TFL's Helping Hand For Uber, Good Luck, Or Contrived ?

While Uber Could Theoretically Pay No Fees For Three More Years, 46 Private Hire Firms Have Stopped Trading Since The TfL hiked Fees. 

New figures have shown almost fifty Private Hire Operators have closed their doors since the 5000% rise in license fee’s by Transport for London was introduced.

The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA), which campaigned to get Private Hire Vehicles (minicabs and chauffeurs) in London licensed, will challenge Transport for London (TfL) in the High Court next week (6th February).

It has brought about judicial review proceedings for what it sees as punitive and unfair increases in the cost of Licensed Operator Fees.

A freedom of information request to TfL has shown that in September 2017, when the new fees were approved, there were 2,445 PHV Operators licensed. By 3 December 2017, there were just 2,399. TfL has stated that it needs to increase costs to meet operator licensing, compliance and enforcement costs.

Steve Wright Chair of the LPHCA says: “I have spent all my working life seeking to improve standards and safety in London. TfL’s own figures show there are fantastic levels of compliance because Operators in London have been regulated for over 15 years. We are concerned that monies raised by these increases will not be used for Operator compliance but be used elsewhere by TfL.’

He added; “We are taking legal action ‘more in sorrow than in anger’. What we hope is that the High Court will rule in our favour and that TfL will engage with us and other key trade bodies to discuss fees that are realistic, affordable and proportionate to the cost of running its compliance and enforcement function.”

TfL’s own figures show that the most compliant medium-sized operators are being subjected to punitive costs. Some long-established minicab companies have seen the cost of a five-year licence escalate from £2,826 to £30,000. By simply adding one vehicle, their costs would rise to £150,000. The addition of one driver would take them into a higher tier and cost the company £54,000 at the point of licence change.

A TfL spokeswoman told Evening Standard that the number of businesses closing was “fairly consistent” with recent years.

She said the fee rises were “proportionate” after a dramatic rise in the size of the industry over the last five years had greatly increased the costs of overseeing them. The fees will fund extra compliance officers “who do a crucial job in driving up standards and ensuring passengers remain safe”.

The case will be considered on various aspects including the allegation that TfL did not undertake a considered and thorough consultation prior to the introduction of these fees and failed to carry out an independent regulatory impact assessment.

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Exclusive Breaking News: Taxis Left Unplated For 12 Weeks Or More To be Removed From Service In London.

New regulations from TfL regarding unplated Taxis, could put huge a strain on fleet rental garages, that have excess vehicles they have no drivers for.

It’s common practise for large fleet owners not to plate taxis until they have a rental client. 

An alleged email has been sent to NSL from TfL requesting that any Taxi vehicle left unplated for 12 weeks or more, must be removed completely from London’s fleet and will not be eligible for plating in the TfL licensing area. The current time limit for unplated vehicles was 2 years I believe. 

Taxi Leaks has asked TfL to confirm this new regulation. 

We await their reply. 

Worrying New MOT Rules, 

are due to come into force this spring, but there is already concern that they could put the safety of vehicles at risk. 

Under the new system, a new set of failure and defect categories will be introduced labelling problems as ‘dangerous’, ‘major’ or ‘minor’. The RAC is concerned that while any dangerous faults will lead to failure, vehicles with minor problems will pass the test.

EU roadworthiness package

The new measures are part of the EU Roadworthiness Package that is being introduced in May 2018. 

There are concerns that the classification will leave the seriousness of defects open to the interpretation of the tester, and this could lead to confusion.

RAC Spokesman Simon Williams said that while the new changes might seem sensible, they are concerned that many motorists could become confused by the system when indicating how serious a fault is with their car.

Rather than creating a straightforward black and white system of pass or fail, the new system leaves the status of the vehicle open to interpretations and could vary from one test centre to another. There are also other changes coming in that could further confuse matters.

Changing status

For example, under the new guidelines, there will be new criteria for steering mechanisms. A steering box leaking oil would be a minor fault, but there is room for interpretation on the part of the tester. So, while some might see it as trivial, others might see it as dangerous and fail the car.

The RAC went on to say that while they acknowledged that the government had little choice in the new regulations, they believe that the current MOT system works fine and doesn’t need to be amended.

Diesel Emissions Again:

While it appears that MOT passes for petrol vehicle appear to be easier, the war against diesels escalates.

Following the scandal in recent years with the diesel cars, any vehicle that has a diesel particulate filter or DPF will be issued with a ‘major’ fault if there is any visible smoke from the vehicle, regardless of the colour.

There will also be checks to see if the DPF has been ‘tampered’ with or ‘removed’ and if the tester finds it has, then the owner must prove ‘legitimate reasons’ for this action such as cleaning. But any car without one can be failed without any further reason.

This highlights the ongoing anti-diesel movement from the authorities with new measures being harsher on diesel vehicles than on petrol. Garages have been required to check the DPF as part of the MOT since 2014, but the new standards will see an instant fail if the vehicle is producing smoke of any kind and the filter is missing or altered.

Maintaining a DPF

The DPF is designed to capture and store those harmful exhaust particles that cause so many problems when they escape into the air. The issue is they only have a finite lifespan and need to be emptied or burned off to regenerate and continue to function correctly.

In most cases, a good run down the motorway is the solution for removing the excess emissions soot in the DPF. It ensures that the car doesn’t emit smoke of any colour, especially the tell-tale black smoke associated with diesel engines.

Euro 5 regulations introduced in 2009 made them compulsory. If you have one on your vehicle and you haven’t had a good run down the motorway, you might be best to have a garage check the DPF before your MOT comes around.

Get your new MOT

So, under the new test, if your vehicle has any dangerous or significant faults it will be an automatic failure. These new measures with the DPF could condemn diesel cars to a retest. On the petrol car front, vehicles with minor problems, could still pass – even though they may need extra work doing to keep it running in top condition.

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Uber Plans A Shake-Up Of Driver Ratings Plus A Higher Level Of Service With A Nicer Car...by Gerald Coba

Uber has revealed it is planning to shake up driver ratings so customers will be able to opt for a higher service level as well as a nicer car.

Currently users of the ride instant hailing (illegally plying for hire) app rate their journey from one to five stars based on their experience. 

But Dara Khosrowshahi, who took the helm last August, said it wanted drivers who were "particularly good" to be rated "at a different level".

He said the firm was "very, very early" on the path to doing this.

"We want to allow the user to opt-in to a higher level of service because right now the only higher level of service that we define is a nicer car... and I think the car and service are two different things," he said.

'Break from the past'

This news comes in the wake of a 50% rise in sexual assaults (including rape) on Uber passengers in London by drivers. 

Last year 13,000 Uber drivers presented fake DBS criminal record background check certificates. 

In response to questions about safety, Mr Khosrowshahi said the firm was "doubling down" on background checks and vehicle licences so it could continue to grow. 

Apparently only 2600 of the 13,000 have reapplied with new DBS checks, the others have all been swept under the carpet by TfLTPH.

It was a rare public appearance by Mr Khosrowshahi, who has kept a low profile since taking the helm of the firm last August. 

Speaking in a packed room at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Khosrowshahi said the firm "had to make a break from the past and go forward as a company that does the right thing", although he made no mention of his drivers murders, terrorist attacks, sexual assaults of fraudulent data mining of customers accounts.

He is attempting to rescue the firm's reputation following investigations by multiple regulators and a lawsuit over allegedly stolen technology.

Former chief executive Travis Kalanick was ousted from the top role in June but remains a board member.

The firm also continues to experience steep losses. 

Mr Khosrowshahi said the fact that an Uber driver could be with you within minutes of ordering and its low cost meant its popularity would continue.

In London the app has been shown to be illegal and TfL have refused to relicense the company over safety issues.

Khosrowshahi predicted that, even with the advent of self-driving cars, Uber still intend to recruit double the amount of drivers it currently has within the next 10 years. In London this would see their fleet rise to 80,000. Currently drivers registered and licensed in London by TfL, are working all over the UK....although Khosrowshahi failed to mention this in Davos.

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Gett Undercutting Their Own Black Cab Drivers With Their Porsche PHV Minicab Service...by Michael Ryan

Gett Porsche phv, are now undercutting their own Black Cab drivers, by offering customers a Porsche, at a lower fare than a Black Cab... nothing to worry about???

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TfL's £400m Shortfall : Sadiq Khan Shows Consultations Are Waist Of Time.

Transport for London is said to be facing a £400m hole in its budget, as disgruntled passengers increasingly desert Buses and Tubes for an illegal, cheap minicab service, using drivers with virtually no criminal record checks, back by the government. Is TfL a victim of its own corruption?

We've seen Uber driver terrorist attacks, sexual assaults including rapes up 50% last year, road traffic accidents at an alarming level, passenger account details hacked, bogus journeys charged to unsuspecting account holders...but it is supported by the Tories, TfL and the Mayor's office...and of course, it's cheap (sometimes)!

But what price do you put on your personal safety, and that of you family and friends?

TfL tube fares income alone is projected to fall £239m below expectations this financial year, with commercial income - from advertising, retail and property - £160m down, according to confidential documents leaked to the media.

London's overstaffed, congestion causing bus service has been hit hardest and now the Mayor says he will oversee a more compact bus service as increasingly more passengers chose to use an unsafe, illegal instant hail smart phone app, rather than wait for buses stuck in the Khanage of road works and reduced road space caused by cycle lanes. 

The Tube is hit with 20m fewer journeys being made between September and December, bucking the trend of increased travel in the run-up to Christmas. So far this year, Tube passenger numbers are almost four per cent, or 38 million journeys, below target.

Concerns have been mounting that rush-hour Bus service delays and cancellations on the Tube and overground train network have caused tempers to fray, prompting TfL to ask British Transport Police to reinstate "local policing teams".

"There has been a rise in aggression between passengers, pushing and shoving, verbal disputes and threatening behaviour at the busy commuter times when services are at peak capacity," a report to today's (Tuesday's) TfL board said.

The situation seems to be out of control as passengers seem even more willing to risk the dangers of sexual predators and untrained minicab drivers 13,000 without the proper criminal background checks, because of the cheapness due to predator pricing.

Interesting to hear from Mayor Khan on BBC London news last night, when talking about the poor performance of the Bus service, he said 'when Oxford street is pedestrianised'....but to be fair, they was always going to do it, no matter what the public consultation wanted.

Goes to show that these TfL consultations ain't worth the ePaper they are written on!

They are about as important as online petitions.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : Other news.

It appears London has already breached its yearly European pollution limit. But this isn't because pollution is unbelievably bad, it's because the level is set so low.

Experts say that even if they removed all the traffic from central London, we would still breach the European limits well before December, with just the ambient fumes from home central heating, industrial discharge, air conditioning, and pollution blown across the channel. 

The more they try to deal with a problem, the murkier it all gets. 

Remember when Boris removed the "older, dirty Taxis", replacing them with new models which gave out higher levels of NO2 and Nox. 

Defra report in 2013 showed ALL emissions strategies in London failed and Mayor Boris' Age limit on Taxis was improper, and based on lies.

Back in 2012, we saw an investigation by a legal team from the RMT Union, who reported back that although the Mayor's age limit itself could be deemed as improper and likely to be illegal. 

The fact that the age limit was offered to the Mayor on behalf of the trade by an unelected drivers group, some of whom have never driven a Taxi as a living, any challenge would be unlikely to be successful.

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Former Uber CLO Salle Yoo Named in Reports of Tool Meant to Evade Foreign Authorities

Former Uber Technologies Inc. chief legal officer Salle Yoo’s name popped up in reports around several of the ride-hailing company’s scandals in 2017, from the controversial ‘Greyball’ program to accusations of legal department missteps around the Uber v. Waymobattle.

Now, just a few weeks into 2018, Yoo, who announced she was leaving the company in September of last year and has since departed, is being tied once again to Uber activity that may be less than savory.

Bloomberg Businessweek reported Thursday that Yoo knew about an Uber tool that allowed the San Francisco-based company to remotely access company-owned devices to change passwords, lock data or shut them down in the case of a police raid. The tool, known internally as “Ripley,” was used at least two dozen times, sources told Bloomberg. Its name reportedly comes from Sigourney Weaver’s “Alien” character who famously says in the film: “Nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”

These sources claim Ripley was used to prevent local authorities in countries outside the United States from accessing information that could be used against Uber in court. In some of these cases, the Bloomberg article said, police had secured warrants to search Uber’s databases.

Yoo reportedly told staff to install encryption services and to log off computers after 60 seconds of inactivity following police raids in Brussels and Paris in early 2015. Bloomberg wrote that Yoo also proposed testing an app that would counter such raids.

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The LCDC, Proactive...Not Reactive, Come And Join The Fight Back.

Are Transport for London (TfL) forcing London taxi drivers to pay an extra half £1 million to the taxman ?

For six months despite a lack of support from any other organisation or union, the LCDC had been asking TFL if Taxi drivers can accept an “instant hiring” via an app when they are located outside of the licensing area.

Why do we want to know this ?

The Answer is simple, TfL’s refusal to answer the question could be costing taxi drivers up to half £1 million overpayment in income tax!

How?

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of taxi drivers that live outside of the TfL/Met area where we are licensed to work (ply for hire).

From a strict HMRC perspective a taxi driver cannot claim for all of the fuel they put into their vehicle as a taxable allowance when completing their end of year tax return, as an example:

If a taxi driver lives in Cambridge, they cannot claim for the portion of fuel (as a taxable allowance) that takes them from their home in Cambridge to London where they are licensed to start work (ply for hire)

But...

If TfL confirms that a taxi driver can accept an instant hiring viral app when they are located outside of their licensing area, then all the taxi driver would need to do ... is come out of their home in Cambridge, switch on an app and be available for instant hiring -The taxi driver is then deemed to have started work and can legally claim their full fuel allowance for travelling to London, as they are available for instant Holinger via the app throughout their commute.

What needs to happen?

Yearly HMRC tax returns are mostly black-and-white, although there is some room for interpretation. The key question HMRC mostly ask when you face the tribunal for wrongly claiming taxable expenses is: is the claim defensible?

The defence.

If TfL confirm in writing that a taxi driver can accept an “instant hire” via an app (just like Uber) when the driver is located outside of the TfL area, then the driver can claim their full fuel allowance as the tax allowance claim is defensible. However if TfL state that the taxi driver cannot except an “instant hire” when they are located outside of the TfL area, then drivers cannot claim the full fuel allowance as a taxable allowance!

If there are 1000 drivers that live 40 miles from London where they are officially licensed to ply for hire (start work) but can now claim for all of the fuel allowance on their tax return, (because TfL confirm that you have a can except an instant hire via an app) then it can be argued that each driver would be allowed to climb about an extra £10 per day as a taxable fuel allowance (80 mile round trip).

Meaning a driver working a five day week and claiming the £10 extra fuel allowance instead of paying income tax on the same £10, would be paying about £480 per year less on income tax.

How have I come to this conclusion?

£10 per day subject to income tax (now claimed as a fuel allowance) times five days of working week, times 48 weeks equals £2400, divided by the 20% income tax rate equals a £480 tax overpayment by every taxi driver living outside of the TfL/Met area.

There seems to be one Chatra for private hire and another for taxi drivers.

Why are TfL refusing to answer the question: “ Can Licensed Taxi Drivers except an instant hiring (ping) via an app when they are located outside of the licensing area ?

Isn’t it about time TfL and the mayor of London Sadiq Khan started answering these questions ?

Chris Johnson on behalf of the LCDC. 

*Tonight Grant Davis will be in Astral Café from 8pm till 10pm taking on new members.* 

Many said they would join if he dumped Gett adverts from The Badge - he did.

LCDC's legal team are top notch.

LCDC's investigative team (Chris, Danny, Mark and co) are directly responsible for TfL's refusal to license Uber.

Directly responsible for the Daily Mail exposé's, Tim Fenton's Zelo Street blogs, Andy Gilligan's Sunday Times articles ridiculing TfL and Uber, DI Neil Bellany's assistance and emails, 99% of TfL FOI's, the proof that Uber's app is P4H that is now assisting in the legal battle against Uber's appeal.

The LCDC are Proactive not Reactive.

The LCDC are no longer going to nod in acceptance, with the other orgs, to everything TfL tells us to do. While the rest posture, the LCDC gets out there and are getting things done!

Give your support to those who are fighting back!

 *Cone among and join the LCDC tonight!*

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