Saturday 31 May 2014
DETECTIVES fear they have uncovered the secret lair of a serial killer who may have murdered up to six women.
Forensic officers are scouring remote woodland in Wiltshire following the discovery of a cache of women’s clothing. It included boots worn by a victim of taxi driver Christopher Halliwell, who killed Sian O’Callaghan, 22, after picking her up in his cab outside a Swindon nightclub in 2011.
Although her body was found more than 10 miles away in Oxfordshire, detectives now believe she was murdered in a secluded spot called Hilldrop Lane on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire.
Last month police found Miss O’Callaghan’s brown boots and a shotgun barrel in an 8ft deep pond near the woodland.
A cardigan was later found by the water’s edge and a search of the surrounding woods uncovered 60 items of women’s clothing buried under two inches of soil.
Officers have always feared that 50-year old Halliwell had killed more victims and suspect he may have picked them up in his taxi before driving them to the isolated area at gunpoint.
The nightmare scenario is that this lonely place might be linked to the murder of five innocent women or more. A buried cache of clothing is unlikely to be fly-tipping.
CID source for The Sunday Express
In 2012 he was jailed for life after pleading guilty to Miss O’Callaghan’s murder. Halliwell also admitted killing Becky Godden-Edwards, who disappeared in 2003 aged 20. Despite leading police to her shallow grave in Gloucestershire, he escaped prosecution on a technicality because they had failed to caution him beforehand.
As specialist officers continue to scour Hilldrop Lane, results are expected from forensic tests carried out on the clothing to see whether DNA samples, typically from strands of hair, point to more victims.
A CID source told the Sunday Express: “We are being methodical and careful. We don’t want to make any mistakes and the major thrust is to find some link to Becky so we can re-interview Halliwell under caution.
“The nightmare scenario is that this lonely place might be linked to the murder of five innocent women or more. A buried cache of clothing is unlikely to be fly-tipping.
“There may be an innocent explanation, but everything hinges on the work of the forensic scientists. The discovery of Sian’s boots, together with a shotgun barrel, in the pond nearby is undeniably sinister.” Detectives are believed to have the DNA of four other women, or close family matches to them, ready to compare with any samples found.
In addition to Miss Godden-Edwards, other possibilities include Sally Ann John, 24, who vanished in 1995 and Sandra Brewin who disappeared in 1994, aged 21.
Mother-of-four Linda Razzell, 41, vanished in 2002 and although her husband Glyn was convicted of her murder, he still protests his innocence. A Vietnamese woman, Thi Hai Nguyen, 20, went missing in Swindon in 2005.
Halliwell, who picked up Miss O’Callaghan when she left a Swindon nightclub, was the father of one of her friends. In the days after her disappearance, he told a colleague: “Who knows what or who you find buried out there, there could be loads of people over the years.”
Our source explained: “There is the chilling thought that Sian was not the first and Halliwell may have been roughly working to some dreadful blueprint from previous incidents. Sian was picked up in the early hours of the morning outside a club in Swindon on March 19, 2011.
“Sian, of course, did the right thing and got into a cab to take her home, a cab driven by the father of one of her friends at that.
“Halliwell has then driven her out of Swindon in his green Toyota Avensis and away from her home. This was obviously under duress, probably under threat from a shotgun.” The source said the cabbie would have driven along the A346 to Marlborough and along the A4 into the Savernake Forest, adding: “We know from her mobile phone records that Sian was in the Savernake half an hour after she was picked up by Halliwell.
“What we now know is Halliwell must have then taken her out of the forest, across the A4, on to a narrow lane that winds down to join the road from Marlborough to Ramsbury.
“He probably took a left turn on to the Aldbourne road and then right on to Hilldrop Lane at the next junction. She may have died at Hilldrop but she was buried miles away at Uffington, on the other side of Swindon in the Vale of the White Horse.
“Hilldrop Lane is not an obvious spot, not even to a cabbie, and it’s fair to surmise Halliwell had been there before.
“If it turns out the items of clothing found at Hilldrop belong to more than one missing woman it would go towards confirming the rather chilling theory that he may have had a routine.”
Firearms experts are examining the gun barrel found in the pond, which looks to have had the stock crudely removed. Halliwell may have done this to make it easier to wield and threaten victims in the close confines of a car.
The source said: “It could be that he has murdered other vulnerable young women like Becky Godden-Edwards and the mistake that caught him out was choosing to make a victim of someone he knew.”
http://tinyurl.com/pce5lzj
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Taxi Law Change 'Puts Women At Higher Risk'
Reforms which could allow taxi drivers to loan their cars to anybody they choose lead to concerns about the safety of passengers.7:06am UK, Sunday 01 June 2014 Minicab
The law change may allow drivers to loan their cars to anybody they choose
Women are being placed at a higher risk of assault because of Government plans to allow minicab drivers to lend their private hire vehicles to family and friends when they are off duty, it has been warned.
The Local Government Association and charities are calling for plans - which have been introduced into the deregulation bill - to be halted.
They say the reform was slipped into the legislation at the "eleventh hour" with "little consultation". They want the clause deleted - a move being supported by the Labour party.
The law already exists in London but this change will apply to the rest of England and Wales.
At present minicabs outside the capital can only be legally driven by someone licensed through the council - who has undergone criminal, medical and background checks.
But under the new law, drivers will be able to loan their cars to anyone they choose. The idea is to help drivers by allowing family members to use their cars - as many can't afford a second vehicle.
But campaigners say it could be used by sexual predators to target victims. "We know that posing as a legitimate minicab driver is the preferred method of some quite dangerous sexual predators and we know that from the statistics in London where sexual assaults by bogus minicab drivers are worryingly high," said Rachel Griffin, director of the Suzy Lamplugh trust - which campaigns for better personal safety.
There are fears unlicensed drivers will target passengers
Councillor David Simmonds, of the LGA, added: "If we are seeing licenced vehicles that may be driven by someone other than the legitimate driver you won't know when you come out of a nightclub late at night perhaps after a few drinks whether the person who is driving that cab... is someone you can trust."
The fear is that unlicensed drivers will target vulnerable individuals who are frail or drunk using the vehicles.
Ministers say the change has been tried and tested in London. But the LGA says unlicensed vehicles are the scourge of the capital.
There were taxi-related sexual assaults across Britain last year including in places such as Cardiff, Birmingham and Nottingham. There were 37 in Manchester. In London there were 71 between April and November. The figures are not collected everywhere, so not available in comparable form.
Campaigners are asking why they can't simply allow drivers to nominate one other driver within their family, rather than having a free for all.
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: "The Deregulation Bill will not put taxi passengers at risk and drivers will continue to have their backgrounds routinely checked. Councils will have strong tools to assess drivers’ and operators’ suitability and to carry out enforcement activity.
"The Disclosure and Barring Service will allow licensing authorities to discover any new convictions during the lifetime of a driver’s licence.”
http://news.sky.com/story/1272948/taxi-law-change-puts-women-at-higher-risk
Manchester's FOI requests are used here. The figures have been collected from all but a handful of the 43 Police authorities, however not since 2012. The results can be viewed here :
Reforms which could allow taxi drivers to loan their cars to anybody they choose lead to concerns about the safety of passengers.7:06am UK, Sunday 01 June 2014 Minicab
The law change may allow drivers to loan their cars to anybody they choose
Women are being placed at a higher risk of assault because of Government plans to allow minicab drivers to lend their private hire vehicles to family and friends when they are off duty, it has been warned.
The Local Government Association and charities are calling for plans - which have been introduced into the deregulation bill - to be halted.
They say the reform was slipped into the legislation at the "eleventh hour" with "little consultation". They want the clause deleted - a move being supported by the Labour party.
The law already exists in London but this change will apply to the rest of England and Wales.
At present minicabs outside the capital can only be legally driven by someone licensed through the council - who has undergone criminal, medical and background checks.
But under the new law, drivers will be able to loan their cars to anyone they choose. The idea is to help drivers by allowing family members to use their cars - as many can't afford a second vehicle.
But campaigners say it could be used by sexual predators to target victims. "We know that posing as a legitimate minicab driver is the preferred method of some quite dangerous sexual predators and we know that from the statistics in London where sexual assaults by bogus minicab drivers are worryingly high," said Rachel Griffin, director of the Suzy Lamplugh trust - which campaigns for better personal safety.
There are fears unlicensed drivers will target passengers
Councillor David Simmonds, of the LGA, added: "If we are seeing licenced vehicles that may be driven by someone other than the legitimate driver you won't know when you come out of a nightclub late at night perhaps after a few drinks whether the person who is driving that cab... is someone you can trust."
The fear is that unlicensed drivers will target vulnerable individuals who are frail or drunk using the vehicles.
Ministers say the change has been tried and tested in London. But the LGA says unlicensed vehicles are the scourge of the capital.
There were taxi-related sexual assaults across Britain last year including in places such as Cardiff, Birmingham and Nottingham. There were 37 in Manchester. In London there were 71 between April and November. The figures are not collected everywhere, so not available in comparable form.
Campaigners are asking why they can't simply allow drivers to nominate one other driver within their family, rather than having a free for all.
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: "The Deregulation Bill will not put taxi passengers at risk and drivers will continue to have their backgrounds routinely checked. Councils will have strong tools to assess drivers’ and operators’ suitability and to carry out enforcement activity.
"The Disclosure and Barring Service will allow licensing authorities to discover any new convictions during the lifetime of a driver’s licence.”
http://news.sky.com/story/1272948/taxi-law-change-puts-women-at-higher-risk
Manchester's FOI requests are used here. The figures have been collected from all but a handful of the 43 Police authorities, however not since 2012. The results can be viewed here :
Thursday 29 May 2014
DUNFERMLINE
NHS taxi bill for man who died after being sent home by hospital
A BLIND man who died after being left on his doorstep by a hospital taxi was sent a bill for the fare two months after his death.
Kenneth Aitken, 66, collapsed on his doorstep and died hours after being abandoned in his nightclothes in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Aitken was given paracetamol and dropped off at his front door after being discharged from the hospital at 4.30am.
He banged on his door shouting, “please help me” before collapsing in the arms of his wife, Wendy.
It was extremely upsetting. It was dreadful the way my husband died
Mrs Aitken called another ambulance to their home in Rosyth, Fife, and her husband, a former Lib Dem councillor for Dunfermline, was rushed back to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, but died the next day.
Now, two months after his death, his widow told of her fury after NHS Fife sent him a letter with a £25 bill for the taxi fare, while the investigation into his death was still ongoing.
http://tinyurl.com/o8swmgg
NHS taxi bill for man who died after being sent home by hospital
A BLIND man who died after being left on his doorstep by a hospital taxi was sent a bill for the fare two months after his death.
Kenneth Aitken, 66, collapsed on his doorstep and died hours after being abandoned in his nightclothes in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Aitken was given paracetamol and dropped off at his front door after being discharged from the hospital at 4.30am.
He banged on his door shouting, “please help me” before collapsing in the arms of his wife, Wendy.
It was extremely upsetting. It was dreadful the way my husband died
Mrs Aitken called another ambulance to their home in Rosyth, Fife, and her husband, a former Lib Dem councillor for Dunfermline, was rushed back to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, but died the next day.
Now, two months after his death, his widow told of her fury after NHS Fife sent him a letter with a £25 bill for the taxi fare, while the investigation into his death was still ongoing.
http://tinyurl.com/o8swmgg
DUBLIN
Taxi driver ran down man who failed to pay fare
David Ryan expresses regret over incident in which he ‘snapped’ and pursued passengers who left without paying
A taxi driver “snapped” and ran down a passenger who left the taxi without paying the fare, the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin was told.
David Ryan (56) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Eoin Daly at Carysfort Park, Blackrock, Dublin, on April 7th, 2011.
Garda Geraldine McManigan told barrister Paul Carroll, prosecuting, that the victim suffered fractures to his ankle, which had affected his ability to play rugby at senior level in university.
Medical reports stated his injuries left him with a 20 per cent greater risk of developing arthritis, but that this should have shown up in a two-year period after the injury and had not developed.
Mr Daly was on crutches for months but had since gone back to playing rugby.
Flashbacks In his victim impact report he accepted he was wrong to run away from the taxi and was embarrassed by that.
He suffered flashbacks and had spent €4,492 on physiotherapy.
Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the sentence until July next to clarify if restorative justice would be appropriate.
Ryan of Linfield Park, Clondalkin, had picked up Mr Daly and another passenger at about 3am.
He drove them to the Carysfort Park area and the two passengers then ran from the taxi without paying the fare.
The taxi driver drove his car onto a footpath and across a park, swerving from side to side. Mr Daly said Ryan was driving so fast that the other man had to jump into a garden to avoid being hit.
Hot pursuit A witness from a nearby house described seeing one man running across the green with a car “in hot pursuit” and said the driver was trying to block the men off by repeatedly driving in front of them.
The car hit Mr Daly and he fell to the ground. Ryan got out of his taxi and stood over him and started gesticulating and arguing with him about the fare before driving off.
Gardaí arrested Ryan two weeks later and he admitted there had been an incident. He denied knocking the victim down and said Mr Daly had fallen down.
Steven Dixon, defending, said his client was a father of four who had worked as a taxi driver for the last two decades.
During this time he had been abused, attacked and assaulted, and in 2010 a man had smashed him in the face with a can in order to evade a fare, counsel said.
He said his client was under severe financial difficulties at the time, with a crippling mortgage and credit card debt.
Counsel said Ryan snapped on the night and did something dangerous to get his fare.
“He is saddened and disgusted with himself. There is no excuse,” said Mr Dixon.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-ran-down-man-who-failed-to-pay-fare-1.1811774
Taxi driver ran down man who failed to pay fare
David Ryan expresses regret over incident in which he ‘snapped’ and pursued passengers who left without paying
A taxi driver “snapped” and ran down a passenger who left the taxi without paying the fare, the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin was told.
David Ryan (56) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Eoin Daly at Carysfort Park, Blackrock, Dublin, on April 7th, 2011.
Garda Geraldine McManigan told barrister Paul Carroll, prosecuting, that the victim suffered fractures to his ankle, which had affected his ability to play rugby at senior level in university.
Medical reports stated his injuries left him with a 20 per cent greater risk of developing arthritis, but that this should have shown up in a two-year period after the injury and had not developed.
Mr Daly was on crutches for months but had since gone back to playing rugby.
Flashbacks In his victim impact report he accepted he was wrong to run away from the taxi and was embarrassed by that.
He suffered flashbacks and had spent €4,492 on physiotherapy.
Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the sentence until July next to clarify if restorative justice would be appropriate.
Ryan of Linfield Park, Clondalkin, had picked up Mr Daly and another passenger at about 3am.
He drove them to the Carysfort Park area and the two passengers then ran from the taxi without paying the fare.
The taxi driver drove his car onto a footpath and across a park, swerving from side to side. Mr Daly said Ryan was driving so fast that the other man had to jump into a garden to avoid being hit.
Hot pursuit A witness from a nearby house described seeing one man running across the green with a car “in hot pursuit” and said the driver was trying to block the men off by repeatedly driving in front of them.
The car hit Mr Daly and he fell to the ground. Ryan got out of his taxi and stood over him and started gesticulating and arguing with him about the fare before driving off.
Gardaí arrested Ryan two weeks later and he admitted there had been an incident. He denied knocking the victim down and said Mr Daly had fallen down.
Steven Dixon, defending, said his client was a father of four who had worked as a taxi driver for the last two decades.
During this time he had been abused, attacked and assaulted, and in 2010 a man had smashed him in the face with a can in order to evade a fare, counsel said.
He said his client was under severe financial difficulties at the time, with a crippling mortgage and credit card debt.
Counsel said Ryan snapped on the night and did something dangerous to get his fare.
“He is saddened and disgusted with himself. There is no excuse,” said Mr Dixon.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-ran-down-man-who-failed-to-pay-fare-1.1811774
Woman raped after getting into car she thought was taxi
A 21-year-old woman was raped in Hampshire after she got into a car she thought was a taxi, police said.
The woman had been out with friends in Aldershot town centre on Friday when she left The Funky End pub shortly after 02:00 BST.
She was at a traffic island in Station Road when she got into a dark-coloured car she believed was a taxi at 2:30 BST.
A man, thought to be the driver who was not known to the woman, then raped her.
The woman was later seen on foot at Aldershot railway station at about 3:30 BST.
Police are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen the woman in the early hours of Saturday.
Chief Inspector Annabel Berry said: "This is an isolated incident and I would like to reassure the public that we are doing all we can to find the man responsible."
Comment: There are over 2500 "Isolated incidents" like this every year involving bogus Minicabs. How many victims does it need before it is considered serious and not "isolated" ??
This young girl, would have enjoyed her birthday last Tuesday 27 May. But for a pervert who targeted Manchester because anything goes here.
TfL refers Uber app row to High Court, but Licensed Taxi Drivers Association strike still planned
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) has said that it has “no confidence in TfL and its legal team” after Transport for London referred the row over use of taxi apps such as Uber to the High Court.
Cabbies have complained that the Uber app - which calculates the journey distance and time taken, and then relays the information to remote computer servers to determine the fee – undermines their business.
The LTDA has suggested the app equates to being a taximeter, which private vehicles are not allowed to use.
TFL said that "given the level of concern among the trade", it would refer the matter to the High Court to make a binding ruling.
In a statement on the matter, Tfl said: “The rapid pace at which smart phone based technology has been developing in recent years has led to a need for clarity about what is required in order for apps to comply with the regulatory framework in London and to ensure there is a level playing field for all operators.”
Uber’s London manager, Jo Bertram, said: "We very much welcome TfL's announcement today bringing clarity and confirming that TfL and Uber fully share the vision that technology should be a key driver in changing the way people are moving around their city, improving the experience for both riders as well as drivers."
However, the LTDA is not happy with the response from TfL. General secretary Steve McNamara told the BBC: "This attitude demonstrates why we are being forced to demonstrate. TfL is simply not fit for purpose."
The association is planning a strike for 11 June.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) has said that it has “no confidence in TfL and its legal team” after Transport for London referred the row over use of taxi apps such as Uber to the High Court.
Cabbies have complained that the Uber app - which calculates the journey distance and time taken, and then relays the information to remote computer servers to determine the fee – undermines their business.
The LTDA has suggested the app equates to being a taximeter, which private vehicles are not allowed to use.
TFL said that "given the level of concern among the trade", it would refer the matter to the High Court to make a binding ruling.
In a statement on the matter, Tfl said: “The rapid pace at which smart phone based technology has been developing in recent years has led to a need for clarity about what is required in order for apps to comply with the regulatory framework in London and to ensure there is a level playing field for all operators.”
Uber’s London manager, Jo Bertram, said: "We very much welcome TfL's announcement today bringing clarity and confirming that TfL and Uber fully share the vision that technology should be a key driver in changing the way people are moving around their city, improving the experience for both riders as well as drivers."
However, the LTDA is not happy with the response from TfL. General secretary Steve McNamara told the BBC: "This attitude demonstrates why we are being forced to demonstrate. TfL is simply not fit for purpose."
The association is planning a strike for 11 June.
Wednesday 28 May 2014
LONDON minicab firm Addison Lee motored to a large rise in revenues and profits last year, fuelled by a near doubling of its returns on investment, annual accounts show.
The group, which was snapped up by private equity firm Carlyle Group in April 2013, said turnover rose 7.6 per cent for the year ending August 2013 to £171.7m up from £159.5m.
Pre-tax profits were substantially higher, rising from £6.7m in 2012 to £20.9m last year, although this was flattered by lower administrative expenses.
Addison Lee, which was founded in Battersea in 1975 by its now-chairman John Griffin, is currently exploring plans to push beyond its London heartland into other UK regions.
“The company will continue to focus on growth in its current market through acquiring new customers, exploring opportunities to encourage existing customers to spend more and minimising customers who churn,” the firm said.
Return on investment, a key metric used to judge how well a company is utilising its assets, rose from 16.5 per cent last year to 32.7 per cent in 2013.
http://www.cityam.com/article/1401165201/addison-lee-accelerates-company-turnover-it-plans-add-more-customers-britain
The group, which was snapped up by private equity firm Carlyle Group in April 2013, said turnover rose 7.6 per cent for the year ending August 2013 to £171.7m up from £159.5m.
Pre-tax profits were substantially higher, rising from £6.7m in 2012 to £20.9m last year, although this was flattered by lower administrative expenses.
Addison Lee, which was founded in Battersea in 1975 by its now-chairman John Griffin, is currently exploring plans to push beyond its London heartland into other UK regions.
“The company will continue to focus on growth in its current market through acquiring new customers, exploring opportunities to encourage existing customers to spend more and minimising customers who churn,” the firm said.
Return on investment, a key metric used to judge how well a company is utilising its assets, rose from 16.5 per cent last year to 32.7 per cent in 2013.
http://www.cityam.com/article/1401165201/addison-lee-accelerates-company-turnover-it-plans-add-more-customers-britain
Tuesday 27 May 2014
DUBLIN
Taxi driver ran down man who failed to pay fare
David Ryan expresses regret over incident in which he ‘snapped’ and pursued passengers who left without paying
A taxi driver “snapped” and ran down a passenger who left the taxi without paying the fare, the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin was told.
David Ryan (56) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Eoin Daly at Carysfort Park, Blackrock, Dublin, on April 7th, 2011.
Garda Geraldine McManigan told barrister Paul Carroll, prosecuting, that the victim suffered fractures to his ankle, which had affected his ability to play rugby at senior level in university.
Medical reports stated his injuries left him with a 20 per cent greater risk of developing arthritis, but that this should have shown up in a two-year period after the injury and had not developed.
Mr Daly was on crutches for months but had since gone back to playing rugby.
Flashbacks In his victim impact report he accepted he was wrong to run away from the taxi and was embarrassed by that.
He suffered flashbacks and had spent €4,492 on physiotherapy.
Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the sentence until July next to clarify if restorative justice would be appropriate.
Ryan of Linfield Park, Clondalkin, had picked up Mr Daly and another passenger at about 3am.
He drove them to the Carysfort Park area and the two passengers then ran from the taxi without paying the fare.
The taxi driver drove his car onto a footpath and across a park, swerving from side to side. Mr Daly said Ryan was driving so fast that the other man had to jump into a garden to avoid being hit.
Hot pursuit A witness from a nearby house described seeing one man running across the green with a car “in hot pursuit” and said the driver was trying to block the men off by repeatedly driving in front of them.
The car hit Mr Daly and he fell to the ground. Ryan got out of his taxi and stood over him and started gesticulating and arguing with him about the fare before driving off.
Gardaí arrested Ryan two weeks later and he admitted there had been an incident. He denied knocking the victim down and said Mr Daly had fallen down.
Steven Dixon, defending, said his client was a father of four who had worked as a taxi driver for the last two decades.
During this time he had been abused, attacked and assaulted, and in 2010 a man had smashed him in the face with a can in order to evade a fare, counsel said.
He said his client was under severe financial difficulties at the time, with a crippling mortgage and credit card debt.
Counsel said Ryan snapped on the night and did something dangerous to get his fare.
“He is saddened and disgusted with himself. There is no excuse,” said Mr Dixon.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-ran-down-man-who-failed-to-pay-fare-1.1811774
Taxi driver ran down man who failed to pay fare
David Ryan expresses regret over incident in which he ‘snapped’ and pursued passengers who left without paying
A taxi driver “snapped” and ran down a passenger who left the taxi without paying the fare, the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin was told.
David Ryan (56) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Eoin Daly at Carysfort Park, Blackrock, Dublin, on April 7th, 2011.
Garda Geraldine McManigan told barrister Paul Carroll, prosecuting, that the victim suffered fractures to his ankle, which had affected his ability to play rugby at senior level in university.
Medical reports stated his injuries left him with a 20 per cent greater risk of developing arthritis, but that this should have shown up in a two-year period after the injury and had not developed.
Mr Daly was on crutches for months but had since gone back to playing rugby.
Flashbacks In his victim impact report he accepted he was wrong to run away from the taxi and was embarrassed by that.
He suffered flashbacks and had spent €4,492 on physiotherapy.
Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the sentence until July next to clarify if restorative justice would be appropriate.
Ryan of Linfield Park, Clondalkin, had picked up Mr Daly and another passenger at about 3am.
He drove them to the Carysfort Park area and the two passengers then ran from the taxi without paying the fare.
The taxi driver drove his car onto a footpath and across a park, swerving from side to side. Mr Daly said Ryan was driving so fast that the other man had to jump into a garden to avoid being hit.
Hot pursuit A witness from a nearby house described seeing one man running across the green with a car “in hot pursuit” and said the driver was trying to block the men off by repeatedly driving in front of them.
The car hit Mr Daly and he fell to the ground. Ryan got out of his taxi and stood over him and started gesticulating and arguing with him about the fare before driving off.
Gardaí arrested Ryan two weeks later and he admitted there had been an incident. He denied knocking the victim down and said Mr Daly had fallen down.
Steven Dixon, defending, said his client was a father of four who had worked as a taxi driver for the last two decades.
During this time he had been abused, attacked and assaulted, and in 2010 a man had smashed him in the face with a can in order to evade a fare, counsel said.
He said his client was under severe financial difficulties at the time, with a crippling mortgage and credit card debt.
Counsel said Ryan snapped on the night and did something dangerous to get his fare.
“He is saddened and disgusted with himself. There is no excuse,” said Mr Dixon.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-ran-down-man-who-failed-to-pay-fare-1.1811774
Northumbria
A woman cab driver suffered a terrifying sexual assault at the wheel of her car by a drunken passenger.
Cabbie Gillian Patten had to fight off the man with all her strength after he moved into the front seat and tried to push his head into her crotch.
Using vile sexual language, the man forced himself onto the mum-of-two repeatedly until she managed to struggle free, smashing his head off the rear view mirror in the process.
But when Northumbria Police sent a lone female police officer to deal with the incident at Shields Road in Byker and Gillian saw that he was let go just minutes later, she made an official complaint about the force.
Gillian, who lives in West Denton with her daughter, said: “He just lunged at me and tried to touch me. I had to physically throw him off me.
“He’d got out of the vehicle to get money out of his pocket and then got back in to pay me and he said, ‘Can I have a kiss?’.
“I said, ‘I don’t kiss customers’. Then he went for my crotch.
“I had to push him off twice but he just lunged back on top of me. I was shouting at him, ‘Get out of my car’, but he wouldn’t so I dialled 999.”
She has now officially complained to Northumbria Police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the force’s handling of the incident on the night, and over the fact it took 24 hours before someone could take down her statement.
She said: “When he left the car I watched everything. He went into Weatherspoons on Shields Road but was escorted out by staff. That’s when the female police officer arrived by herself which I thought didn’t make sense. She just told me to get into my car and she would contact me. She went over the road to speak to him. Then I just saw him walking off up the road. What if he’d gone on to do something to someone else?”
Police have since arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of sexual assault who has been bailed pending further enquiries.
Gillian, who has worked for LA Taxis for a decade said she has now lost faith in the police after the way they dealt with her 999 call.
“I’ve been driving taxis for years and you do get people saying things but that was the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt in my own car in 10 years of driving,” said Gillian, who has waived her right to anonymity to speak to the Chronicle.
She was further enraged by the ordeal after months of cooperation with the police with their Operation Sanctuary campaign to safeguard women in the city at risk of sexual violence.
“Taxi drivers across Newcastle have been pulled over constantly over Operation Sanctuary but what about my safety? At that moment, was I not a vulnerable female?” she said.
The attack happened at around 10.10pm, on Thursday May 1 after Gillian had picked up the man from a bar in Newcastle City Centre.
He had been in the back seat of her vehicle but when they pulled up on Shields Road in got out to retrieve some money and then got back in the front seat to pay her.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “Police have spoken to the victim to discuss her concerns about the investigation and how it has been handled.
“Officers have now taken a statement and will be carrying out further enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
“If anyone is dissatisfied with how Northumbria Police has handled an incident they were involved in they can seek recourse through our complaints procedure in which any complaint is fully investigated.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission have been in touch with Gillian to take a statement and are in the process of deciding whether to uphold the complaint.
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/west-denton-female-taxi-driver-7173248
----------------------------------------------------
A woman cab driver suffered a terrifying sexual assault at the wheel of her car by a drunken passenger.
Cabbie Gillian Patten had to fight off the man with all her strength after he moved into the front seat and tried to push his head into her crotch.
Using vile sexual language, the man forced himself onto the mum-of-two repeatedly until she managed to struggle free, smashing his head off the rear view mirror in the process.
But when Northumbria Police sent a lone female police officer to deal with the incident at Shields Road in Byker and Gillian saw that he was let go just minutes later, she made an official complaint about the force.
Gillian, who lives in West Denton with her daughter, said: “He just lunged at me and tried to touch me. I had to physically throw him off me.
“He’d got out of the vehicle to get money out of his pocket and then got back in to pay me and he said, ‘Can I have a kiss?’.
“I said, ‘I don’t kiss customers’. Then he went for my crotch.
“I had to push him off twice but he just lunged back on top of me. I was shouting at him, ‘Get out of my car’, but he wouldn’t so I dialled 999.”
She has now officially complained to Northumbria Police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the force’s handling of the incident on the night, and over the fact it took 24 hours before someone could take down her statement.
She said: “When he left the car I watched everything. He went into Weatherspoons on Shields Road but was escorted out by staff. That’s when the female police officer arrived by herself which I thought didn’t make sense. She just told me to get into my car and she would contact me. She went over the road to speak to him. Then I just saw him walking off up the road. What if he’d gone on to do something to someone else?”
Police have since arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of sexual assault who has been bailed pending further enquiries.
Gillian, who has worked for LA Taxis for a decade said she has now lost faith in the police after the way they dealt with her 999 call.
“I’ve been driving taxis for years and you do get people saying things but that was the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt in my own car in 10 years of driving,” said Gillian, who has waived her right to anonymity to speak to the Chronicle.
She was further enraged by the ordeal after months of cooperation with the police with their Operation Sanctuary campaign to safeguard women in the city at risk of sexual violence.
“Taxi drivers across Newcastle have been pulled over constantly over Operation Sanctuary but what about my safety? At that moment, was I not a vulnerable female?” she said.
The attack happened at around 10.10pm, on Thursday May 1 after Gillian had picked up the man from a bar in Newcastle City Centre.
He had been in the back seat of her vehicle but when they pulled up on Shields Road in got out to retrieve some money and then got back in the front seat to pay her.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “Police have spoken to the victim to discuss her concerns about the investigation and how it has been handled.
“Officers have now taken a statement and will be carrying out further enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
“If anyone is dissatisfied with how Northumbria Police has handled an incident they were involved in they can seek recourse through our complaints procedure in which any complaint is fully investigated.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission have been in touch with Gillian to take a statement and are in the process of deciding whether to uphold the complaint.
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/west-denton-female-taxi-driver-7173248
----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday 21 May 2014
Uber, the US company attempting to disrupt established taxi operators in Europe, is set to appoint a European PR agency to join Westbourne Communications as the communications battle heats up and FleishmanHillard enters the fray.
The advent of smartphone app-based businesses have provoked a fierce reaction from both London's black cab drivers, represented by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, and minicab or 'private hire' drivers, represented by the Licensed Private Hire Car Association.
While the LTDA is planning direct action in early June by blockading bus lanes to influence Transport for London, the LPHCA is using legal and PR firepower to pressure the regulator over what it has termed "cowboy cab apps". LPHCA chairman Steve Wright went as far as saying that allowing app-based services to operate without enforcing regulations designed to ensure the safety of passengers could be a "recipe for rape".
The association has recruited FleishmanHillard to support its outreach work while its lobbying efforts are being handled by its long-term public affairs specialist Robin Hulf at Hulf McRae.
Meanwhile, Uber has just brought in UK public affairs and PR support from London-based Westbourne Communications.
European agencies are set to pitch over the next few days for what one agency source described as a retained brief mainly focused on media relations and setting up and managing a press office in Uber's key markets of the UK, France and Germany.
Uber, which is currently recruiting drivers in London, stipulates its drivers must be experienced and professional and have a private-hire licence and commercial insurance.
However, the brief is believed to state that it is happy to court controversy to earn coverage, as it has in the US.
Uber and other taxi apps have already locked horns with taxi operators and regulators on the continent. The French government has banned the use of GPS-enabled apps by private car services, and a temporary injunction was granted in Berlin, while a court in Brussels has set a €10,000 fine for drivers picking up customers without a licence.
It is conducting the agency hunt having just lost its head of corporate communications Andrew Noyes, who has declined to comment on why he departed or if he is taking a new role at a different company.
Separately, this weekend's Sunday Times business section carried a diary piece about Uber and stories last week about a cash injection valuing the company at up to $10bn. The piece claimed The Sunday Times contacted Uber about the story six weeks ago and was told it was "nonsense", backed up by a personal call from chief executive Travis Kalanick to quash the "rumour". "So much can change in so little time," the piece drily observed.
Uber, Westbourne Communications and FleishmanHillard declined to comment.
Who is working with whom?
Licensed Private Hire Car Association
The LPHCA represents around 200 taxi and private hire vehicle operators that take pre-bookings and its membership is made up of a range of operators including large companies such as Addison Lee.
LPHCA chairman Steve Wright told PRWeek that FleishmanHillard has been working with the organisation in recent months specifically around its campaign against app-based taxi companies, which the LPHCA claims are operating illegally in London. It is also working with Hulf McRae on public affairs.
Licensed Taxi Drivers Association
The membership body for drivers of black cabs, which can be hailed on the street and wait at recognised ranks.
The LTDA has told PRWeek it is not working with a PR agency.
The LPHCA's Wright said the LPHCA was working with the LTDA and the organisations were in agreement on the issue.
Uber
Uber is understood to be working with Westbourne Communications on a number of projects including press and public affairs work.
Former lobby journalist and Metro political editor John Higginson, who recently joined Westbourne as head of communications, is understood to be involved in the work with Uber.
http://www.prweek.com/article/1295173/uber-bring-european-pr-taxi-wars-demand-comms-firepower?
The advent of smartphone app-based businesses have provoked a fierce reaction from both London's black cab drivers, represented by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, and minicab or 'private hire' drivers, represented by the Licensed Private Hire Car Association.
While the LTDA is planning direct action in early June by blockading bus lanes to influence Transport for London, the LPHCA is using legal and PR firepower to pressure the regulator over what it has termed "cowboy cab apps". LPHCA chairman Steve Wright went as far as saying that allowing app-based services to operate without enforcing regulations designed to ensure the safety of passengers could be a "recipe for rape".
The association has recruited FleishmanHillard to support its outreach work while its lobbying efforts are being handled by its long-term public affairs specialist Robin Hulf at Hulf McRae.
Meanwhile, Uber has just brought in UK public affairs and PR support from London-based Westbourne Communications.
European agencies are set to pitch over the next few days for what one agency source described as a retained brief mainly focused on media relations and setting up and managing a press office in Uber's key markets of the UK, France and Germany.
Uber, which is currently recruiting drivers in London, stipulates its drivers must be experienced and professional and have a private-hire licence and commercial insurance.
However, the brief is believed to state that it is happy to court controversy to earn coverage, as it has in the US.
Uber and other taxi apps have already locked horns with taxi operators and regulators on the continent. The French government has banned the use of GPS-enabled apps by private car services, and a temporary injunction was granted in Berlin, while a court in Brussels has set a €10,000 fine for drivers picking up customers without a licence.
It is conducting the agency hunt having just lost its head of corporate communications Andrew Noyes, who has declined to comment on why he departed or if he is taking a new role at a different company.
Separately, this weekend's Sunday Times business section carried a diary piece about Uber and stories last week about a cash injection valuing the company at up to $10bn. The piece claimed The Sunday Times contacted Uber about the story six weeks ago and was told it was "nonsense", backed up by a personal call from chief executive Travis Kalanick to quash the "rumour". "So much can change in so little time," the piece drily observed.
Uber, Westbourne Communications and FleishmanHillard declined to comment.
Who is working with whom?
Licensed Private Hire Car Association
The LPHCA represents around 200 taxi and private hire vehicle operators that take pre-bookings and its membership is made up of a range of operators including large companies such as Addison Lee.
LPHCA chairman Steve Wright told PRWeek that FleishmanHillard has been working with the organisation in recent months specifically around its campaign against app-based taxi companies, which the LPHCA claims are operating illegally in London. It is also working with Hulf McRae on public affairs.
Licensed Taxi Drivers Association
The membership body for drivers of black cabs, which can be hailed on the street and wait at recognised ranks.
The LTDA has told PRWeek it is not working with a PR agency.
The LPHCA's Wright said the LPHCA was working with the LTDA and the organisations were in agreement on the issue.
Uber
Uber is understood to be working with Westbourne Communications on a number of projects including press and public affairs work.
Former lobby journalist and Metro political editor John Higginson, who recently joined Westbourne as head of communications, is understood to be involved in the work with Uber.
http://www.prweek.com/article/1295173/uber-bring-european-pr-taxi-wars-demand-comms-firepower?
Scottish P.H. bill.
Much has been said about the UK governments decision to rush through 3 Ph section to its current deregualtion bill.
Unions and Council's all over the Country are up in arms, except Manchester, who do not know about it yet, as there is nobody in the office (apologies for absence).
I told you as long ago as last May that Scotland was holding its own mini Law Commission.
http://www.mcrblackcab.proboards.com/thread/2705/scotland-mini-law-commission
If you are in a Union and nobody has told you about this, I would suggest you ask why you pay the best part of £20 a month, for information that is on here for free.
However I did not expect the ridiculous out come this week, the Jocks have attached a couple of P.H. provisions to, of all things, an Air Weapons Bill. I kid you not.
The interesting thing is, they grant councils the power to restrict private hire numbers in area's where the Local Authority believe there is an over provision of vehicles.
The contract exemptions we talk about in our post of last year have also been repealed.
One immediate casualty of that repeal is P.C.S of Northumberland (and formerley of Manchester Airport) who were abusing the Scottish exemption.
Our own report and draft bill will be with us on Friday, so get up early and log on, you will get it first.
The report is over 200 pages long and the Bill over 50 pages long so it will not be posted in full on here. I will load it on the cloud somewhere and post a link. If you are not happy downloading, because of data excetra send an Email to : acnedriver@gmail.com.
Identify yourself and I will send you either/ or both folders directley.
It would be useful to hope that our bill grants the power to restrict P.H numbers, because lets face it, the situation here in Town this week has shown we are getting swamped. There are that many hire vehicles running around Town, it is getting hard to breath.
However, we do not have a cristal ball, lets wait 30 hours or so and see.
Refer to section 60 and 62 of the attached PDF
http://tinyurl.com/o8fb5pa
Much has been said about the UK governments decision to rush through 3 Ph section to its current deregualtion bill.
Unions and Council's all over the Country are up in arms, except Manchester, who do not know about it yet, as there is nobody in the office (apologies for absence).
I told you as long ago as last May that Scotland was holding its own mini Law Commission.
http://www.mcrblackcab.proboards.com/thread/2705/scotland-mini-law-commission
If you are in a Union and nobody has told you about this, I would suggest you ask why you pay the best part of £20 a month, for information that is on here for free.
However I did not expect the ridiculous out come this week, the Jocks have attached a couple of P.H. provisions to, of all things, an Air Weapons Bill. I kid you not.
The interesting thing is, they grant councils the power to restrict private hire numbers in area's where the Local Authority believe there is an over provision of vehicles.
The contract exemptions we talk about in our post of last year have also been repealed.
One immediate casualty of that repeal is P.C.S of Northumberland (and formerley of Manchester Airport) who were abusing the Scottish exemption.
Our own report and draft bill will be with us on Friday, so get up early and log on, you will get it first.
The report is over 200 pages long and the Bill over 50 pages long so it will not be posted in full on here. I will load it on the cloud somewhere and post a link. If you are not happy downloading, because of data excetra send an Email to : acnedriver@gmail.com.
Identify yourself and I will send you either/ or both folders directley.
It would be useful to hope that our bill grants the power to restrict P.H numbers, because lets face it, the situation here in Town this week has shown we are getting swamped. There are that many hire vehicles running around Town, it is getting hard to breath.
However, we do not have a cristal ball, lets wait 30 hours or so and see.
Refer to section 60 and 62 of the attached PDF
http://tinyurl.com/o8fb5pa
Tuesday 20 May 2014
Taxi drivers in Cambridge are in “uproar” after discovering a taxi rank had been taken over by new cycle racks amid a battle for space in the city centre.
Drivers arriving at the rank in Sidney Street say they were shocked to see one of their “well-used” evening ranks was taken over by the racks.
Cambridge City Council chiefs say correct procedures were carried out and a taxi forum meeting was held over the changes.
A spokesman for Cambridge Hackney Carriage Association, which represents almost 200 drivers, said: “We were not told the rank was closing. They said about removing some racks to give us more room - there’s a pig flying - but no signs were put up either giving notice. There is uproar amongst some drivers at the moment to the way this was done.
“The first we all knew about it was when they started work, and I’m sure legally they have to put these notices up and give warning and consult us further.
“No-one knows who was present at this taxi forum meeting.”
But the council insists proper warning was given to taxi drivers.
Andy Preston, the council’s project delivery manager, said: “The taxi rank is being relocated off the footway on to the carriageway outside Boots, where it is also more appropriate and will have increased capacity.
“This proposal was consulted on by the city council with the rest of the proposals and no objections were received. The relocation was also discussed and agreed at a Taxi Drivers Forum Meeting, where it was noted that the increased capacity was appreciated.
“Cambridgeshire County Council then carried out the legal statutory TRO (traffic regulation order) process, which includes advertisement of the proposals in the local newspaper and a site notice, as well as specific targeted consultation with statutory stakeholders. No objections were received. The legal traffic order has now been sealed and will be operational from May 30, with the signage erected this week.”
Drivers arriving at the rank in Sidney Street say they were shocked to see one of their “well-used” evening ranks was taken over by the racks.
Cambridge City Council chiefs say correct procedures were carried out and a taxi forum meeting was held over the changes.
A spokesman for Cambridge Hackney Carriage Association, which represents almost 200 drivers, said: “We were not told the rank was closing. They said about removing some racks to give us more room - there’s a pig flying - but no signs were put up either giving notice. There is uproar amongst some drivers at the moment to the way this was done.
“The first we all knew about it was when they started work, and I’m sure legally they have to put these notices up and give warning and consult us further.
“No-one knows who was present at this taxi forum meeting.”
But the council insists proper warning was given to taxi drivers.
Andy Preston, the council’s project delivery manager, said: “The taxi rank is being relocated off the footway on to the carriageway outside Boots, where it is also more appropriate and will have increased capacity.
“This proposal was consulted on by the city council with the rest of the proposals and no objections were received. The relocation was also discussed and agreed at a Taxi Drivers Forum Meeting, where it was noted that the increased capacity was appreciated.
“Cambridgeshire County Council then carried out the legal statutory TRO (traffic regulation order) process, which includes advertisement of the proposals in the local newspaper and a site notice, as well as specific targeted consultation with statutory stakeholders. No objections were received. The legal traffic order has now been sealed and will be operational from May 30, with the signage erected this week.”
Milan V UBER
Taxi, another day of protests. And the guarantor warns: "Strikes illegal sanctions will come"
Neither the threats of the prefect of Milan have stopped blocking protest against Uber: who has taken a hard line he found himself once again at the Central station. Waiting for the answers of Wolves
The threat of the prefect put the unions in line, but not the drivers: in Milan staged another day of substantial strike of most of the white car. Penalties for disruption of public service promises meeting last Monday in the prefecture did not arrive. The Hard protest gathered once again in the Central Station: In addition to banners and flyers there was also a puppet hanged with the word "Uber" rental service with driver in the crosshairs of taxi drivers.
"Many others preferred do not take the car for fear of retaliation from colleagues, "says a notebook closed a trade unionist. At the airport of Linate same thing, very few cars in service. To the needs of passengers, paradoxically, they thought especially the hated NCC. "We lose today, but we struggle to survive tomorrow," is the response of the taxi drivers. "The protest violates the principles of the law on the right to strike in the public services and arises, therefore, outside of the rules laid down by it, and for this we will establish penalties to those involved," says Roberto Alesse instead, president of 'Authority warranty for strikes.
It is the day of truth arrives: Tuesday at 15, the Minister of Transport, Maurizio Lupi, will meet with representatives of the taxi and they will explain if and how to resolve the issue related to the use of Uber. The 1992 law could not (of course) to predict the birth of the American app that connects customers directly with the NCC, however, bypassing the entire set of laws to which it is bound instead of the public service.
Source: translated from.
(ANSA) - Milan, May 20 - Taxi drivers in Milan on Tuesday continued their protest for the fourth consecutive day over the introduction the Uber app, a service allowing passengers to connect with nearby drivers at the push of a button on their smartphone.
At Milan central station drivers refused to take fares with the exception of the elderly and people bound for hospital in opposition to the new Uber service, which they say is in violation of laws setting out the roles and characteristics of taxi drivers and chauffeur car rentals.
Based in California, Uber allows users to to see where the closest participating car is and book it after agreeing a set fare paid by credit card.
In other parts of the city drivers remained divided in their response, with some continuing to work as usual and others abstaining in protest against what they described as "unfair competition".
"We don't have any other way to protest against something that is illegal. Illegal, you understand?" a taxi driver told ANSA.
"Do you know that the drivers who register with the new service can be private individuals with their own car? What if they have a criminal record? What if their car insurance is not up to date? If they haven't had their vehicle checked?" he continued.
"The thing that makes us angriest is that none of the people who demand rules and checks of us has supported us".
----------------------------------------
New York
Ashwini Chhabra, the deputy commissioner for policy and planning at New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission, is joining Uber as its first head of policy development and community engagement, according to a report in The New York Times.
A spokesperson for the commission confirmed to Mashable that Chhabra is no longer with the organization, but did not indicate his next move. "He was a valued colleague at the agency and that we are sorry to see him go," the rep said.
Uber did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission initially put up some resistance to Uber in late 2012, noting that it hadn't yet authorized ride-hailing apps to operate in city taxis. The following year, however, the commission signaled its approval for Uber and other similar apps.
This wouldn't be Chhabra's first time working at an up-and-coming business. In between stints working for city government, he served as a practice manager at Axiom in 2008, a legal services company that was less than a decade old at the time.
Uber now operates cars in more than 100 cities, but the startup has run into regulatory issues in a number of cities in the U.S. and abroad. Chhabra's hire could be useful in helping the company navigate these hurdles going forward.
Uber is reportedly in talks to raise a new round of funding at a $10 billion valuation. The company is on many peoples' short lists of tech companies that may go public in the not too distant future.
UPDATE Tues. 12:15 pm E.T.: Uber confirmed hiring Chhabra as its first head of policy development and community engagement in a statement emailed to Mashable:
"Ashwini Chhabra joins Uber as our first Head of Policy Development and Community Engagement," a rep said. "Uber is growing at an incredible rate and we asked Ashwini to join us to focus on turning complex policy questions into smart answers and scalable solutions."
----------------------------------------------
Jailed 'Romeo' taxi driver phoned teen girl 8,900 times
May 20, 2014 16:10 By North Wales Daily Post
Court heard Colin Robinshaw, 36, befriended girl, 14, and showered her with gifts before coercing her into sexual activity.
A taxi driver who considered himself to be a Romeo sent a photo of himself, naked from the waist down, to a 14-year-old girl’s mobile phone, a court heard.
Colin Robinshaw, 36, bombarded her with thousands of calls and text messages and tried to arrange a sexual encounter.
A court heard today how he rang her 8,900 times over a four-month period and, on one occasion, took her to a secluded spot in his taxi and groped her.
He also persuaded his victim to send him explicit photographs of herself.
Mold Crown Court heard how he set about grooming her and he called himself Romeo in text messages and asked her to call herself Juliet, telling her he wanted to be with her.
Robinshaw, of Cambrian Terrace, Tywyn, was jailed for three years after he admitted charges of sexual activity with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to arrange the commission of a sexual offence by encouraging her to engage in sexual activity.
Judge Niclas Parry – who said Robinshaw failed to appreciate the seriousness of what he had done and regarded it as “fooling around” – ordered him to register indefinitely as a sex offender.
He was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) under which he must not stay in the same house as children and he must never contact the victim.
Prosecuting barrister Karl Scholz said Robinshaw was first challenged when a “love letter” he had sent to the schoolgirl was discovered by a member of her family.
The letter described his love for her and how he also wanted her in his bed.
He went on to send her a photograph of himself naked from the waist down and he showered her with gifts including a iPod, a mobile phone and a necklace.
Between the beginning of October 2012 and the end of January 2013 he made 8,900 phone calls to her and she had contacted him 4,500 times.
She felt more and more under his control and after initially refusing, agreed to send her photographs of herself.
The taxi driver told her to use aliases when sending texts – and said he would call himself Romeo and she should call herself Juliet.
Mr Scholz said before his arrest, Robinshaw messaged her telling her to delete all texts she had received from him.
The hard drive had been removed from his computer and could not be found, and he got a new phone the day before his arrest and police never found the old one.
But messages were found, after her phone was analysed.
Judge Parry said that the defendant had spent months grooming the girl with his intention of obtaining sexual gratification at her expense.
He befriended her, they exchanged phone numbers and he then “literally bombarded her” with text messages and phone calls. She was spending up to three hours a day on the phone with him.
The 20-year age disparity and his controlling behaviour were aggravating features and it was obvious that he had no comprehension of the gravity of the matter.
Mr Scholz said the defendant was a man of good character at the time of the offences but he had since been convicted of groping the breasts of a teenage girl at a party.
Simon Rogers, defending, said that his client’s greatest mitigation was his early guilty pleas which had prevented the need for the girl to give evidence.
At Milan central station drivers refused to take fares with the exception of the elderly and people bound for hospital in opposition to the new Uber service, which they say is in violation of laws setting out the roles and characteristics of taxi drivers and chauffeur car rentals.
Based in California, Uber allows users to to see where the closest participating car is and book it after agreeing a set fare paid by credit card.
In other parts of the city drivers remained divided in their response, with some continuing to work as usual and others abstaining in protest against what they described as "unfair competition".
"We don't have any other way to protest against something that is illegal. Illegal, you understand?" a taxi driver told ANSA.
"Do you know that the drivers who register with the new service can be private individuals with their own car? What if they have a criminal record? What if their car insurance is not up to date? If they haven't had their vehicle checked?" he continued.
"The thing that makes us angriest is that none of the people who demand rules and checks of us has supported us".
----------------------------------------
New York
Ashwini Chhabra, the deputy commissioner for policy and planning at New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission, is joining Uber as its first head of policy development and community engagement, according to a report in The New York Times.
A spokesperson for the commission confirmed to Mashable that Chhabra is no longer with the organization, but did not indicate his next move. "He was a valued colleague at the agency and that we are sorry to see him go," the rep said.
Uber did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission initially put up some resistance to Uber in late 2012, noting that it hadn't yet authorized ride-hailing apps to operate in city taxis. The following year, however, the commission signaled its approval for Uber and other similar apps.
This wouldn't be Chhabra's first time working at an up-and-coming business. In between stints working for city government, he served as a practice manager at Axiom in 2008, a legal services company that was less than a decade old at the time.
Uber now operates cars in more than 100 cities, but the startup has run into regulatory issues in a number of cities in the U.S. and abroad. Chhabra's hire could be useful in helping the company navigate these hurdles going forward.
Uber is reportedly in talks to raise a new round of funding at a $10 billion valuation. The company is on many peoples' short lists of tech companies that may go public in the not too distant future.
UPDATE Tues. 12:15 pm E.T.: Uber confirmed hiring Chhabra as its first head of policy development and community engagement in a statement emailed to Mashable:
"Ashwini Chhabra joins Uber as our first Head of Policy Development and Community Engagement," a rep said. "Uber is growing at an incredible rate and we asked Ashwini to join us to focus on turning complex policy questions into smart answers and scalable solutions."
----------------------------------------------
Jailed 'Romeo' taxi driver phoned teen girl 8,900 times
May 20, 2014 16:10 By North Wales Daily Post
Court heard Colin Robinshaw, 36, befriended girl, 14, and showered her with gifts before coercing her into sexual activity.
A taxi driver who considered himself to be a Romeo sent a photo of himself, naked from the waist down, to a 14-year-old girl’s mobile phone, a court heard.
Colin Robinshaw, 36, bombarded her with thousands of calls and text messages and tried to arrange a sexual encounter.
A court heard today how he rang her 8,900 times over a four-month period and, on one occasion, took her to a secluded spot in his taxi and groped her.
He also persuaded his victim to send him explicit photographs of herself.
Mold Crown Court heard how he set about grooming her and he called himself Romeo in text messages and asked her to call herself Juliet, telling her he wanted to be with her.
Robinshaw, of Cambrian Terrace, Tywyn, was jailed for three years after he admitted charges of sexual activity with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to arrange the commission of a sexual offence by encouraging her to engage in sexual activity.
Judge Niclas Parry – who said Robinshaw failed to appreciate the seriousness of what he had done and regarded it as “fooling around” – ordered him to register indefinitely as a sex offender.
He was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) under which he must not stay in the same house as children and he must never contact the victim.
Prosecuting barrister Karl Scholz said Robinshaw was first challenged when a “love letter” he had sent to the schoolgirl was discovered by a member of her family.
The letter described his love for her and how he also wanted her in his bed.
He went on to send her a photograph of himself naked from the waist down and he showered her with gifts including a iPod, a mobile phone and a necklace.
Between the beginning of October 2012 and the end of January 2013 he made 8,900 phone calls to her and she had contacted him 4,500 times.
She felt more and more under his control and after initially refusing, agreed to send her photographs of herself.
The taxi driver told her to use aliases when sending texts – and said he would call himself Romeo and she should call herself Juliet.
Mr Scholz said before his arrest, Robinshaw messaged her telling her to delete all texts she had received from him.
The hard drive had been removed from his computer and could not be found, and he got a new phone the day before his arrest and police never found the old one.
But messages were found, after her phone was analysed.
Judge Parry said that the defendant had spent months grooming the girl with his intention of obtaining sexual gratification at her expense.
He befriended her, they exchanged phone numbers and he then “literally bombarded her” with text messages and phone calls. She was spending up to three hours a day on the phone with him.
The 20-year age disparity and his controlling behaviour were aggravating features and it was obvious that he had no comprehension of the gravity of the matter.
Mr Scholz said the defendant was a man of good character at the time of the offences but he had since been convicted of groping the breasts of a teenage girl at a party.
Simon Rogers, defending, said that his client’s greatest mitigation was his early guilty pleas which had prevented the need for the girl to give evidence.
Monday 19 May 2014
Edinburgh.
Letter from a teenage rape victim.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/child-rape-victim-urges-court-3568566
------------------------------------
South Yorkshire
A terrified man was robbed, tied up and dumped in woodland after getting into what he thought was a taxi in South Yorkshire.
The 35-year-old victim left a pub on Towngate, Thurlstone, near Barnsley, shortly after midnight on Saturday, May 17, and flagged down what he thought was a taxi.
Two men were in the vehicle and told the victim they were heading towards Darfield and would drop him off in Barnsley.
The vehicle then drove up Rockside Road and on to Leapings Lane, where it came to a stop.
One of the men then dragged the victim out of the vehicle and took items from him including jewellery of particular sentimental value, a watch, his mobile phone and cash.
His hands and feet were then tied together and he was dumped in a secluded woodland area, before the vehicle drove back towards Rockside Road.
The victim shouted for help and was overheard by members of the public, who called emergency services.
He was taken to hospital suffering from shock and hypothermia, but it is not thought his injuries were serious.
DC Fiona Bowling, leading the investigation into the incident, said: “This was an absolutely terrifying robbery on a man who was making his way home after a night out with friends.
“I would like to appeal to anyone who saw any suspicious activity within the Thurlstone area on Friday night into Saturday morning, involving a dark-coloured motor vehicle, to call police as a matter of urgency.”
Letter from a teenage rape victim.
------------------------------------
South Yorkshire
A terrified man was robbed, tied up and dumped in woodland after getting into what he thought was a taxi in South Yorkshire.
The 35-year-old victim left a pub on Towngate, Thurlstone, near Barnsley, shortly after midnight on Saturday, May 17, and flagged down what he thought was a taxi.
Two men were in the vehicle and told the victim they were heading towards Darfield and would drop him off in Barnsley.
The vehicle then drove up Rockside Road and on to Leapings Lane, where it came to a stop.
One of the men then dragged the victim out of the vehicle and took items from him including jewellery of particular sentimental value, a watch, his mobile phone and cash.
His hands and feet were then tied together and he was dumped in a secluded woodland area, before the vehicle drove back towards Rockside Road.
The victim shouted for help and was overheard by members of the public, who called emergency services.
He was taken to hospital suffering from shock and hypothermia, but it is not thought his injuries were serious.
DC Fiona Bowling, leading the investigation into the incident, said: “This was an absolutely terrifying robbery on a man who was making his way home after a night out with friends.
“I would like to appeal to anyone who saw any suspicious activity within the Thurlstone area on Friday night into Saturday morning, involving a dark-coloured motor vehicle, to call police as a matter of urgency.”
Saturday 17 May 2014
Perth, Bonnie Scotland
A TAXI firm are to pay a customer almost £3000 – over her high heels.
Banker Vibha Upadhyaya, 33, broke her shoes and hurt her ankle as a cab pulled away before she could get in properly and dragged her along the street.
She claimed the injury left her unable to wear heels for a while and that her confidence had been damaged.
Vibha sued Paul Hodgekiss, trading as Thistle Taxis, for the cost of her shoes and broken iPhone and the suffering she sustained.
She also claimed compensation for her lack of enjoyment of a pilgrimage to a holy shrine in India and for her inability to decorate her new home.
Despite a sheriff ruling that Vibha, from Bridge of Don, Aberdeenshire, had exaggerated her evidence, she was awarded £2909 compensation.
Perth sheriff Fiona Tait said: “While I do not think she sought to mislead the court, I gained the distinct impression that she was anxious to maximise her various heads of claim and had a tendency to exaggerate the extent of injury on all aspects of her life.
“The pursuer’s injury was minor. There was complete resolution within months.”
Thistle Taxis didn’t deny liability for the accident at Perth train station on September 12, 2012.
Vibha suffered soft tissue damage and was off work for two days. She had trouble walking for a fortnight.
The sheriff awarded her £2400 for the injury and £350 in recognition of the help her husband provided while she was injured. She also awarded £40 for the heels and £119 for the phone.
But the sheriff rejected the financial advisor’s £1000 claim that her trip to India had been ruined. Vibha had booked the trip after the accident.
------------------------------------------
Chicago, USA
Uber adds lobbyists as it begins to lose Springfield's taxi war
More top lobbyists and other politically connected types are getting involved as the taxi cab/ride-sharing war rages on in Springfield and Chicago.
In the latest move, Uber Technologies Inc. has brought aboard Jack Lavin, who until September was chief of staff to Gov. Pat Quinn.
Another addition: lobbyist Al Ronan, whom I hadn't seen on previous lists. They join, among others, former state Sen. Jim DeLeo, D-Chicago, and Mike Kasper, who has close ties to both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
http://tinyurl.com/n2sntru
A TAXI firm are to pay a customer almost £3000 – over her high heels.
Banker Vibha Upadhyaya, 33, broke her shoes and hurt her ankle as a cab pulled away before she could get in properly and dragged her along the street.
She claimed the injury left her unable to wear heels for a while and that her confidence had been damaged.
Vibha sued Paul Hodgekiss, trading as Thistle Taxis, for the cost of her shoes and broken iPhone and the suffering she sustained.
She also claimed compensation for her lack of enjoyment of a pilgrimage to a holy shrine in India and for her inability to decorate her new home.
Despite a sheriff ruling that Vibha, from Bridge of Don, Aberdeenshire, had exaggerated her evidence, she was awarded £2909 compensation.
Perth sheriff Fiona Tait said: “While I do not think she sought to mislead the court, I gained the distinct impression that she was anxious to maximise her various heads of claim and had a tendency to exaggerate the extent of injury on all aspects of her life.
“The pursuer’s injury was minor. There was complete resolution within months.”
Thistle Taxis didn’t deny liability for the accident at Perth train station on September 12, 2012.
Vibha suffered soft tissue damage and was off work for two days. She had trouble walking for a fortnight.
The sheriff awarded her £2400 for the injury and £350 in recognition of the help her husband provided while she was injured. She also awarded £40 for the heels and £119 for the phone.
But the sheriff rejected the financial advisor’s £1000 claim that her trip to India had been ruined. Vibha had booked the trip after the accident.
------------------------------------------
Chicago, USA
Uber adds lobbyists as it begins to lose Springfield's taxi war
More top lobbyists and other politically connected types are getting involved as the taxi cab/ride-sharing war rages on in Springfield and Chicago.
In the latest move, Uber Technologies Inc. has brought aboard Jack Lavin, who until September was chief of staff to Gov. Pat Quinn.
Another addition: lobbyist Al Ronan, whom I hadn't seen on previous lists. They join, among others, former state Sen. Jim DeLeo, D-Chicago, and Mike Kasper, who has close ties to both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
http://tinyurl.com/n2sntru
Friday 16 May 2014
New York; A Twist on Dickens... Two Tales of One City.
How de Blasio stopped the borough taxi program
It was near the end of a long series of transportation-related hearings on Thursday when Bill de Blasio's taxi commissioner revealed that the mayor was putting the brakes on outer-borough taxis.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/outer-borough-green-taxi-rollout-expand-article-1.1795762?
Outer-borough green taxi expansion agreed to by Mayor de Blasio administration
One day after Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Meera Joshi told the City Council it was “premature” to set a date for expanding the green fleet this year — as previously planned — the city is now saying it intends to start releasing permits for 6,000 new cabs over the summer.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/outer-borough-green-taxi-rollout-expand-article-1.1795762?
-------------------------------------------------------------
Plymouth
A man ended up losing his job, being banned from driving and being fined almost £1,500 after a lying taxi driver who set off speed cameras picked a name and date of birth at random which happened to match his details.
Andrew Gorman, 46, perverted the course of justice on two occasions by making up the name of a random driver, Plymouth Crown Court was told. (Friday May 16).
The court heard how Gorman, of Commercial Road, Hayle, was captured twice by speed cameras in Redruth, driving a Mercedes Vito van on August 4 and 5 2012.
Nigel Hall, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said on returning a form to Peninsula Road Safety Partnership in Plymouth, Gorman on both occasions gave the name and birth date of Martin Wright as the driver of the vehicle. He also provided two different addresses from the Greater Manchester area, the first in Dukinfield and the second in Oldham.
The court heard that police traced a Martin Wright with the same birth date. In the man’s abscence he was found guilty of both speeding offences and disqualified from driving. He was also fined £1,440.
Mr Hall said, as a result of the offences, Mr Wright was also sacked by his employer, a scaffolding company, at the time.
Edward Bailey, defending Gorman, told the court that Gorman bought his own taxi firm in April of this year and employed eight drivers. He was also a regular driver for Cornwall Council, transporting disabled children around the county.
Judge Philip Wassall said: “This is a consequence you should have expected.
“The consequences went on to seriously affect the life of an innocent member of the public. He was involved in a fight to clear his name for something you chose to do.”
Judge Wassall added that the offences “go to the heart of justice.”
Mr Gorman was sentenced to a total of eight months in prison and a 6 month driving ban. He is also required to pay a victim surcharge of £100.
------------------------------------------
Telford
Teenage boy and girl in court over attempted murder of Telford taxi driver
Two Telford teenagers today appeared in court charged with attempted murder after a taxi driver was cut in a knife attack.
Chloe Louise Watts, 18, of Dodmore Grange, Randlay, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Telford Magistrates Court today.
The pair were arrested shortly after a disturbance in which a driver was injured.
They were remanded in custody on Wednesday after being charged with attempted murder. And today they were further remanded to appear at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday.
The taxi driver, in his 40s, suffered a cut to his hand after picking up passengers on Tuesday night. He had been taking passengers from the new Asda in Malingsgate to Mossey Green in Ketley Bank at around 10pm when the alleged attack took place.
The driver told police that he was grabbed from behind and a knife was pushed towards his face.
-------------------------------------------
Hertfordshire
Taxi business near Watford Junction cordoned off by police after missing people found
A taxi business has been cordoned off at Watford Junction station after two missing people were found at the premises.
Police received reports raising concerns for a missing man and woman yesterday, who were later located at the building.
Two men and a woman have been arrested and are in police custody in connection to the incident.
A spokesman from Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Police and scenes of crime officers have cordoned off a premises close to Watford Junction Train Station in Watford following reports of concerns for welfare of two people at the premises yesterday evening.
“The two people are now safe but police are appealing for information from the public who may have seen anything suspicious in or around the station between 6pm and 9pm.
"We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have noticed men in a dark coloured Vauxhall acting suspiciously to contact them on 101 quoting ISR 708 of May 14. ”
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/11215603._/?
How de Blasio stopped the borough taxi program
It was near the end of a long series of transportation-related hearings on Thursday when Bill de Blasio's taxi commissioner revealed that the mayor was putting the brakes on outer-borough taxis.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/outer-borough-green-taxi-rollout-expand-article-1.1795762?
Outer-borough green taxi expansion agreed to by Mayor de Blasio administration
One day after Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Meera Joshi told the City Council it was “premature” to set a date for expanding the green fleet this year — as previously planned — the city is now saying it intends to start releasing permits for 6,000 new cabs over the summer.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/outer-borough-green-taxi-rollout-expand-article-1.1795762?
-------------------------------------------------------------
Plymouth
A man ended up losing his job, being banned from driving and being fined almost £1,500 after a lying taxi driver who set off speed cameras picked a name and date of birth at random which happened to match his details.
Andrew Gorman, 46, perverted the course of justice on two occasions by making up the name of a random driver, Plymouth Crown Court was told. (Friday May 16).
The court heard how Gorman, of Commercial Road, Hayle, was captured twice by speed cameras in Redruth, driving a Mercedes Vito van on August 4 and 5 2012.
Nigel Hall, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said on returning a form to Peninsula Road Safety Partnership in Plymouth, Gorman on both occasions gave the name and birth date of Martin Wright as the driver of the vehicle. He also provided two different addresses from the Greater Manchester area, the first in Dukinfield and the second in Oldham.
The court heard that police traced a Martin Wright with the same birth date. In the man’s abscence he was found guilty of both speeding offences and disqualified from driving. He was also fined £1,440.
Mr Hall said, as a result of the offences, Mr Wright was also sacked by his employer, a scaffolding company, at the time.
Edward Bailey, defending Gorman, told the court that Gorman bought his own taxi firm in April of this year and employed eight drivers. He was also a regular driver for Cornwall Council, transporting disabled children around the county.
Judge Philip Wassall said: “This is a consequence you should have expected.
“The consequences went on to seriously affect the life of an innocent member of the public. He was involved in a fight to clear his name for something you chose to do.”
Judge Wassall added that the offences “go to the heart of justice.”
Mr Gorman was sentenced to a total of eight months in prison and a 6 month driving ban. He is also required to pay a victim surcharge of £100.
------------------------------------------
Telford
Teenage boy and girl in court over attempted murder of Telford taxi driver
Two Telford teenagers today appeared in court charged with attempted murder after a taxi driver was cut in a knife attack.
Chloe Louise Watts, 18, of Dodmore Grange, Randlay, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Telford Magistrates Court today.
The pair were arrested shortly after a disturbance in which a driver was injured.
They were remanded in custody on Wednesday after being charged with attempted murder. And today they were further remanded to appear at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday.
The taxi driver, in his 40s, suffered a cut to his hand after picking up passengers on Tuesday night. He had been taking passengers from the new Asda in Malingsgate to Mossey Green in Ketley Bank at around 10pm when the alleged attack took place.
The driver told police that he was grabbed from behind and a knife was pushed towards his face.
-------------------------------------------
Hertfordshire
Taxi business near Watford Junction cordoned off by police after missing people found
A taxi business has been cordoned off at Watford Junction station after two missing people were found at the premises.
Police received reports raising concerns for a missing man and woman yesterday, who were later located at the building.
Two men and a woman have been arrested and are in police custody in connection to the incident.
A spokesman from Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Police and scenes of crime officers have cordoned off a premises close to Watford Junction Train Station in Watford following reports of concerns for welfare of two people at the premises yesterday evening.
“The two people are now safe but police are appealing for information from the public who may have seen anything suspicious in or around the station between 6pm and 9pm.
"We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have noticed men in a dark coloured Vauxhall acting suspiciously to contact them on 101 quoting ISR 708 of May 14. ”
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/11215603._/?
Thursday 15 May 2014
Wednesday 14 May 2014
Stephen Hammond (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport; Wimbledon, Conservative) Tues May 13.
I would like to inform the House that a statement I made on 29 April 2014 during an adjournment debate on proposed Government reforms to taxi and private hire vehicle regulations, Hansard, column 225WH, was incorrect. During the speech I stated that:
“the Government asked the Law Commission to carry out a comprehensive review of the law. As has rightly been pointed out, it will present its report—it will not be presenting a Bill; it will be presenting a report in the next few weeks—and at that stage, as with all reviews and reports, the Government will review the whole of those detailed findings and recommendations.”
This was incorrect as the Law Commission will later this month present the Government with both a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation as well as a draft Bill. However, the Government have no plans to introduce a dedicated taxi Bill in the final parliamentary Session. Instead, Government will consider the detailed findings of, and recommendations made, by the Law Commission before setting out our thinking on each in due course.
Given there will be no dedicated taxi Bill this Parliament, the measures which the Government intend to take forward within the Deregulation Bill represent an ideal opportunity to make a real-world difference to the business men and women who make up the taxi and private hire vehicle trades.
I would like to inform the House that a statement I made on 29 April 2014 during an adjournment debate on proposed Government reforms to taxi and private hire vehicle regulations, Hansard, column 225WH, was incorrect. During the speech I stated that:
“the Government asked the Law Commission to carry out a comprehensive review of the law. As has rightly been pointed out, it will present its report—it will not be presenting a Bill; it will be presenting a report in the next few weeks—and at that stage, as with all reviews and reports, the Government will review the whole of those detailed findings and recommendations.”
This was incorrect as the Law Commission will later this month present the Government with both a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation as well as a draft Bill. However, the Government have no plans to introduce a dedicated taxi Bill in the final parliamentary Session. Instead, Government will consider the detailed findings of, and recommendations made, by the Law Commission before setting out our thinking on each in due course.
Given there will be no dedicated taxi Bill this Parliament, the measures which the Government intend to take forward within the Deregulation Bill represent an ideal opportunity to make a real-world difference to the business men and women who make up the taxi and private hire vehicle trades.
Monday 12 May 2014
Shadow Roads Minister Richard Burden says the Government is wrong to deregulate this trade and that Labour will oppose these measures in the Deregulation Bill.
It’s not often you see the Government’s own MPs stand up in agreement with Labour in the House of Commons. But such is the folly of the Government’s rush to deregulate parts of the taxi and private hire trade that this was exactly what happened on Tuesday.
Taxis and private hire vehicles (minicabs) are an overlooked part of our national transport system. They aren’t just services for the well-off, but are an essential means of transport for those who can’t afford to run a car – and sometimes the only form of public transport available for elderly and disabled people.
If the service they provide – getting people from A to B – is straightforward, the rules governing the trade are not. The complexity surrounding local taxi and PHV licensing is such that the Government passed the hot potato of reform to the Law Commission in 2011. Since then, Ministers have delayed the release of the Commission’s report, which is so politically sensitive that it has been deferred until after the European and Council elections in May.
You would think Ministers would approach such controversial reforms in a sensitive way, in discussion with passengers, unions, industry and the councils who are responsible for regulating the trade. But this Government is so hell bent on scrapping ‘red tape’ that their reforms paradoxically risk public safety, threaten passenger choice and increase burdens on businesses.
I have been in contact with the National Private Hire Association, GMB, National Association of Licensing Enforcement Officers, Unite, RMT, National Taxi Association, Local Government Association and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust about these rushed and risky reforms. They are united in condemnation of the Government. After engaging for years with the Law Commission, in January 2014 these groups were given a paltry ten days to respond to proposals for deregulating parts of the trade. The norm for consultation on controversial government policies is 12 weeks. It’s just not on.
Proper enforcement of private hire vehicles and drivers, particularly when they ‘cross borders’ from the areas where they were licensed to new places, is a serious challenge. Local licensing authorities do not have adequate control and powers for effective policing of the trade – they can’t stop moving vehicles, impound them, or even force a driver to prove their identity. They have no powers to control vehicles from other areas at all. In 2013 a British Judge issued a damning indictment of the state of licensing enforcement when he concluded “nobody can travel in minicabs with any degree of assurance or safety.”
Now Ministers have included these reforms in their ‘Deregulation Bill’ the implications of the changes are becoming clear. When the number of rogue taxi drivers is a growing concern, why do Ministers want to end annual checks on their licenses? Can the Government seriously be proposing to loosen restrictions on who can drive a PHV, and allow operators to subcontract bookings to other firms, without boosting enforcement powers? They claim their changes will provide a better service. But there are real reasons why people book a journey with a certain firm, particularly for women, elderly and disabled people – who may be worried about the service they get from unknown operators. Many people just do not want an unknown operator turning up at their door.
There are real problems with ensuring that standards are maintained in the taxi and minicabs trade as it is – and the Government’s changes are set to make things worse. Tony Lloyd, the British Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester, has already declared the Government’s proposals to be a “backwards step.”
It’s not just the safety of the travelling public which Ministers are putting at risk. The industry are saying these reforms are so poorly thought through that they are set to spend more time in court. Are these reforms really going to help the trade and the travelling public?
The Government’s rush to rip up regulation is wrong. Labour will continue to fight these measures in the Deregulation Bill. We are standing up for the taxi and private hire industry, and the public who rely on this vital means of transport.
Adelante. Chip and Pin
Switch to Chip & PIN.....It's cheaper & reduces fraud
As more and more taxi drivers across the UK make the move to using a Chip & PIN machine to take card payments from passengers, Adelante have decided to offer our TaxiPay Mobile users the opportunity to switch to TaxiPay Chip & PIN for a special price.
Why:
5% charge per transaction instead of 6.5%
£2.50 per week Chip & PIN machine rental
100% secure payments - no risk of chargebacks
Receipt produced for the passenger
Instantly recognisable payment method for passengers
Only 3 month minimum contract
Interested?
Call us now on 01628 820 600 or email sales@adelante.co.uk
Limited stock at this price so first come first served!
Switch to Chip & PIN.....It's cheaper & reduces fraud
As more and more taxi drivers across the UK make the move to using a Chip & PIN machine to take card payments from passengers, Adelante have decided to offer our TaxiPay Mobile users the opportunity to switch to TaxiPay Chip & PIN for a special price.
Why:
5% charge per transaction instead of 6.5%
£2.50 per week Chip & PIN machine rental
100% secure payments - no risk of chargebacks
Receipt produced for the passenger
Instantly recognisable payment method for passengers
Only 3 month minimum contract
Interested?
Call us now on 01628 820 600 or email sales@adelante.co.uk
Limited stock at this price so first come first served!
Bolton
GOVERNMENT plans to cut ‘red tape’ for taxi operators in Bolton could put the public at risk, an MP has warned.
Julie Hilling, who represents Bolton West, has spoken out against the Deregulation Bill which is going through Parliament.
If made law, the changes would mean private hire firms could ‘sub contract’ bookings to operators licensed in a different area.
Opponents to the system say customers would be less able to choose a company that they feel is safer and more reliable.
In addition, anyone with an ordinary drivers’ licence would be allowed to drive a private hire car when it is ‘off duty’.
Ms Hilling said there was already too little regulation of the industry, and that further deregulation would not help protect the public.
She said: “We do not have national standards. When the system as a whole is fractured, there are all sorts of ways through it.”
At a meeting in April, Ms Hilling, along with MPs David Crausby and Yasmin Qureshi, joined forces with the Police Crime Commissioner, union GMB and the National Private Hire Association to denounce the plans.
Asif Bali, chairman of the Bolton Private Hire Operators Association, said his organisation currently has an arrangement whereby a call for a cab can be passed on to another company. But he added proposals to run ‘off duty’ private hire cars for personal use could put the public in danger.
Comment; Manchester Council were not invited to the meeting held in Bolton. Organizers were fed up with Manchester sending 'apologies for absence' for every other meeting they were asked to attend.
To be fair it is hard for Manchester staff to attend any meetings, they only work a 43 week year, despite charging the License fee payers for 52 weeks.(source Grant Thornton, external auditors.)
GOVERNMENT plans to cut ‘red tape’ for taxi operators in Bolton could put the public at risk, an MP has warned.
Julie Hilling, who represents Bolton West, has spoken out against the Deregulation Bill which is going through Parliament.
If made law, the changes would mean private hire firms could ‘sub contract’ bookings to operators licensed in a different area.
Opponents to the system say customers would be less able to choose a company that they feel is safer and more reliable.
In addition, anyone with an ordinary drivers’ licence would be allowed to drive a private hire car when it is ‘off duty’.
Ms Hilling said there was already too little regulation of the industry, and that further deregulation would not help protect the public.
She said: “We do not have national standards. When the system as a whole is fractured, there are all sorts of ways through it.”
At a meeting in April, Ms Hilling, along with MPs David Crausby and Yasmin Qureshi, joined forces with the Police Crime Commissioner, union GMB and the National Private Hire Association to denounce the plans.
Asif Bali, chairman of the Bolton Private Hire Operators Association, said his organisation currently has an arrangement whereby a call for a cab can be passed on to another company. But he added proposals to run ‘off duty’ private hire cars for personal use could put the public in danger.
Comment; Manchester Council were not invited to the meeting held in Bolton. Organizers were fed up with Manchester sending 'apologies for absence' for every other meeting they were asked to attend.
To be fair it is hard for Manchester staff to attend any meetings, they only work a 43 week year, despite charging the License fee payers for 52 weeks.(source Grant Thornton, external auditors.)
-------------------------------------------------------
North Tyneside.
A cabbie's efforts to go green have been thwarted to council red tape.
Taxi driver Grant Miller, who bought an electric Nissan Leaf for £15,000, was told he couldn’t use the car as it didn’t meet licensing regulations.
Council bosses in North Tyneside say the rear windows on the car are too dark.
Now Grant, of Denton Burn, Newcastle, is having to folk out £130 per week to insure a hire car to continue his work as a taxi driver, while his new electric car sits at home.
The 43-year-old said: “I do a lot of miles and I just wanted to do my bit for the environment and that’s why I decided to buy the car.
“I didn’t think there would be a problem but when I tried to put it on the road as a taxi North Tyneside Council said I couldn’t because of its tinted windows.
“It’s a beautiful car and I can’t use it. It’s just ridiculous.”
North Tyneside council said their policy requires rear windows to have a certain level of light transmission.
Self-employed Grant, who has been a taxi driver for eight years, said he will now have to sell his car or apply for a licence in a different local authority.
He says he has contacted suppliers Nissan but they say the windows come standard on his model of car and they can’t replace them.
He added: “The car is just sat there and I can’t use it. I was just trying to do my bit for the environment.
“I’d read a lot about electric cars and I thought it would work really well.
“You can get 90 miles out of them, which would give me time in between fares to charge it up.”
Grant, who has had the car two weeks, put more than a £5,000 down as a deposit and is continuing to pay finance on the car.
A North Tyneside council spokeswoman said: “The council supports and welcomes drivers who use energy efficient vehicles and new technology.
“We are aware that Mr Miller is in discussion with a supplier about ensuring a vehicle meets the public safety aspects of the council’s licensing policy. We have been assisting Mr Miller in this process and will continue to do so should he make an application for a new licensed vehicle.”
They said that their taxi policy requires that the level of light transmission in the rear windows needs to be at least 34% and the rear windows on Grant’s car were at a level of 22%.
----------------------------------------
Cardiff taxi driver Mohammed Ali has been found guilty of raping a young university student as he drove her home from a birthday celebration with friends in the city centre.
The married 40-year-old cabbie had denied it, claiming the student had asked him for sex by touching him without his permission and refusing to take no for an answer.
The jury verdict against him at Cardiff Crown Court was unanimous.
A judge will pass sentence later today.
Ali, of West Luton Place, Cardiff was told to expect a significant prison sentence.
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