Will Green Taxi Be Final Nail In Coffin Of London Taxi Trade...by Jim Thomas.

Under Mayor Boris Johnson, TfL spent the best part of a billion pounds, putting in ridiculous congestion causing traffic schemes. They are now looking for a slap on the back for putting a bandaid plaster over the gaping wound they've inflicted on the population of the capital.

After an increase in fatalities from cyclist who thought it a great idea to undertake lorries turning right, Boris and his whipping boy introduced half a billion pounds worth of segregated cycle lanes. This was hoped to prevent a couple of dozen cyclist deaths. As a result there has been a massive increase to pollution caused by the extra congestion. Preventable premature deaths in London have gone up by over 2,000 from 8,000 to 10,000 per annum.

London's worst pollution hotspots will get an £11 million funding boost to help bring in tough measures to improve toxic air quality, it was revealed today. 

Five “low emissions neighbourhoods” will be set up across eight of the capital’s most polluted boroughs by 2019.

The fund, run by Mayor Sadiq Khan, will support proposals including strict penalties for the most polluting vehicles, car-free days, green taxi ranks for zero-emission-capable cabs and reserved parking for clean vehicles. 

At 60k a pop and with associate health risks to the driver,  who does Mayor Khan think is going to buy the "Green Taxis", especially with more and more "Car and Taxi Free Days looming.

In one breath, Mr Khan said: “Air pollution is permanently affecting children’s lung development and nearly 10,000 Londoners are dying early every year due to the long-term exposure of London’s dirty air. 

In another breath the Mayor announced that Oxford Street is to be pedestrianised!!!! 

Where does Mayor Khan think this traffic is going to go? 

Taxi Leaks recently asked Dame Tanni Grey Thompson to support access to Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road for all wheelchair access vehicles. She refused saying she has no trouble shopping around Westfield in her wheelchair. 

So in future, can we expect to see only ex-Para-Olympic athletes shopping in W1 and Fitzrovia?   

The outcome of these proposals will see complete chaos and gridlock, causing more congestion, more emissions and with more pollution and most certainly more premature fatalities. 

“We need urgent, bold action and this includes targeted local initiatives.” Said the Mayor....Try banning all private vehicles from within the congestion zone....ah but that would put a stop to the money raised from congestion charging!

Better still sack the idiots who come up with these stupid, ill thought out schemes.

Another Consultation For TfL To Disregard?

It follows the launch of public consultation on air quality this month with proposals including a £10 “T-charge” for the most polluting vehicles in central London and the extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone by 2020.

The five hotspots include Marylebone in Westminster, where plans include an electric vehicle delivery scheme and improving emissions from buildings

A “City fringe” scheme, covering parts of Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets, will feature tree planting, a focus on walking and cycling with improved pavements and cycle routes and parking places for clean vehicles. 

The Barbican proposal in the City of London includes no-idling zones, green taxi ranks and restricted access to certain streets for all but the cleanest vehicles. 

No-idling Zones

This will mean every time you pull up at lights, you will be expected to turn off your ignition.

Two problems here:

 1. When lights turn green you now have to wait for the car in front to start up and move off, then you start your engine...result, traffic build up less vehicles get through on green. Causing even more congestion. Engine shake up from starting up, more emissions of airborne micro carbon particles (PM10, PMx), these are dangerous particles, even more so than NO2/CO2 emission. 

 2. In my Taxi, when I turn off the engine, the driver's compartment locks deactivate, leaving me at risk to the likes of the thriving scumbags operating in the Marylebone, Islington and Holloway areas. 

Not one trade org has bought this problem up with manufactures. No one from TfL or the Mayors office has investigated this proposed breach in our security. 

Some one tell me again "Just what is it our trade representatives actually do these days?"

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CAR CLOCKING IN PRIVATE HIRE, MINICAB AND CHAUFFEURING TRADE COSTING MILLIONS AND PLACING PASSENGERS AT RISK WARN EXPERTS

New research and investigations from automotive experts HPI and consumer group LicensedTransportUncovered.com (LTU) has revealed that private hire, minicab and chauffeur customers are at risk due to an epidemic of clocking, with hundreds of millions of miles being removed from odometers across the UK every year.

HPI and LTU have teamed up to warn of the dangers that clocked private hire, minicab and chauffeur-driven vehicles pose to the public who may be unwittingly putting themselves at serious risk every time they use one. The illegal practice of clocking revealed by an LTU investigation, takes place when drivers look to cut corners by saving on maintenance costs and deliberately defraud second-hand car buyers, when the vehicle is sold on.

HPI, the UK’s leading authority on vehicle checking services, estimates that used car buyers have a one in 20 chance of purchasing a vehicle with a mileage discrepancy, with the practice costing motorists £800 million every year*.

An investigation by (LTU) found hundreds of private hire, minicab and chauffeur-driven vehicles in the north west of England operating with clocked mileage. Post private hire usage, some vehicles went to dealers and were offered for sale at inflated prices.

The investigation found that one driver removed 114,000 miles from his Toyota. A Mercedes-Benz with 180,000 miles off the clock was on sale for £20,250 when it was really only worth £11,150 with its true mileage reading. In the worst case found as part of the investigation, a staggering 460,000 miles had been removed from the odometer of one private hire vehicle.

Chris Hargreaves, of LTU, said: “Clocking within the private hire, minicab and chauffeur industry has reached epidemic proportions and something needs to be done to prevent this unscrupulous practice before a real tragedy happens.

“The 330 clocked cars we found had about 80 million miles removed but that was just in the north west of England. UK-wide it’s safe to say that hundreds of millions of miles must have been wiped out thanks to clocking.”

“It’s truly shocking to discover that reputable leasing companies are giving out lease agreements to the industry based on as little as 10,000 miles per year – 27.3 miles per day! Surely neither the vehicle manufacturers nor the leasing companies have to be in the industry to see the warning signs. In most local authority districts a licensed vehicle has to be doing at least 1,000 miles a week to make any money. So why is any lease deal being done for less than, say, 50,000 miles per year? If any thought was given to these transactions, the ridiculously low mileage lease deals would never be signed up in the first place.”

HPI and LTU believe that as pounds and pence increasingly take precedence over public safety a major clampdown is urgently required.

Barry Shorto, head of industry relations at Cap HPI, said: “Our valuation data conclusively shows the potential cost to dealers and motorists of the clocking problem. With clockers able to add thousands of pounds onto the value of a car, unsuspecting buyers stand to lose out, as do dealers. That’s why we advise retailers and consumers alike to conduct a vehicle history check to spot a mileage discrepancy before they buy.

“It can be almost impossible to tell a clocked vehicle just by looking at it, which makes a vehicle history check an even more vital form of protection for buyers. A clocked vehicle could be hiding serious levels of wear and tear, especially if it has been previously used as a high mileage private hire vehicle for a couple of years, meaning the additional cost of unexpected repairs or even a potentially serious safety threat to driver, passengers and other road users. An HPI Check can help protect consumers from buying a vehicle with something to hide, saving them cash and keeping them safe.”

The HPI Check includes a mileage check against the National Mileage Register as standard, now with over 200 million mileage readings. HPI also confirms whether a vehicle is currently recorded as stolen with the police, has outstanding finance against it or has been written off, making it the best way for consumers to protect themselves from fraudsters looking to make a fast profit.

Register (NMR) checks and investigations have grown by over a third in the last five years.

Added Barry Shorto: “Not only should dealers make conducting mileage investigations an integral part of their business process, to protect their reputation and their customers, they need actively to promote the fact to their customers that these checks have been done. Our data confirms that consumers are seeking peace of mind against clocking, yet some dealers are choosing to overlook this. Proof of a mileage check should be a key part of a dealer’s sales strategy, promoting the quality of their stock, as well as highlighting the dangers of clocking for their customers.”

As part of its investigations, HPI found:

·         Whilst almost one in three (29%) of used car buyers are believed by dealers still to be unaware of the risks of clocking, more than one in five customers now ask dealers, directly, for proof that they have validated a vehicle’s mileage.

·         However, despite growing consumer awareness of the dangers of clocking, only ten per cent of dealers surveyed said they actively declare that they have conducted a mileage check on a vehicle, vitally weakening their sales proposition.

·         Over 52 per cent of dealers said that consumers who enter their showrooms do know about clocking, but the level of concern varies significantly.

·         92 per cent of dealers consider clocking a ‘terrible’ blight on the industry and a major risk to its reputation.

 Who are HPI and Cap

HPI and cap are two of the most recognised brands in the motor industry. cap is recognised as a leading provider of data and insight to the automotive industry. Its award-winning used car pricing and technical information has been trusted for more than 30 years. 

Established in 1938, HPI is a primary source of vehicle information for the UK motor industry and motoring consumer. HPI encompasses both the HPI database of all UK road registered vehicle descriptions and histories, and the National Mileage Register (NMR) which holds in excess of 200 million mileage readings.

*Office for Fair Trading (OFT) figures for 2015 

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cab:app contactless chip & pin – rental option now available

Credit Card Package – further to the changes by TfL on the mandatory credit card mandate which come into effect in October, cab:app has a fully approved solution which includes a contactless chip & pin device, a fixed bracket for the passenger compartment and a printer. This is now available to buy as a bundle or individually as follows (prices below exclude VAT and postage): 

• M10 contactless chip & pin device - £79
• Fixed bracket for passenger compartment - £50
• Micronics Star Printer SM L200 - £170
• Bundle of chip & pin, bracket and printer - £295

As a reminder, the cab:app solution accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, contactless and Apple Pay. Processing fees for drivers are 2.7%, payment to your bank account is next day Monday to Friday. In addition, drivers also benefit from cashback, which is 10% of the net profit cab:app makes on each card transaction with the option to accept in cash or convert to shares in cab:app. We will also be updating the device software (remotely) in the next 2-3 weeks with a tip feature so passengers can add a tip at the end of the journey when paying by card.

The fixed bracket has already been approved for the TX vehicle and we’ve just had news that TfL have approved the same bracket for the Vito, so we will update you on this shortly together with the list of garages and their fitting costs.

Credit Card Rental Scheme – a number of drivers across the UK and Ireland have requested a rental option for the contactless chip & pin device rather than purchasing outright. We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with our suppliers to provide a free device as part of a rental service that will cost £2 a week (£8 a month) with no tie in or contract.

Please note that this is for the device only, so London drivers will still need to purchase the fixed bracket and printer to comply with the new TfL regulations.

As there is a new Mayor and head of TfL, we have taken the opportunity once again to challenge the need for a mandatory fixed bracket and printer as we believe this to be an unnecessary cost and should be at the driver’s discretion. We await a response so we have been recommending that drivers wait a little longer before purchasing the bracket and printer just in case!

You can purchase the cab:app contactless device directly from the app. If you are interested in purchasing the bracket, the printer or would prefer the rental service then please email us with your name and address at ‘support@cabapp.net’

Thank you to everyone in advance for your support and patience, as the long term success of cab:app will ultimately be determined by drivers.

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Uber In A UK Court, Case To Be Heard On Wednesday 20th July.

Uber faces its first UK legal action to see if it should pay workers for holidays and pay the National Minimum Wage

The US-owned firm will appear in a case brought by law firm Leigh Day, supported by the GMB union, at the Central London Employment Tribunal on Wednesday.

It will be decided if Uber, whose European headquarters is Netherlands based, is acting unlawfully by not providing drivers with holiday pay or the National Minimum Wage.

A successful claim against Uber could have ramifications for all self-employed in other industries, said Leigh Day.

But why have we had to wait for the GMB to act, why haven't our representative orgs taken Uber to court?

The a LTDA splashed over pages of their paper, they had a fighting fund if a million pounds. Isn't it time they put this money to good use.

The evidence is out there:

In a Toronto court case, Uber have openly admitted (under oath) that worldwide, they do not receive or handle customer bookings in any way.

They said they simply put the customer in contact with the driver, and then it is the driver who accepts the booking IN CAR.

This actually means that Uber do not operate within the terms of their TfL operators licence. In fact it is the drivers who are acting as operators outside the conditions of their Private Hire drivers licence. Therefore every journey accepted by Uber's drivers past and present could and should be deemed to be undertaken illegally.

TfLTPH already know this but are too frightened to take action against this alleged multibillion dollar corporation which up to now has been protected by Government ministers such as chancellor Osborne who was leaning on the previous Mayor Boris Johnson to give Uber an easy ride. 

Circumstances have now changed and the LTDA with their much publicised one million pound fighting fund should be all over this. 

This is a winnable case. 

Why are our orgs always seem to be dragging their feet?

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ARRO, Just What We've Been Waiting For? New Taxi Hailing App From CMT.

With the requirement for contactless credit card readers to be fitted in the rear of all taxis looming, and not wanting to leave it to the last moment, I decided to check out all the available options.

There are many pros and cons with all available systems, but taking into consideration my own personal circumstances and requirements, I found the system offered by Taxi World, fits my needs best. 

No initial layout expense, inclusive printer and best of all, no contract. I also prefer the fact that the system has its own GPS chip and works independent from my phone, unlike my present set up with iZettle. I found having to frequently disconnect my blue tooth hands free to get the machine to connect to my phone, annoying.

I had a very informative conversation with Linda who was taking payment for the meter I currently rent from Taxi world. She told me to book as soon as possible as bookings close to the deadline were filling fast. 

As luck would have it, I was able to book a fitting at my nearest White City branch. The fitting was quick and the fitter even went to the trouble of hiding the cable I had running to my dash-cam. Everything looks much neater now. 

While there, I was informed about an exciting new app being developed by Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT), a Long Island based tech company who make and market the CC equipment. 

CMT'S "ARRO" On The Horizon. 

Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel?

CMT have a Taxi hailing app called "ARRO" which is currently being used by over 10,000 delighted New York yellow cab drivers. This very professional app is now being adapted for the London market. This will not be just another run of the mill app no one hears about, CMT have the resources to take on a Uber big time, in the same way they've taken then on in New York. 

When a user taps the app, a nearby Taxi driver is sent the passenger's name and pickup address. The rider is sent the driver's name and ID number so he/she can identify the Taxi. Users store their credit card details in the app, allowing them to pay the metered fare, plus tip, automatically. (Sound familiar)

"Our solution is completely integrated with the taxi, whereas Uber's is not," said Mr. Epley, who worked as a logistics consultant for CMT before leaving to launch Arro.

The next feature that Arro says gives it a leg up on Uber: 

NO SURGE PRICING.

See this article from Mashable http://ift.tt/29RQXi8

Allegedly, the app will run on the GPS tablet which comes free with the CC system, so won't use any of your phone data. 

The app will also be available to non Taxi World's system users, available as a download from both Apple and Android app stores.

But the success of this venture lies in your hands. The more Taxi drivers that sign up, the more successful it will become.

And so off to work, with my new CC contactless reader on board!

At first I found the plethora of window stickers, advertising the fact I now had this contactless machine quite daunting. The thought was running round in my head that I may never take a cash ride again.

But to my surprise, I managed to complete two whole night shifts without taking a single card payment. It was only half way through my third shift, I had my first take up. The tip option proved fruitless though. 

Funny that, wasn't we told by TfL, this whole issue came about because according to their consultation, over 85% of my customers wanted to pay by Credit Cards!

Downside:

There is however a downside to these new machines, they definitely impair vision through the rear view mirror. With the head rests already blocking so much of the rear view, the machine appears in the mirror between two headrests blocking even more.

 I must say I'm surprised in these days of the nanny state, with strict health and safety requirements, that rear fitting these machines has actually been allowed. Front fitted and hand held units have been workable for many years, with no problems whatsoever. 

Most drivers believe the only reason TfL are insisting on units fitted in the rear, is solely just because they can.

There seems to be no clear safety or financial advantage to the passenger or driver. Unfortunately, this issue has seen a number of smaller independent suppliers, forced out of business by TfL's decision.

Again we see an uneven playing field, as there is no similar mandate or requirement for Private Hire to take CC payments or have a unit 'fitted' in their vehicles.

There is also no requirement for a minicab driver to have to pay the service charge on transactions, customers can still be billed by the driver on top of the fare. The London Taxi trade has become the first ever group of traders to have this requirement forced upon them.

Amazingly, our representative orgs have never questioned the fact that TfL went against their own consultation results when it came to rear fitting of units and transaction service charges. The only statement I managed to get from Steve McNamara general secretary of our largest org the LTDA, was "it's a done deal". 

Done deal...done by who?

Freudian slip? or using the wrong wording perhaps? 

Or is Steve referring to the deal appertaining to the revenue that's being generated by the constant stream of advertising in trade papers?

Still Woefully Inadequate : 

In my opinion, this whole issue is proof that TfLTPH haven't a clue about what's best, when it comes to the every day workings of our iconic industry. 

They certainly take no notice from their own consultation, which appears to be no more than a waste of resources. 

It's as if they sit in their office all day dreaming up schemes to squeeze the life out of our trade.

Still, it's no good moaning about these new requirements now. 

When the trade had the chance to do something, nowhere near enough drivers came forward. Most drivers seemed to believe £24 per head was too expensive to fight for their survival. Some org leaders didn't even bother turning up to meetings with LTPH, when arranged. 

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IN PICTURES: Cabbies treat underprivileged kids to a day out in Southend

Girls from Totenham, enjoying trip to Southend.

A convoy of 100 balloon decorated London taxis came to Southend with 300 deserving children. The fantastic smiles on the faces of excited children tells its own story.

Taxi drivers Caterina Bellandi came all the way from Florence for the trip.

The London Taxi Drivers’ Fund for Underprivileged Children brought the children on the annual outing, which took them first along the seafront, before enjoying the afternoon at Adventure Island.

Children from Gainsborough School enjoying the day with driver Matt Howard

Simeon Yeracaris, Malcolm Shaffron, Mike Son and their furry friends soaking up the atmosphere

Boys from Bethnal green on the London taxi drivers fund for underprivileged children trip to the seaside

The kids and drivers also got to enjoy a lunch and disco at the Cliffs Oavillion in Westcliff where they were met by the mayor.

The children were brought in brightly coloured taxis, for many of these kids it was their their first visit the seaside, as well as their first ever ride in a taxi.

Cameron, Pauline and Aseea with Sue Harris

Taxi driver Claire with more children from Totenham.

Founded in 1928, the charity is well known for its outings to the seaside, when convoys of London taxis decked in balloons and banners take excited children and their helpers for an amazing fun day out

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Marc Turner Attends Exhibition On Proposed Revisions To Disastrous Taverstock Place Scheme.

Thursday evening (14th July) i attended Mary Ward House for an exhibition of proposed revisions to the disasterous implementation of experimental traffic changes by Camden Council last year. 

There was a respectable turnout of concerned cabbies, far outnumbering local residents. 

But on chatting to said locals, I was surprised to hear their lifes have been blighted even more then ours over the ill judged 'traffic tinkering' that even Camden Council concedes 'isn't' working! 

They exhibited three revised plans, only one was prefered by the taxi fraternity.

It wasn't perfect, but an improvement on what we and our customers are currently suffering. 

We all filled in a questionnaire with the welcome option of choosing for the failed experiment to be totally scrapped, and returned to the areas original layout. 

The Exhibition resumes on Saturday (16th July) 10:30/ 16:00. 

I implore interested parties to attend. Remember you've got to be in it to win it!...

Our arguments are valid but don't amount to anything if we can't be bothered to voice them. If you can't possibly get there and want to be heard, email your views to madison@cavendishpc.co.uk

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