Vehicle in Boston (9/14/15)

Man Posing as an Uber Driver Picked Up Two College Students in Texas (9/7/15)

Man Posing as Uber Driver Arrested for Attempting to Abduct Tallahassee College Student (9/1/15)

Fake Uber Driver Picks Up a Couple in Kansas City (6/23/15)

Man Posing As Uber Driver Sought for Sexual Assault by D.C. Police(5/11/15)

False Uber Driver Sexually Assaults Passenger in Manhattan (5/11/15)

Uber Imposter Reported in Dallas (10/22/14)

Man Posing As Uber Driver Robs Atlanta Passenger (7/21/14)

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Could New Hybrid Taxi From Toyota, Rival LTI's TX5?

If you've ever set foot in Tokyo, you know the ubiquitous, straight-laced Toyota Crown Comfort three-box sedans that are as archetypal of Japanese taxis as their drivers' officious hats and dainty white gloves.

But Tokyo's streetscape is about to get a big makeover, and just in time for the 2020 Olympics. Toyota says it will launch a next-generation taxi for Japan in 2018 -- a bulbous, hatchback hybrid. 

The new taxi, previewed as the JPN Taxi Concept at last week's Tokyo Motor Show, will be just as idiosyncratic as the Crown Comfort. It starts with the huge greenhouse. A low beltline allows plenty of visibility for driver and passenger alike. And extra-tall side windows in back give tourists a panoramic view. The car also gets a low floor and wide-opening sliding doors. 

In a nod to Toyota's green DNA, the taxi is a hybrid, like the flagship Prius. But unlike the Prius, the cab will run on electricity and liquefied petroleum gas, instead of gasoline.

This also makes Toyotas Taxi cleaner than the proposed LTI TX5 which will have a petrol engine/generator. 

With Nissans Taxi of tomorrow said to be making a comeback soon, in the form of an all electric vehicle, it doesn't look like LTI are about to have the London market all to themselves. 

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Are Cab Enforcement Setting Up Taxi Honey Traps, To Even Up The Statistics ?

Any taxi driver who has been plying for hire around London’s streets for more than a few months knows that prospective passengers have more than the obvious way of hailing a cab. That way is, of course, by sticking out their hand. Others might whistle, while some may call out “taxi.” But there are also those who look as though they want you but because you are on the other side of the road, may not do any of the above other than just look in your direction. That’s what happened to Dial-a-Cab driver John Davis (V41) – except that the stare was- n’t what it appeared to be.

John Davis has appeared in Call Sign a number of times over the years, mainly for completing in charity events. Several years ago he jumped out of a plane in aid of a young disabled boy, Jack Pitcher, to help his family buy a converted van. They got one, although Jack sadly died soon after. Then John ran in the London Marathon in aid of the Children with Cancer charity. He also appeared in these pages after helping to free four children from the wreckage of a car wreck as their mother lay trapped and unconscious in the driver’s seat following a three-vehicle smash. He had jumped out of his cab and battled to free the woman’s children and also a man trapped in one of the other cars – that one being on fire! But what happened to John on Lavender Hill this particular evening was as far from charity as you can get.

It was around thirty minutes after midnight and John was heading east along Lavender Hill with his ‘for hire’ sign on. There was virtu- ally no traffic and even fewer prospective pas- sengers. But standing by the kerb on the other side of the street was a lone man. As John was passing, the man looked at him in the way that some do when they want a taxi. John looked in his mirror to make sure there were no other taxis about that this guy may have flagged down. But there were none, so John did a U- turn, pulled up alongside the man and asked if he had hailed him and did he want a taxi? The man said yes and asked for McDonald’s just past Wandsworth Bridge. The man asked how much, John said around £10 but that if it went more, he would cap it at a tenner. So the man got in and off they went.

As the cab reached St John’s Hill, a Mondeo with two policemen inside started flashing their blue light and John pulled over to allow them to pass believing that they were chasing someone. But it was John they wanted. The passenger said nothing.

“I couldn’t understand why they would be stopping me,” John told Call Sign, “I knew I hadn’t been speeding and searched my mind to remember if perhaps the Clapham Junction lights had been red when I crossed, but I just knew they had been green. So I pulled into the kerb and got out. One of the policemen then came up to me, told me to remove the keys from the ignition and switch off my lights. 

He then flashed his warrant card and simultaneously said Metropolitan Police Cab Enforcement. I just asked why they had stopped me; after all I hadn’t done anything. But then he shocked me totally by saying that he was arresting me for touting! I asked why because all I’d done was to spot someone who I believed had hailed me and that in fact I was correct in that he did want a cab. I thought I was being helpful by spinning round to pick him up.”

But the police were having none of it. They made John leave his cab where it was and drove him to the police station. It was only then that John realised that the pas- senger was working with the two men in the Mondeo.

Once inside the police station, they took John’s DNA, including swabbing both sides of his mouth, fingerprinting all ten digits via com- puter, doing his palms and sides of his hands. He then had his mugshot take from three dif- ferent angles before they then charged him with touting. John was stunned, what he thought was a good turn had put his livelihood at risk!

“What might have made me smile had it not been so serious was that on the charge sheet it said touting by a private hire vehicle (!!!) before going on to say about not being covered by the minimum third party insurance. I have and always have had fully comprehensive insur- ance. I was later told by a solicitor that incor- rect wording was irrelevant because police can change it any time up to six months after the arrest! The Police kept me at the station until 04.30am and then gave me a date of 25th September for a court appearance. Even then, I just couldn’t imagine that any court in the land would convict me, but there was this tiny thought at the back of my mind that said noth- ing was impossible.

25 September: John’s day in court...

John’s day in court arrived and from the witness box, behind a bulletproof glass shield, he gave his personal details and the registrar then read out both charges. But then a strange thing happened; the duty solicitor representing John got up and whispered something to the bench.

The next thing John heard was the magistrate saying that the case was dismissed and he was free to go! 

He was asked if he understood and he said no! The magistrate then repeated that the case had been dismissed, that there was no further action going to be taken and that John was free to leave at any time.

John asked if he could make a statement and used the next few minutes to call the decision to prosecute him a disgrace, saying that he hadn’t been touting and was just trying to assist a member of the public whom he thought had hailed him. 

He went on to say that a lot of time, money and effort had been wasted by the police because of this ridiculous arrest. He then told the court that he would be taking the matter further and making an official complaint to the Crown Prosecution Service about the whole incident and the action of the arresting officers. 

Reproduced with kind permission of CallSign magazine.

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Uber Pulls Out Of a Three German Cities :

Three days ago, Uber gleefully announced a partnership with the Lithuanian capital of Vilniusto launch a ridesharing pilot in the city of 536,000 people. The company frequently touts these types of agreements to illustrate its growing acceptance by regulators and city governments. Well, you know what they say: two Uber trips forward, one Uber trip back.

On Friday, blaming complex regulations, the company announced it had pulled out of three German cities: Hamburg (population 1.7 million); Frankfurt (687,000); and Düsseldorf (593,000). The news came almost nine months after a judge in Frankfurt ruled that Uber drivers were required to obtain the same licenses required of normal taxi drivers.

"We know this will be disappointing for riders and our partner drivers in those three cities."The ruling overturned a prior decision that legalized Uber in Germany. Since then, Uber has restricted its services to drivers with the appropriate permits, but has run into a supply shortage, Reuters said. This came after Uber tried to ensure drivers used its platform by promising to pay for the government fees associated with the licenses.

The company's executives said they would pay the €100 to €200 for the license, as well as the €150 to €200 fee for a permit from the country's Chamber of Commerce. But apparently the scheme didn't work, given Friday's news. The company now only will operate in Berlin and Munich.

Uber says the retreat is hopefully only temporary. "Plenty of people in Germany want to press a button on their phone and get a safe, affordable ride with Uber," said Christian Freese, general manager for Uber in Germany, in a statement. "Yet we've found the requirements, even for licensed services, to be very complex. Uber is increasingly popular in Munich and Berlin so we have decided to focus our efforts there and suspend our operations in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. We know this will be disappointing for riders and our partner drivers in those three cities, so we are looking at how we can support them. Uber remains committed to expanding its services in Germany, and will therefore continue its engagement and dialogue with politicians and regulators."

Germany is the latest European country to turn its nose up at Uber's hard-charging ways. In France, two Uber executives were arrested after a nationwide strike by that country's taxi drivers. A judge in Milan ordered the discontinuation of Uber in Italy, calling the service "unfair competition." And the company suspended its service in Spain after a judge ruled that Uber didn't comply with the country's laws.

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