The European Commission is preparing to challenge a French law on taxi services and chauffeured cars, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, following a complaint from online ride-hailing service operator Uber Technologies.
France’s Thevenoud law, introduced in October 2014, requires chauffeured cars to return to a base between fares, restricts their use of software to find customers in the street and banned unlicensed services, among other measures.
California-based Uber, which has run into fierce opposition from established taxi services since it launched in Europe five years ago, has filed a complaint with the European Commission against the French law, arguing it favoured regular taxis over Uber’s internet-managed ride-sharing service and that France should have notified Brussels of the new measure.
The Commission is preparing to issue a so-called letter of formal notice, the people said, which represents the first stage of an infringement procedure where Brussels suspects that a national measure breaches the EU treaties.
Uber allows would-be passengers to summon rides via a smartphone app and has seen exponential growth in Europe as well as numerous court challenges which have resulted in the banning of its unlicensed taxi service, UberPOP.
Ultimately the Commission could take France to court if the two do not come to an agreement.
The challenge could come in late May, the people said, although no final decision has been taken yet.
A spokesman for the Commission said it was looking at how it could “encourage the development of new and innovative services and the temporary use of assets, without favouring one business model over another.”
“In mid-2016 we will provide guidance on how existing EU law applies to the collaborative economy,” Jakub Adamowicz said.
Last month a French court ruled that banning chauffeured cars’ use of geolocational technology to help passengers find available cars was illegal and said France should have notified the measure to Brussels.
The Commission is adjusting its challenge to take the French ruling into account, the people said, which goes some way towards alleviating its concerns with the law.
However other substantive problems with the law remain, including the requirement that chauffeured cars return to a base between fares.
http://goo.gl/k86dBO
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PENDLE
TAXI firms who fail to maintain their vehicles could soon be named and shamed under new plans put forward by Pendle Council bosses.
It comes as the council extended the maximum age of hackney and private hire vehicles from nine to 11 years, and 12 for those manufactured or adopted to allow wheelchair accessibility. The maximum age all vehicles can be when they are first licensed remains seven years.
Pendle Council leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal denied that the change would lead to a reduction in safety and said that the new rating system would give the public more insight in to the safety record of individuals and private hire companies.
Cllr Iqbal said: "If you look at how things currently stand there are a lot of boroughs in Lancashire which have no vehicle age limitations.
"We have had ours for a number of years.
"The age of the vehicle isn't the issue as far as I am concerned because it is highlighted by our testing procedure that cars which are only three-years-old fail the safety checks.
"The issue for me is that at the moment there is no way for the public to know how safe a vehicle is when they ring up for a taxi.
"That is why I have asked the taxi licensing committee to work on a scheme hat would publicise good taxi operators but also highlight the poor ones regarding maintenance and safety of their vehicles. It would be something similar to the star rating system that we have for takeaways and restaurants.
"I want the public to be given the opportunity to vote with their feet because I think that is the only way we will address this problem."
Cllr Iqbal said the Taxi Licensing Committee will next meet on June 16 and he was hopeful the new safety rating system would be brought in soon after.
Concerns over taxi licensing had been raised by a number of councillors, who invoked the council's call-in procedure.
Giving the reasons for invoking the procedure a report said: “We believe the introduction of an 11-year-age limit for all licensed vehicles will put public safety at risk. Pendle currently has a very poor failure rate for spot checks; some 61 per cent of vehicles failed their checks in 2015. Extending the current age limit by a further two years doesn’t provide any encouragement for the trade to keep their vehicles in good condition.”
Vehicles will also have to pass an MOT test every four months or have their taxi license revoked.
http://goo.gl/I48tH7
------------------------------------------------------------------
BRADFORD
A TAXI driver sexually assaulted a distressed woman passenger after she had argued with her partner on a night out, a jury at Bradford Crown Court heard.
Father-of-four Farooq Ahmed denies making indecent suggestions on the ten minute cab journey from Hall Ings in Bradford city centre to her home and then touching her bare knee.
The court heard yesterday that Ahmed, 38, of Birch Lane, West Bowling, Bradford, agreed to take the woman to her house for £4 after she told him she did not have the full fare.
Prosecutor Michael Smith said she twice rang the police in the early hours asking for help to get home because she had fallen out with her partner. She was advised to find a taxi driver who would take her for £4 and Ahmed, who was parked in a taxi rank on Hall Ings, agreed to help.
Mr Smith said that 25 minutes later, the woman rang the police for a third time.
“She was upset and frightened and said the taxi driver had touched her leg,” Mr Smith said.
She also alleged Ahmed had told her his sexual fantasies while driving her home and made indecent suggestions.
It is alleged that he at first stopped her getting out of the taxi outside her home and then said he wanted to come in.
Ahmed, who pleads not guilty to sexual assault on April 6 last year, said the woman was crying and on the phone to the police when she got into his taxi at about 3.45am.
They barely spoke on the journey except that he asked if she was all right.
Ahmed said she complained of being harassed or assaulted by her partner and was extremely drunk.
Ahmed said he thought she had gone into her home to fetch him the balance of the taxi fare for a journey that would have cost between £7 and £8.
He waited outside for her to bring him the money and when she did not reappear, he drove off.
He told the police he had “a beautiful wife at home and four kids” and had no reason to make approaches to the woman. It would, anyway, have been stupid to do so outside her house.
“I think she just wanted to make allegations to get compensation. It is all just a lie,” he said.
The trial continues.
http://goo.gl/ZuCP8I
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTTLESFORD (wherever that is ?)
A taxi boss who lied about his business's base in Uttlesford has been stripped of his licence by Uttlesford District Council.
Ismail Emin, a Chelmsford resident, was granted permits for West End Cars in October last year. He listed the business address as a unit in Ongar Road, Great Dunmow, and provided a letter from the landlord confirming he was a tenant at the address.
However, the council received complaints that West End Cars vehicles were driving around Chelmsford with a Chelmsford telephone number on them.
A member of the council's enforcement team twice visited the Dunmow address to check the record of bookings, but found no signage or any indication of the firm's presence. Neighbours had no knowledge of a taxi business operating from that address.
http://goo.gl/58p2uH
Tuesday 31 May 2016
New taxi rules mean that you'll now be able to hail any taxi in Belfast city centre
Previously, only black cabs could be given the nod to pull over, while private taxi companies had to be booked in advance
New rules for taxis in Belfast mean that you’ll now be able to hail any cab from the city centre.
Within a two-mile radius, and during certain time periods, all taxis - not just black cabs - can be hailed at will from today (Tuesday, May 31).
Previously, only black cabs could be given the nod to pull over, while private taxi companies had to be booked in advance.
The catch is that it’s only at peak times - from midnight on Friday and Saturday until 6am the following days.
Former Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said when announcing the move: “What consumers want is a modern well regulated taxi service which they can access much easier at peak times, easier access for people with disabilities, where the fares are clearly indicated and where a maximum fare prevails.
“What I am doing is exactly that. I am modernising and improving the regulations for the taxi industry including licensing requirements, accessibility standards and installation of taxi meters and imposition of maximum fares.
“Anyone trying to hail a taxi from midnight on a Friday or Saturday night within the Belfast Zone will be able to do so by waving down established private hire taxi firms rather than having to pre-book.
“In effect, these changes will mean that people in the north will get a much better taxi service.”
http://goo.gl/aYH709
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxi with ‘dangerous part’ removed from Aylesbury’s roads during operation in which nine out of ten vehicles were found to have committed a licensing offence
A taxi check operation across Aylesbury Vale saw 32 out of 36 vehicles checked found to have committed a licensing offence - with one deemed unfit for the road because of a sharp edge sticking out of its bumper.
The Road Safety Officer for Bucks stopped private hire vehicles around Aylesbury, Wendover and Stoke Mandeville as part of the operation on Friday May 20.
On the vehicle with the dangerous part a district council spokesman said: “It had to be removed from the road because a sharp edge was coming through the rear bumper.
“The vehicle is being repaired and once it has been re-checked and is deemed safe it will return to the road.”
A total of 36 vehicles were stopped and checked for defects by the Road Safety officer, and to establish the correct driving licence and insurance with the licensing officers from the district council checking the drivers for correct taxi documentation.
One driver was not insured under the restrictions on the insurance and received a fixed penalty notice for six points and £300 fine.
Offences included drivers not wearing ID badges and not displaying correct vehicle signage.
Drivers were given taxi enforcement points and 14 days in which to rectify the defect or face further action.
A district council spokesman added that there were likely to be ‘more frequent checks’ because of the high number of vehicles where issues were identified.
PC Liz Johnson of Roads Policing said: “The operation was a success, we checked a good number of private hire vehicles to ensure the public are safe when using them.”
http://goo.gl/p6xml3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO
On Monday night, a taxi jumped a curb and smashed into the glass doors of Terminal 3 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
There were no reported injuries during the incident.
According to NBC Chicago, the taxi that crashed into the doors of the airport Monday night at around 5:30 p.m. local time was a Toyota Prius marked with the company name “Dispatch Taxi Affiliation.”
Chicago police told NBC that there were no travelers injured in O'Hare Airport during the crash and the man driving the taxi refused medical treatment at the scene. Authorities say the driver was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
http://goo.gl/gqjh5Y
Previously, only black cabs could be given the nod to pull over, while private taxi companies had to be booked in advance
New rules for taxis in Belfast mean that you’ll now be able to hail any cab from the city centre.
Within a two-mile radius, and during certain time periods, all taxis - not just black cabs - can be hailed at will from today (Tuesday, May 31).
Previously, only black cabs could be given the nod to pull over, while private taxi companies had to be booked in advance.
The catch is that it’s only at peak times - from midnight on Friday and Saturday until 6am the following days.
Former Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said when announcing the move: “What consumers want is a modern well regulated taxi service which they can access much easier at peak times, easier access for people with disabilities, where the fares are clearly indicated and where a maximum fare prevails.
“What I am doing is exactly that. I am modernising and improving the regulations for the taxi industry including licensing requirements, accessibility standards and installation of taxi meters and imposition of maximum fares.
“Anyone trying to hail a taxi from midnight on a Friday or Saturday night within the Belfast Zone will be able to do so by waving down established private hire taxi firms rather than having to pre-book.
“In effect, these changes will mean that people in the north will get a much better taxi service.”
http://goo.gl/aYH709
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxi with ‘dangerous part’ removed from Aylesbury’s roads during operation in which nine out of ten vehicles were found to have committed a licensing offence
A taxi check operation across Aylesbury Vale saw 32 out of 36 vehicles checked found to have committed a licensing offence - with one deemed unfit for the road because of a sharp edge sticking out of its bumper.
The Road Safety Officer for Bucks stopped private hire vehicles around Aylesbury, Wendover and Stoke Mandeville as part of the operation on Friday May 20.
On the vehicle with the dangerous part a district council spokesman said: “It had to be removed from the road because a sharp edge was coming through the rear bumper.
“The vehicle is being repaired and once it has been re-checked and is deemed safe it will return to the road.”
A total of 36 vehicles were stopped and checked for defects by the Road Safety officer, and to establish the correct driving licence and insurance with the licensing officers from the district council checking the drivers for correct taxi documentation.
One driver was not insured under the restrictions on the insurance and received a fixed penalty notice for six points and £300 fine.
Offences included drivers not wearing ID badges and not displaying correct vehicle signage.
Drivers were given taxi enforcement points and 14 days in which to rectify the defect or face further action.
A district council spokesman added that there were likely to be ‘more frequent checks’ because of the high number of vehicles where issues were identified.
PC Liz Johnson of Roads Policing said: “The operation was a success, we checked a good number of private hire vehicles to ensure the public are safe when using them.”
http://goo.gl/p6xml3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO
On Monday night, a taxi jumped a curb and smashed into the glass doors of Terminal 3 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
There were no reported injuries during the incident.
According to NBC Chicago, the taxi that crashed into the doors of the airport Monday night at around 5:30 p.m. local time was a Toyota Prius marked with the company name “Dispatch Taxi Affiliation.”
Chicago police told NBC that there were no travelers injured in O'Hare Airport during the crash and the man driving the taxi refused medical treatment at the scene. Authorities say the driver was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
http://goo.gl/gqjh5Y
Monday 30 May 2016
UBER has announced that it is expanding its car-share service in central London as it tries to convince commuters to leave their cars at home.
The company has said that passengers will be able to request its UberPool service, where commuters travelling in the same direction share a journey, in all of zones one and two in the capital, as well as Heathrow Airport.
Uber is trying to attract more than one million customers who drive to work in London every day, and claims the expansion of the service can help reduce congestion and air pollution in the city.
The UberPool service was first launched in London at the end of 2015, shortly before the company said it had made one billion journeys since launching in 2010.
It is offering a £5 flat fare on weekdays from 5pm to midnight for the first two weeks of the expansion, it said.
Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, said: “The more people share their Uber journey with another Londoner the more we can help to reduce congestion and air pollution.
“That is why we are expanding uberPool and giving more Londoners the option to leave their own car at home and share an Uber to get from A to B instead. Getting more people into fewer cars is what UberPool is all about and why we want more Londoners to try it out.”
It comes days after the privately held company, which is currently valued at around $60bn (£41bn), revealed that it was taking investment from Toyota as part of a “strategic partnership” with the Japanese motor company.
Earlier this month, Google launched its own carpooling service, Waze Carpool, which is being tested in San Francisco’s Bay Area and will pose a direct challenge to Uber.
http://goo.gl/qiDjKG
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seems like an Uber driver is charged with a violent crime nearly every day. It’s not a stretch—just three days ago, we reported on a driver who was arrested for strangling a college student in a dorm parking lot. Now here we are again.
A 52-year-old Uber driver from Gaithersburg, Maryland has been charged with two counts of first degree attempted murder for trying to shoot police officers with a homemade gun. The driver, Jonathan Hemming, is also facing 17 additional assault, drug and weapons charges. According to WJLA, he has “an extensive criminal record” that includes weapons possession, arson, armed robbery, burglary, vehicle theft and more, yet Mr. Hemming had no problem passing the Uber background check.
The incident occurred last week when Montgomery County officers surrounded Mr. Hemming’s car to arrest him on a bench warrant for multiple drug charges. He allegedly resisted arrest and attempted, but failed, to fire at the heads of two detectives with one of the two weapons police say he had in the vehicle. After placing Mr. Hemming in handcuffs, officers also found a needle cap, a prescription vial, a syringe, rubber tie off straps, live shotgun shells, live handgun rounds, a pill bottle, a metal pill holder, a handcuff key, garden clippers and a pocket knife in his pants pockets. Although police say there were no Uber passengers in the car at the time, it was confirmed that was the vehicle he is assigned to drive for Uber.
When asked about Mr. Hemming at an unrelated Uber press conference, spokeswoman Meghan Joyce told ABC7, “I can say that we take this responsibility extraordinarily seriously.”
http://goo.gl/JzGt1s
The company has said that passengers will be able to request its UberPool service, where commuters travelling in the same direction share a journey, in all of zones one and two in the capital, as well as Heathrow Airport.
Uber is trying to attract more than one million customers who drive to work in London every day, and claims the expansion of the service can help reduce congestion and air pollution in the city.
The UberPool service was first launched in London at the end of 2015, shortly before the company said it had made one billion journeys since launching in 2010.
It is offering a £5 flat fare on weekdays from 5pm to midnight for the first two weeks of the expansion, it said.
Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, said: “The more people share their Uber journey with another Londoner the more we can help to reduce congestion and air pollution.
“That is why we are expanding uberPool and giving more Londoners the option to leave their own car at home and share an Uber to get from A to B instead. Getting more people into fewer cars is what UberPool is all about and why we want more Londoners to try it out.”
It comes days after the privately held company, which is currently valued at around $60bn (£41bn), revealed that it was taking investment from Toyota as part of a “strategic partnership” with the Japanese motor company.
Earlier this month, Google launched its own carpooling service, Waze Carpool, which is being tested in San Francisco’s Bay Area and will pose a direct challenge to Uber.
http://goo.gl/qiDjKG
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seems like an Uber driver is charged with a violent crime nearly every day. It’s not a stretch—just three days ago, we reported on a driver who was arrested for strangling a college student in a dorm parking lot. Now here we are again.
A 52-year-old Uber driver from Gaithersburg, Maryland has been charged with two counts of first degree attempted murder for trying to shoot police officers with a homemade gun. The driver, Jonathan Hemming, is also facing 17 additional assault, drug and weapons charges. According to WJLA, he has “an extensive criminal record” that includes weapons possession, arson, armed robbery, burglary, vehicle theft and more, yet Mr. Hemming had no problem passing the Uber background check.
The incident occurred last week when Montgomery County officers surrounded Mr. Hemming’s car to arrest him on a bench warrant for multiple drug charges. He allegedly resisted arrest and attempted, but failed, to fire at the heads of two detectives with one of the two weapons police say he had in the vehicle. After placing Mr. Hemming in handcuffs, officers also found a needle cap, a prescription vial, a syringe, rubber tie off straps, live shotgun shells, live handgun rounds, a pill bottle, a metal pill holder, a handcuff key, garden clippers and a pocket knife in his pants pockets. Although police say there were no Uber passengers in the car at the time, it was confirmed that was the vehicle he is assigned to drive for Uber.
When asked about Mr. Hemming at an unrelated Uber press conference, spokeswoman Meghan Joyce told ABC7, “I can say that we take this responsibility extraordinarily seriously.”
http://goo.gl/JzGt1s
Friday 27 May 2016
Uberk have a solution to Customers dislike of surge pricing. Do not tell them anymore.
---------------------
Don’t worry, Uber fans. The new-age taxi company has heard your complaints.
It knows you don’t like surge pricing, so it’s experimenting with getting rid of it. Hooray, right?
Well, maybe you shouldn’t get too excited. It turns out Uber isn’t exactly eliminating the premium you have to pay for taking a ride at certain times and in certain places. Instead, the company has decided to just hide the fact, to make it less transparent that you are in effect paying a surge price.
The company has moved away from identifying surge pricing to users with its UberPool service, Quartz reported. That service attempts to create ad hoc carpools of Uber users heading in similar directions at the same time. Instead of showing Pool users the lightning bolt symbol that indicates when surge pricing is in effect or notifying them that they are paying some multiple of Uber’s regular rates, the company just gives them a simple price quote.
But by testing the service multiple times during the day, Quartz was able to show that Pool prices weren’t fixed, that the company’s surge pricing was still basically in effect, it just wasn’t alerting users to the fact.
Josh Mohrer, general manager of Uber’s New York operations, confirmed to Quartz that prices for UberPool do fluctuate depending on demand, but the company isn’t showing users how much extra they’re paying during peak periods.
“So is that ‘surge pricing?’ Yes and no,” Mohrer told Quartz.
Umm, let me answer that for you, Josh — Yes, it is!
Uber appears to be testing a similar idea with its regular private hired car service too, Quartz reported. If customers try to use Uber in Chicago, Uber’s app doesn’t tell them whether surge pricing is in place. Instead, it just flashes users a simple price quote.
While Uber is making its pricing less transparent for users, it isn’t similarly hobbling drivers, Quartz reported. They can still see in their version of the app when and where surge pricing is in place and the amount of the premium customers are paying.
Interestingly, Quartz’s report puts a positive spin on Uber’s moves. The reason people don’t like surge pricing, the Quartz report seems to imply, is not because they feel like they’re being gouged by the company when they most need a ride, or that Uber appears to be taking advantage of their desperation. No, no, nothing like that. The real problem is just that users are aware of the fact that surge pricing is in place. Take away that knowledge, and — bingo! — customers are much happier.
http://goo.gl/4HepuM
----------------------------------------------------------------
UBERK SAN DIEGO
An Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger earlier this year will face additional charges, including an accusation that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl.
John Sanchez, 53, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon, and 10News learned he is suspected in five other sexual assault cases.
In late February, a woman told police that an Uber driver, later identified as Sanchez, sexually assaulted her while she was on a first date. Following the reported incident, Uber immediately suspended Sanchez and barred him from driving for the company.
After an investigation, Sanchez was arrested in March on suspicion of sexual assault.
Authorities told 10News that Sanchez now faces an additional five counts of rape of an unconscious person, charges of giving drugs to a minor and accusations that he told a victim or witness not to go to authorities.
According to authorities, all of the alleged attacks happened in the city of San Diego. However, investigators believe only the most recent alleged attack happened while Sanchez drove for Uber.
An Uber spokesperson told 10News the company did a standard criminal background check on Sanchez prior to hiring him. The spokesperson added that the company would not change their protocol in light of the new allegations against Sanchez.
"Uber takes safety incidents like this very seriously, and our thoughts are with the victim and her family. Uber immediately removed this driver-partner from the platform following our initial contact with the El Cajon Police Department. We have been working closely with law enforcement to assist their investigation," the Uber spokesperson said.
http://goo.gl/hZOmoT
--------------------------------------------------------------
RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL has agreed to increase taxi numbers to meet unmet public demand.An additional 21 taxi licences will be granted in addition to the current total of 214 licensed taxis.
The decision was made at a meeting of the council’s regulatory Functions Board (on Thursday May 26).
The change is the key response to a wide-ranging survey commissioned by Renfrewshire Council into taxi demand which highlighted the issue of journeys from Paisley town centre on weekends after midnight.
The independent survey concluded ‘that there is significant unmet demand for taxis in Renfrewshire.’
In addition to public surveys and consultation with the taxi trade and local business, the councillors also considered the public benefit of increasing the number of taxis.
The analysis found that, while there were generally sufficient taxis available to cater for demand, there was a shortfall of taxis on Friday and Saturday nights in Paisley.
Councillor John Hood, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Regulatory Functions Policy Board, said: “The independent consultation obtained a wide range of evidence on how best to meet taxi demand and address the persistent problems at weekends.
“Our decision-making process has benefited from detailed, up to the minute independent research.
“The Board fully considered all the evidence and we decided that an increase of 21 taxis would be the best way of improving service.
“I believe councillors have taken forward a balanced, proportionate and effective response to resolve the persistent issue of unmet demand and we will continue to monitor the outcome of the changes.”
It is likely that the first of the additional licences could be awarded at the June meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s Regulatory Functions Board.
As part of the proposals to improve taxi service, the board will also investigate and consult on the setting up of an expanded taxi rank in the town’s New Street.
Both the taxi trade and the police feel this would be better placed to serve Paisley’s night time economy.
http://goo.gl/o1tH4d
---------------------
Don’t worry, Uber fans. The new-age taxi company has heard your complaints.
It knows you don’t like surge pricing, so it’s experimenting with getting rid of it. Hooray, right?
Well, maybe you shouldn’t get too excited. It turns out Uber isn’t exactly eliminating the premium you have to pay for taking a ride at certain times and in certain places. Instead, the company has decided to just hide the fact, to make it less transparent that you are in effect paying a surge price.
The company has moved away from identifying surge pricing to users with its UberPool service, Quartz reported. That service attempts to create ad hoc carpools of Uber users heading in similar directions at the same time. Instead of showing Pool users the lightning bolt symbol that indicates when surge pricing is in effect or notifying them that they are paying some multiple of Uber’s regular rates, the company just gives them a simple price quote.
But by testing the service multiple times during the day, Quartz was able to show that Pool prices weren’t fixed, that the company’s surge pricing was still basically in effect, it just wasn’t alerting users to the fact.
Josh Mohrer, general manager of Uber’s New York operations, confirmed to Quartz that prices for UberPool do fluctuate depending on demand, but the company isn’t showing users how much extra they’re paying during peak periods.
“So is that ‘surge pricing?’ Yes and no,” Mohrer told Quartz.
Umm, let me answer that for you, Josh — Yes, it is!
Uber appears to be testing a similar idea with its regular private hired car service too, Quartz reported. If customers try to use Uber in Chicago, Uber’s app doesn’t tell them whether surge pricing is in place. Instead, it just flashes users a simple price quote.
While Uber is making its pricing less transparent for users, it isn’t similarly hobbling drivers, Quartz reported. They can still see in their version of the app when and where surge pricing is in place and the amount of the premium customers are paying.
Interestingly, Quartz’s report puts a positive spin on Uber’s moves. The reason people don’t like surge pricing, the Quartz report seems to imply, is not because they feel like they’re being gouged by the company when they most need a ride, or that Uber appears to be taking advantage of their desperation. No, no, nothing like that. The real problem is just that users are aware of the fact that surge pricing is in place. Take away that knowledge, and — bingo! — customers are much happier.
http://goo.gl/4HepuM
----------------------------------------------------------------
UBERK SAN DIEGO
An Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger earlier this year will face additional charges, including an accusation that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl.
John Sanchez, 53, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon, and 10News learned he is suspected in five other sexual assault cases.
In late February, a woman told police that an Uber driver, later identified as Sanchez, sexually assaulted her while she was on a first date. Following the reported incident, Uber immediately suspended Sanchez and barred him from driving for the company.
After an investigation, Sanchez was arrested in March on suspicion of sexual assault.
Authorities told 10News that Sanchez now faces an additional five counts of rape of an unconscious person, charges of giving drugs to a minor and accusations that he told a victim or witness not to go to authorities.
According to authorities, all of the alleged attacks happened in the city of San Diego. However, investigators believe only the most recent alleged attack happened while Sanchez drove for Uber.
An Uber spokesperson told 10News the company did a standard criminal background check on Sanchez prior to hiring him. The spokesperson added that the company would not change their protocol in light of the new allegations against Sanchez.
"Uber takes safety incidents like this very seriously, and our thoughts are with the victim and her family. Uber immediately removed this driver-partner from the platform following our initial contact with the El Cajon Police Department. We have been working closely with law enforcement to assist their investigation," the Uber spokesperson said.
http://goo.gl/hZOmoT
--------------------------------------------------------------
RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL has agreed to increase taxi numbers to meet unmet public demand.An additional 21 taxi licences will be granted in addition to the current total of 214 licensed taxis.
The decision was made at a meeting of the council’s regulatory Functions Board (on Thursday May 26).
The change is the key response to a wide-ranging survey commissioned by Renfrewshire Council into taxi demand which highlighted the issue of journeys from Paisley town centre on weekends after midnight.
The independent survey concluded ‘that there is significant unmet demand for taxis in Renfrewshire.’
In addition to public surveys and consultation with the taxi trade and local business, the councillors also considered the public benefit of increasing the number of taxis.
The analysis found that, while there were generally sufficient taxis available to cater for demand, there was a shortfall of taxis on Friday and Saturday nights in Paisley.
Councillor John Hood, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Regulatory Functions Policy Board, said: “The independent consultation obtained a wide range of evidence on how best to meet taxi demand and address the persistent problems at weekends.
“Our decision-making process has benefited from detailed, up to the minute independent research.
“The Board fully considered all the evidence and we decided that an increase of 21 taxis would be the best way of improving service.
“I believe councillors have taken forward a balanced, proportionate and effective response to resolve the persistent issue of unmet demand and we will continue to monitor the outcome of the changes.”
It is likely that the first of the additional licences could be awarded at the June meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s Regulatory Functions Board.
As part of the proposals to improve taxi service, the board will also investigate and consult on the setting up of an expanded taxi rank in the town’s New Street.
Both the taxi trade and the police feel this would be better placed to serve Paisley’s night time economy.
http://goo.gl/o1tH4d
An open Letter from a Dismissed Addison Lee driver.
LETTER TO ADDISON LEE’S DRIVERS
By: Michaell Lange,
London, 25/05/16 –
I just woke up feeling the hungover from yesterday’s (24) events. It was a long and tense day. I woke up at 4am as usual, for a 5am pick up and worked until 9:30 when I logged off and made my way to Regent’s Park where we gathered for the demonstration before driving down to Berkeley Square for a 12 noon protest outside Carlyle Group’s office. The atmosphere was great. It is good to see when people get united for a common cause, and I was feeling really proud to be part of that. Some of the drivers were applauding the drivers arriving at the gathering point. These are brave men and women I respect dearly!
At Berkeley Square everything was going accordingly to the plan. No violence, no threats or insulting shouting but instead, a loud and clear message that we are not happy with the way our beloved company Addison Lee has been managed by Carlyle Group. Everybody behaved in a proper manner. I was vigilant to any signs of trouble, but there weren’t any. From Berkeley Square we drove down to Parliament Square via Trafalgar Square.
The protest at Parliament Square was mostly silence and lasted for about 20 minutes before we dispersed. Some drivers did sound their car’s horn before being advised not to do so. Although, it was nothing like the protest at Berkeley Sq. Some of the noise was actually coming from other vehicles either supporting us or complaining about us. Otherwise it was completely silent.
After the protests each driver went their own way, but things were about to turn nasty. I received a call from the driver’s liaison asking me to go to the office. I went to the representatives group on Telegram just to find out that two other representatives had also been called in. However one of our Reps have been allegedly told by Addlee officials that Addison Lee’s CEO were waiting to talk to us, so I felt optimistic about it.
Once we got to the office it felt like they were all over the place. It did look chaotic and those supposed to talk to us were clearly distressed. The atmosphere was so tense that I was still feeling sick the morning after. It was clear that the second demonstration struck the core of Addison Lee/Carlyle management. Incredibly, it was still not enough to make them willing to talk to us. Instead, they have done the last thing any serious and ethical company would ever do.
Since the beginning of this movement, I was totally aware that this struggle was going to get nasty. And yesterday it did. I cannot express more how proud I am for those who conquered their fears yesterday and came to the demonstration at Berkeley Sq to pacifically protest against what in my view, is an huge injustice and an attack against our values and pride we always had of Addison Lee.
After the demonstration yesterday, Carlyle/Addison Lee high management started what they think is the solution for the drivers revolt. One by one, representatives and other drivers, allegedly blacked-listed by the company for highlighting the unfairness of their activities, were unfairly targeted and sacked by Addison Lee.
No previous contact were made, neither to negotiate or to resolve the dispute. No warnings or talks, just a direct and unjustifiable sack! It was in my view, a clear display of a centuries old tactic of beating people up into submission. But the world has moved away from those dark periods. Now, in the 21st century, some hedge funds and big corporations are using the same tactics to bring people, governments and in many cases, entire countries into submission. What they haven’t realised yet is that like during colonialism, those tactics failed and they will continue to fail today. Mahatma Gandhi, probably the biggest symbol of that resistance once said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”.
My fellow drivers, we have been through the phases where we have been ignored by them and laughed at by them. Now they are fighting us, and as Gandhi once said, now we will win it! We can’t ignore this fight! Like in any battle, those at the front line will be the first to be shot at, but these front liners should inspire others who will take their places, and the battle will continue to rage until a fair solution can be achieved. Me, together with some other fellow drivers were shot at yesterday. But we are still alive because in this battle they cannot kill us. Not even silence us.
Fear is a human being thing I understand. I feel fear too. Like many of you, I have a family to provide for. But we cannot allow fear to take control of our lives and make us run away from those responsible for all this misery. They must be stopped! We must stand the ground and fight against this injustice. My family and your family deserve better! Addison Lee deserves better! Remember that we, the drivers, are the real Addison Lee! Those at the high management are just investors looking for their returns, which I also understand and it isn’t wrong. Let’s be clear here, we want people to invest in Addison Lee and maximise their return as much as possible. We want Addison Lee to be successful! What we reject is the idea that we have to pay for all the cost of those investments. We are happy to see investors interested in our company, but they also need to understand that without drivers, there is no return for their investments!
We should continue to be proud to work for Addison Lee as we should continue to offer our customers the best minicab service in the UK.
However, we must fight off any potential investor who only see importance in their own return. Investors like Carlyle Group are destroying our brand and our livelihood for the benefit of themselves and we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. We will continue to challenge Carlyle management until they return our money. They should know by now that the only way they can get their investment back, is by given back the money taken from Addison Lee drivers. If they continue to refuse to sit down and negotiate, I feel sorry for their shareholders because there will be no returns from their investments, there will be only losses. Moreover, Carlyle’s reputation is well on the line here, and that should be another good reason for them to resolve these problem as quick and wisely as possible. So far, Carlyle Group has shown a complete lack of such virtues. It is very unfortunate that we have to come this low and yet be refused access to Carlyle management. Let’s be clear, there is no other way, and there is no way back from here.
Best Regards!
LETTER TO ADDISON LEE’S DRIVERS
By: Michaell Lange,
London, 25/05/16 –
I just woke up feeling the hungover from yesterday’s (24) events. It was a long and tense day. I woke up at 4am as usual, for a 5am pick up and worked until 9:30 when I logged off and made my way to Regent’s Park where we gathered for the demonstration before driving down to Berkeley Square for a 12 noon protest outside Carlyle Group’s office. The atmosphere was great. It is good to see when people get united for a common cause, and I was feeling really proud to be part of that. Some of the drivers were applauding the drivers arriving at the gathering point. These are brave men and women I respect dearly!
At Berkeley Square everything was going accordingly to the plan. No violence, no threats or insulting shouting but instead, a loud and clear message that we are not happy with the way our beloved company Addison Lee has been managed by Carlyle Group. Everybody behaved in a proper manner. I was vigilant to any signs of trouble, but there weren’t any. From Berkeley Square we drove down to Parliament Square via Trafalgar Square.
The protest at Parliament Square was mostly silence and lasted for about 20 minutes before we dispersed. Some drivers did sound their car’s horn before being advised not to do so. Although, it was nothing like the protest at Berkeley Sq. Some of the noise was actually coming from other vehicles either supporting us or complaining about us. Otherwise it was completely silent.
After the protests each driver went their own way, but things were about to turn nasty. I received a call from the driver’s liaison asking me to go to the office. I went to the representatives group on Telegram just to find out that two other representatives had also been called in. However one of our Reps have been allegedly told by Addlee officials that Addison Lee’s CEO were waiting to talk to us, so I felt optimistic about it.
Once we got to the office it felt like they were all over the place. It did look chaotic and those supposed to talk to us were clearly distressed. The atmosphere was so tense that I was still feeling sick the morning after. It was clear that the second demonstration struck the core of Addison Lee/Carlyle management. Incredibly, it was still not enough to make them willing to talk to us. Instead, they have done the last thing any serious and ethical company would ever do.
Since the beginning of this movement, I was totally aware that this struggle was going to get nasty. And yesterday it did. I cannot express more how proud I am for those who conquered their fears yesterday and came to the demonstration at Berkeley Sq to pacifically protest against what in my view, is an huge injustice and an attack against our values and pride we always had of Addison Lee.
After the demonstration yesterday, Carlyle/Addison Lee high management started what they think is the solution for the drivers revolt. One by one, representatives and other drivers, allegedly blacked-listed by the company for highlighting the unfairness of their activities, were unfairly targeted and sacked by Addison Lee.
No previous contact were made, neither to negotiate or to resolve the dispute. No warnings or talks, just a direct and unjustifiable sack! It was in my view, a clear display of a centuries old tactic of beating people up into submission. But the world has moved away from those dark periods. Now, in the 21st century, some hedge funds and big corporations are using the same tactics to bring people, governments and in many cases, entire countries into submission. What they haven’t realised yet is that like during colonialism, those tactics failed and they will continue to fail today. Mahatma Gandhi, probably the biggest symbol of that resistance once said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”.
My fellow drivers, we have been through the phases where we have been ignored by them and laughed at by them. Now they are fighting us, and as Gandhi once said, now we will win it! We can’t ignore this fight! Like in any battle, those at the front line will be the first to be shot at, but these front liners should inspire others who will take their places, and the battle will continue to rage until a fair solution can be achieved. Me, together with some other fellow drivers were shot at yesterday. But we are still alive because in this battle they cannot kill us. Not even silence us.
Fear is a human being thing I understand. I feel fear too. Like many of you, I have a family to provide for. But we cannot allow fear to take control of our lives and make us run away from those responsible for all this misery. They must be stopped! We must stand the ground and fight against this injustice. My family and your family deserve better! Addison Lee deserves better! Remember that we, the drivers, are the real Addison Lee! Those at the high management are just investors looking for their returns, which I also understand and it isn’t wrong. Let’s be clear here, we want people to invest in Addison Lee and maximise their return as much as possible. We want Addison Lee to be successful! What we reject is the idea that we have to pay for all the cost of those investments. We are happy to see investors interested in our company, but they also need to understand that without drivers, there is no return for their investments!
We should continue to be proud to work for Addison Lee as we should continue to offer our customers the best minicab service in the UK.
However, we must fight off any potential investor who only see importance in their own return. Investors like Carlyle Group are destroying our brand and our livelihood for the benefit of themselves and we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. We will continue to challenge Carlyle management until they return our money. They should know by now that the only way they can get their investment back, is by given back the money taken from Addison Lee drivers. If they continue to refuse to sit down and negotiate, I feel sorry for their shareholders because there will be no returns from their investments, there will be only losses. Moreover, Carlyle’s reputation is well on the line here, and that should be another good reason for them to resolve these problem as quick and wisely as possible. So far, Carlyle Group has shown a complete lack of such virtues. It is very unfortunate that we have to come this low and yet be refused access to Carlyle management. Let’s be clear, there is no other way, and there is no way back from here.
Best Regards!
Thursday 26 May 2016
Uber Do Not Actually Accept Bookings, But The Drivers Do...
An Open Letter To Chief Licensing Officer (Head of Licensing) Sheffield From Lee Ward.
To Stephen Lonnia, Chief Licensing Officer (Head of Licensing) Sheffield
I bring to your attention several drivers that had their badges revoked and are currently going through the court process of illegally plying for hire, and no doubt afterwards for then driving without insurance.
I am sure that you are aware that these drivers had their licenses revoked and or suspended with immediate effect due to them being classed as a danger to the public by the Sheffield Licensing Committee and therefore the licenses were revoked/suspended under section 61(2)(a) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976
I am now going to ask why, if this is the case of the drivers, have Uber not also been dealt with in the same manner for the exact same reasons?
Uber are a peer to peer company (P2P), they openly admit that they are not a transport provider. Section 3 of the Users Terms and Conditions states;
Uber UK accepts PHV Bookings acting as disclosed agent for the Transportation Provider (as principal). Such acceptance by Uber UK as agent for the Transportation Provider gives rise to a contract for the provision to you of transportation services between you and the Transportation Provider (the "Transportation Contract"). For the avoidance of doubt: Uber UK does not itself provide transportation services, and is not a Transportation Provider. Uber UK acts as intermediary between you and the Transportation Provider. You acknowledge and agree that the provision to you of transportation services by the Transportation Provider is pursuant to the Transportation Contract and that Uber UK accepts your booking as agent for the Transportation Provider, but is not a party to that contract.
For the sake of clarity, your PHV Booking will be accepted and allocated to a Transportation Provider by Uber UK as holder of the relevant operator's licence. You should be aware that the Transportation Provider to which your PHV Booking is allocated and who provides the Transportation Services may be licensed in an area other than where the booking is requested or the Transportation Services are provided.
And as I am sure you are aware that the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 Section 56(1) states that;
For the purposes of this Part of this Act every contract for the hire of a private hire vehicle licensed under this Part of this Act shall be deemed to be made with the operator who accepted the booking for that vehicle whether or not he himself provided that vehicle.
After reading the summary of Judge Sean F Dunphy in the Ontario Court of State Justice in 2015.
It was very clear that a P2P service such as Uber do not actually accept the booking, but the driver does.
This has been proven quite easily by myself and a friend who is an Uber driver. We drove to the outskirts of Sheffield to ensure that no other Uber driver was close by and I requested a trip from the Uber App, which I could not make because no Uber cars were available and therefore Uber could not and did not accept my booking.
I then asked my friend to log into his Uber drivers App and make himself available for work, which he did. Sure enough I could now link myself to a driver on the Uber circuit, so I therefore requested a journey, but, I asked my friend to not accept the booking. Because he did not accept the booking the Uber App then told me to try again later, which is quite obvious that the booking was never accepted in the first place by Uber even though a driver and vehicle was in the area.
Again, this simply proves that what Judge Dunphy identified that it is the driver who accepts the booking and not Uber or any of its servers, companies registered under its umbrella or an employee of Uber that accepts the booking as an operator of private hire vehicles is by law required to do. The driver quite clearly accepts the booking and Uber then link the P2P request of the customer with the driver. Even if the driver accepts the booking and then chooses to decline the booking, the customer is then still without a booking being accepted because they have to try and get another driver to accept the booking by repeating the process.
This then means that every driver who accepts a booking by a user of the Uber App is actually plying for hire and as such is doing nothing legally different than the drivers who had their licenses suspended/revoked back in late 2015.
This then therefore leads me to request that Sheffield City Council revoke the Private Hire Operators license issued to Uber on the grounds that every journey that the public think is fully legal and therefore insured is in fact no different than plying for hire which will as you are aware, cancel the Private Hire insurance of the driver who collects them and takes them to the destination unknowingly breaking the law.
Another scenario that would support this action is that if a friend of mine has an operators license and puts his phone on divert to my mobile so that I can take calls and then cover the work I would also, as a driver, be accepting the work and not him himself who is a licensed operator.
I must advise you and the Sheffield City Council that ALPHA see this matter of such a high importance to the safety of the public travelling in Sheffield that if no action is taken by yourselves by the close of business on Friday the 28th of May 2016 then we will have no option other than to take this information both locally and nationally to the the media and other bodies that will find this information relevant.
Please respond to this email as soon as possible and not like previous emails that I have sent to yourself.
Yours
Lee Ward
ALPHA Chairman
----------------------------------------
An Open Letter To Chief Licensing Officer (Head of Licensing) Sheffield From Lee Ward.
To Stephen Lonnia, Chief Licensing Officer (Head of Licensing) Sheffield
I bring to your attention several drivers that had their badges revoked and are currently going through the court process of illegally plying for hire, and no doubt afterwards for then driving without insurance.
I am sure that you are aware that these drivers had their licenses revoked and or suspended with immediate effect due to them being classed as a danger to the public by the Sheffield Licensing Committee and therefore the licenses were revoked/suspended under section 61(2)(a) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976
I am now going to ask why, if this is the case of the drivers, have Uber not also been dealt with in the same manner for the exact same reasons?
Uber are a peer to peer company (P2P), they openly admit that they are not a transport provider. Section 3 of the Users Terms and Conditions states;
Uber UK accepts PHV Bookings acting as disclosed agent for the Transportation Provider (as principal). Such acceptance by Uber UK as agent for the Transportation Provider gives rise to a contract for the provision to you of transportation services between you and the Transportation Provider (the "Transportation Contract"). For the avoidance of doubt: Uber UK does not itself provide transportation services, and is not a Transportation Provider. Uber UK acts as intermediary between you and the Transportation Provider. You acknowledge and agree that the provision to you of transportation services by the Transportation Provider is pursuant to the Transportation Contract and that Uber UK accepts your booking as agent for the Transportation Provider, but is not a party to that contract.
For the sake of clarity, your PHV Booking will be accepted and allocated to a Transportation Provider by Uber UK as holder of the relevant operator's licence. You should be aware that the Transportation Provider to which your PHV Booking is allocated and who provides the Transportation Services may be licensed in an area other than where the booking is requested or the Transportation Services are provided.
And as I am sure you are aware that the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 Section 56(1) states that;
For the purposes of this Part of this Act every contract for the hire of a private hire vehicle licensed under this Part of this Act shall be deemed to be made with the operator who accepted the booking for that vehicle whether or not he himself provided that vehicle.
After reading the summary of Judge Sean F Dunphy in the Ontario Court of State Justice in 2015.
It was very clear that a P2P service such as Uber do not actually accept the booking, but the driver does.
This has been proven quite easily by myself and a friend who is an Uber driver. We drove to the outskirts of Sheffield to ensure that no other Uber driver was close by and I requested a trip from the Uber App, which I could not make because no Uber cars were available and therefore Uber could not and did not accept my booking.
I then asked my friend to log into his Uber drivers App and make himself available for work, which he did. Sure enough I could now link myself to a driver on the Uber circuit, so I therefore requested a journey, but, I asked my friend to not accept the booking. Because he did not accept the booking the Uber App then told me to try again later, which is quite obvious that the booking was never accepted in the first place by Uber even though a driver and vehicle was in the area.
Again, this simply proves that what Judge Dunphy identified that it is the driver who accepts the booking and not Uber or any of its servers, companies registered under its umbrella or an employee of Uber that accepts the booking as an operator of private hire vehicles is by law required to do. The driver quite clearly accepts the booking and Uber then link the P2P request of the customer with the driver. Even if the driver accepts the booking and then chooses to decline the booking, the customer is then still without a booking being accepted because they have to try and get another driver to accept the booking by repeating the process.
This then means that every driver who accepts a booking by a user of the Uber App is actually plying for hire and as such is doing nothing legally different than the drivers who had their licenses suspended/revoked back in late 2015.
This then therefore leads me to request that Sheffield City Council revoke the Private Hire Operators license issued to Uber on the grounds that every journey that the public think is fully legal and therefore insured is in fact no different than plying for hire which will as you are aware, cancel the Private Hire insurance of the driver who collects them and takes them to the destination unknowingly breaking the law.
Another scenario that would support this action is that if a friend of mine has an operators license and puts his phone on divert to my mobile so that I can take calls and then cover the work I would also, as a driver, be accepting the work and not him himself who is a licensed operator.
I must advise you and the Sheffield City Council that ALPHA see this matter of such a high importance to the safety of the public travelling in Sheffield that if no action is taken by yourselves by the close of business on Friday the 28th of May 2016 then we will have no option other than to take this information both locally and nationally to the the media and other bodies that will find this information relevant.
Please respond to this email as soon as possible and not like previous emails that I have sent to yourself.
Yours
Lee Ward
ALPHA Chairman
----------------------------------------
UBER take pay day loans to a new level
There is growing concern among Uber drivers, both current and prospective, about a recent pilot program launched by the company that offers new drivers $1,000 in advance, and then requires repayment via monthly earnings.
The Advance Pay program launched in early April 2016 as part of a partnership between Uber and Clearbanc, a financial services startup that focuses on self-employed professionals. Made available only to new drivers in California and Michigan, the initiative spots drivers $1,000 up front, with as much as 25 percent of that amount available immediately, and the rest coming after the driver completes their first trip.
For repayment, the company takes a portion of revenue the driver generates each week until the balance is paid off. The percentage, which can be as much as 50 percent of a driver's income, is determined up front and doesn't vary over time. A driver can also pay back the advance directly to Clearbanc to wipe out the balance.
The advance is "interest free," according to the terms provided by Clearbanc, but that's where things start get a little confusing.
Recent uproar surrounding the Advance Pay program claimed that, in addition to the weekly repayment percentage, the company also charges a fee of $2 per day if there is a balance on the account. The report came from a user on Uber-People.net—a popular forum for drivers on ride-hailing platforms—and was circulated on Twitter.
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/uber-clearbanc-advance-pay/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK
Taxi owners:" City is forcing us to buy cars that don't exist"
An accelerated schedule for wheelchair accessibility catches Nissan by surprise and leaves medallions without cars
The taxi industry, already grumbling about the city's mandate that half of all yellow cabs be wheelchair accessible by 2020, has a new complaint: The Taxi & Limousine Commission has sped up the conversion schedule—even though the ramp-equipped cars they must buy are not available.
Cabs have a designated life expectancy of anywhere from three to seven years. Medallion owners are upset that cars that have a retirement date of 2018, for instance—but need to come off the road now because they keep breaking down—must be replaced with a wheelchair-accessible model.
And the owners are blowing a gasket because Nissan, which won the contract to supply city cabs, hasn't produced enough of its NV200 accessible vehicles to meet the increased demand.
According to one fleet owner, who declined to be named, Nissan is telling the taxi industry that it will not have a consistent supply of the model until next February. Meanwhile, the owner has medallions that are sitting idle because they've been designated for accessible vehicles ahead of their retirement date, and none can be found.
Medallion owners can apply for a waiver to use one of a handful of other models, but the only one they consider acceptable—the Toyota Sienna—is also unavailable, taxi insiders say.
A TLC spokesman—who denied that the conversion schedule had been sped up—said the agency is aware of the issue and is in discussions with Nissan about how to deal with it. He said the commission is also working with taxi owners.
"We are issuing appropriate extensions to all owners who are specifically affected," the spokesman wrote in an email.
The fleet owner said the extension did him no good because it was for cars that are no longer reliable. He described it as a chance to throw good money after bad.
In other cases, "medallions may already be in storage, so there is no vehicle retirement to extend," noted David Beier, president of the Committee for Taxi Safety, an industry advocacy group. "Unless the TLC allows us to put and keep a nonaccessible vehicle on the road until that car's retirement date, extensions will not help."
According to Beier, the rules for independent medallions—which are owned singly and make up about 40% of the fleet—call for lotteries to be held in the year before cars are due to be retired.
But instead of waiting until 2017, for example, to hold a lottery for cabs due to retire in 2018—half of which would end up converting to wheelchair-accessible models—the TLC held lotteries for all of them starting in 2015 and concluding in January 2016.
The medallions that were chosen to convert must do so whenever their cars come off the road, regardless of their retirement schedule. That means cabs that go out of service because of maintenance issues or an accident must be replaced at once with accessible models.
The shortage stems partly from the TLC "changing the interpretation of its rules" regarding vehicle retirement for independent medallions, Beier said. "Nissan did a very limited production run, based on what they believed was going to be the need for vehicles, which was premised on the retirement dates. And now, all of a sudden, there's this great need for them."
A Nissan spokesman acknowledged a shortage, saying, "Sales of wheelchair-accessible taxis have been strong," with close to 200 put into service in 2016.
"The strong demand has challenged availability of the wheelchair-accessible taxi, but we are working to address this with our conversion partner, Braun, and the TLC," he said, referring to the company that retrofits the standard "Taxi of Tomorrow" NV200s to accommodate wheelchairs.
Wheelchair accessibility has been a sore point with the industry, which is struggling to win back drivers from Uber, Lyft and other app-based vehicle services. Fleet and medallion owners object to the tech-savvy rivals having no accessibility requirements for their own cars. The services connect wheelchair users to accessible vehicles offered by other providers, including taxis.
Cabdrivers receive added fees to pick up wheelchair passengers and can earn several thousand dollars more a year, according to the TLC. But the vehicles still are not popular with many drivers, who believe their heavier weight adds to maintenance issues and higher gas costs. Some drivers also worry about losing money by spending time loading and unloading a wheelchair.
Beier estimates that as many as 500 medallions could be idle by the end of the year as a result of the policy change and the shortage of vehicles. That would represent about 3.5% of yellow cabs.
A TLC spokesman denied that the agency had "changed the interpretation" of retirement date rules for independent medallions.
"The simple answer is no, we didn't," he said.
http://goo.gl/lc0MwG
There is growing concern among Uber drivers, both current and prospective, about a recent pilot program launched by the company that offers new drivers $1,000 in advance, and then requires repayment via monthly earnings.
The Advance Pay program launched in early April 2016 as part of a partnership between Uber and Clearbanc, a financial services startup that focuses on self-employed professionals. Made available only to new drivers in California and Michigan, the initiative spots drivers $1,000 up front, with as much as 25 percent of that amount available immediately, and the rest coming after the driver completes their first trip.
For repayment, the company takes a portion of revenue the driver generates each week until the balance is paid off. The percentage, which can be as much as 50 percent of a driver's income, is determined up front and doesn't vary over time. A driver can also pay back the advance directly to Clearbanc to wipe out the balance.
The advance is "interest free," according to the terms provided by Clearbanc, but that's where things start get a little confusing.
Recent uproar surrounding the Advance Pay program claimed that, in addition to the weekly repayment percentage, the company also charges a fee of $2 per day if there is a balance on the account. The report came from a user on Uber-People.net—a popular forum for drivers on ride-hailing platforms—and was circulated on Twitter.
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/uber-clearbanc-advance-pay/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK
Taxi owners:" City is forcing us to buy cars that don't exist"
An accelerated schedule for wheelchair accessibility catches Nissan by surprise and leaves medallions without cars
The taxi industry, already grumbling about the city's mandate that half of all yellow cabs be wheelchair accessible by 2020, has a new complaint: The Taxi & Limousine Commission has sped up the conversion schedule—even though the ramp-equipped cars they must buy are not available.
Cabs have a designated life expectancy of anywhere from three to seven years. Medallion owners are upset that cars that have a retirement date of 2018, for instance—but need to come off the road now because they keep breaking down—must be replaced with a wheelchair-accessible model.
And the owners are blowing a gasket because Nissan, which won the contract to supply city cabs, hasn't produced enough of its NV200 accessible vehicles to meet the increased demand.
According to one fleet owner, who declined to be named, Nissan is telling the taxi industry that it will not have a consistent supply of the model until next February. Meanwhile, the owner has medallions that are sitting idle because they've been designated for accessible vehicles ahead of their retirement date, and none can be found.
Medallion owners can apply for a waiver to use one of a handful of other models, but the only one they consider acceptable—the Toyota Sienna—is also unavailable, taxi insiders say.
A TLC spokesman—who denied that the conversion schedule had been sped up—said the agency is aware of the issue and is in discussions with Nissan about how to deal with it. He said the commission is also working with taxi owners.
"We are issuing appropriate extensions to all owners who are specifically affected," the spokesman wrote in an email.
The fleet owner said the extension did him no good because it was for cars that are no longer reliable. He described it as a chance to throw good money after bad.
In other cases, "medallions may already be in storage, so there is no vehicle retirement to extend," noted David Beier, president of the Committee for Taxi Safety, an industry advocacy group. "Unless the TLC allows us to put and keep a nonaccessible vehicle on the road until that car's retirement date, extensions will not help."
According to Beier, the rules for independent medallions—which are owned singly and make up about 40% of the fleet—call for lotteries to be held in the year before cars are due to be retired.
But instead of waiting until 2017, for example, to hold a lottery for cabs due to retire in 2018—half of which would end up converting to wheelchair-accessible models—the TLC held lotteries for all of them starting in 2015 and concluding in January 2016.
The medallions that were chosen to convert must do so whenever their cars come off the road, regardless of their retirement schedule. That means cabs that go out of service because of maintenance issues or an accident must be replaced at once with accessible models.
The shortage stems partly from the TLC "changing the interpretation of its rules" regarding vehicle retirement for independent medallions, Beier said. "Nissan did a very limited production run, based on what they believed was going to be the need for vehicles, which was premised on the retirement dates. And now, all of a sudden, there's this great need for them."
A Nissan spokesman acknowledged a shortage, saying, "Sales of wheelchair-accessible taxis have been strong," with close to 200 put into service in 2016.
"The strong demand has challenged availability of the wheelchair-accessible taxi, but we are working to address this with our conversion partner, Braun, and the TLC," he said, referring to the company that retrofits the standard "Taxi of Tomorrow" NV200s to accommodate wheelchairs.
Wheelchair accessibility has been a sore point with the industry, which is struggling to win back drivers from Uber, Lyft and other app-based vehicle services. Fleet and medallion owners object to the tech-savvy rivals having no accessibility requirements for their own cars. The services connect wheelchair users to accessible vehicles offered by other providers, including taxis.
Cabdrivers receive added fees to pick up wheelchair passengers and can earn several thousand dollars more a year, according to the TLC. But the vehicles still are not popular with many drivers, who believe their heavier weight adds to maintenance issues and higher gas costs. Some drivers also worry about losing money by spending time loading and unloading a wheelchair.
Beier estimates that as many as 500 medallions could be idle by the end of the year as a result of the policy change and the shortage of vehicles. That would represent about 3.5% of yellow cabs.
A TLC spokesman denied that the agency had "changed the interpretation" of retirement date rules for independent medallions.
"The simple answer is no, we didn't," he said.
http://goo.gl/lc0MwG
Wednesday 25 May 2016
QUEBEC – Ride-hailing giant Uber is willing to temporarily suspend operations in Quebec in order to find common ground with the province and is prepared to offer various concessions, a company representative said Tuesday.
Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, general manager of Uber Montreal, said the U.S.-based firm would charge clients taxes on every ride — at the source — which he said would provide state coffers with about $3 million a year.
His comments came on the first day of hearings into Bill 100, which would force Uber drivers to conform to the same laws as cabbies with regard to regulations such as permits and taxes.
Uber says the bill, if enacted as is, would mean the end of the company’s operations in Quebec.
Guillemette said Uber would be willing to charge an added tax of seven cents a ride that would go to Quebec’s automobile insurance board.
Additionally, Uber is open to letting traditional taxis have exclusive access to reserved lanes, government contracts and rides hailed from the street.
Guillemette said that if Uber can sit down with the government to talk and find common ground, “we are ready to suspend our operations during that time.”
“We are showing good faith,” he told the hearing.
Transport Minister Jacques Daoust and other members of Quebec’s legislature reacted skeptically to Guillemette’s offer.
“In terms of how much taxi permits represent, it’s very marginal,” Daoust said.
Daoust noted Quebec’s taxi industry was founded on the idea of supply management and that the government enforces a system whereby people have to pay — sometimes as much as $200,000 — for a permit to drive a taxi.
He said that if the government allowed Uber to operate without buying into the permit system, the value of existing permits would erode.
“There is a large population of immigrants often more educated than the job requires, and they bought the right to work in the land that welcomed them,” he said. “The minute we add to (the existing permits) the value of their taxi licence necessarily diminishes.”
Earlier in the day, the head of a Quebec taxi lobby said Uber has the attitude of a “hardened criminal” and is stealing money from the state.
“Just watch them,” Guy Chevrette told reporters, explaining how he believes Uber will try to stall the passing of the bill. “It’s theft. Today, watch them go, with crocodile tears, like hardened criminals. They will pull out all the stops to try and waste time.”
According to Chevrette’s organization, the government has two choices: pass Bill 100, which would force Uber out of the Quebec market, or compensate all the drivers and companies that have paid for taxi licences.
He said paying back drivers could cost as much as $1.4 billion.
http://goo.gl/GmCMyz
--------------------------------------------------------------
Toyota
Two major automotive brands have independently announced significant investment in two taxi apps.
The first is Toyota, which has entered into a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Uber, alongside a strategic investment in the app business.
Under the deal, a program will be launched enabling drivers to lease vehicles from Toyota Financial Services and cover their payments through earnings from working as an Uber driver, building on Uber’s current Vehicle Solutions program.
Their collaboration will also extend to the development of in-car apps for Uber drivers, establishing a fleet program to sell Toyota and Lexus vehicles to Uber’s drivers, and sharing knowledge to accelerating the research efforts of each company.
For Uber, the motivation seems to be developing driverless cars – and it reportedly wasn’t too fussy about which automaker it partnered with. According to Recode, Uber has been in talks with a number of automotive brands over the past year, including General Motors and Ford, in an attempt to strike a deal like the one it has now announced with Toyota.
The second investment comes from Volkswagen, which has put $300m (£204m) into Gett, an Israel-based ride sharing app currently focused on European cities. The investment is intended to help Gett strengthen its position in the market, and support a joint growth strategy focused on ‘collaborative development and market expansion of on-demand mobility services in Europe and beyond’.
It’s part of Volkswagen’s goal to generate a ‘substantial share of sales revenue’ from ride sharing and other mobility services by 2025.
These services represent a potentially enormous new revenue source for automotive brands, so it’s no surprise that Toyota seems to be looking in the same direction. “Ridesharing has huge potential in terms of shaping the future of mobility,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of Toyota – and they’re not alone.
General Motors signed a similar partnership with Lyft back in January, investing $500m in the ride-hailing app. Meanwhile, Ford has launched the FordPass app, collecting a range of mobility services under a single umbrella.
Ford’s Consumer experience marketing head Jörg Ullrich recently told Mobile Marketing: “Our core business right now is selling vehicles, but we want to get into that emerging business and build it slowly but steadily. It’s not going to happen overnight, but there’s a lot of those little things which tie together. Car sharing, parking tickets, gas stations – if you add all those revenue streams together there’s a lot of business out there that we’re not even touching at the moment.”
http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/toyota-volkswagen-invest-taxi-apps-uber-gett/?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
GUIDE DOGS
Hundreds of people who use guide dogs lobbied Parliament today - calling for tougher sentences for taxi and minicab drivers who illegally refuse to take the animals in their vehicles.
The charity Guide Dogs claims some are let off with a £50 fine and a warning, which they call "woefully inadequate".
Under the Equality Act, it's illegal for taxis and minicabs not to let Sue and Conway in.
Refusals can lead to a driver having their licence removed and fines up of to £1000 pounds. But a report by the Guide Dog charity shows prosecutions are rare and some local authorities are fining as little as £50 pounds.
http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2016-05-25/guide-dog-owners-protest-against-taxi-discrimination/?
------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON
The world's first amphibious taxi service could be set to hit London's highways and waterways as state-of-the-art vehicles took to the Thames to show how they can offer another option for public transportation.
Amphibian vehicle experts Gibbs Technologies demonstrated its high-speed amphibian (HSA) fleet in front of taxi company executives and potential licensees in London in a bid to showcase how road-to-water cabs could revolutionise the capital's transportation scene.
An open-top, four-wheel-drive vehicle called the Humdinga was presented as the best application for a viable taxi option. Able to carry up to nine passengers it drove from the roads around North Greenwich straight into the choppy waters of the Thames where it transformed in five seconds into a sea-faring vessel capable of hitting 30mph. From there it took passengers down the Thames at speed, seemlessly returning to dry land up a designated ramp where it continued its journey on the road.
Not many cities in the world benefit from having a river cutting through it but London is an ideal set-up to offer an alternative option to congested roads and packed public transport by taking to the water highway. A high-speed amphibious vehicle would not only be a useful option for taxis but also emergency services, which could offer rapid response for bypassing city traffic.
"We are delighted to have had the opportunity to show our vehicles here as it really does allow us to demonstrate the technology in all of our vehicles and shows their value to potential licensees," said Neil Jenkins, CEO of Gibbs Technologies. "We are very excited to be in talks with a number of potential licensees worldwide, but particularly, businesses in the UK with a view to developing the first-ever high-speed amphibian river taxi which could truly revolutionise transport in London," he added.
London already offers public transportation on the Thames in the form of its Thames Clipper boat services, however these are an interval service rather than a hail-and-ride offering. They also only depart from certain points along the Thames and are not as fast as the Humdinga demonstrated by Gibbs. The amphibious vehicle also has the advantage of being able to drive back onto dry land to reach the customer's destination, meaning in theory they could reach almost any destination in London via a combination of road and water.
As well as the Humdinga, Gibbs Technologies also showed off other HSA vehicles including a quad bike called the Quadski as well as an off-road buggy called the Terraquad. Its sports car has been around for a few years now.
With Uber looking at the possibility of rolling out self-driving taxis could we also be seeing an Uber Amphibian popping up on our smartphone app in the future? It is a tantalising thought and certainly something customers would not say no to – especially those who get caught up in the chaos of train delays and strikes. The question is whether the likes of Uber, Addison Lee or TfL were to jump on-board the amphibious route how much a ride would cost. At least, if none of the above are interested maybe they might want to stop off at Vauxhall and knock on the door of James Bond's MI5.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/worlds-first-high-speed-amphibious-taxi-service-could-revolutionise-londons-public-transport-1562015
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLISLE
A furious taxi driver has vowed to appeal against a parking ticket he was issued while picking up a disabled passenger.
A traffic warden issued Jimmy Shankland a £70 parking ticket as he waited for Jack and Jean Hood outside the post office on Scotch Street, Carlisle city centre, just before 11am on Friday.
Although Mr Shankland, 61, told the warden he was waiting for a disabled customer, his appeals made no difference.
“I have never been so angry and I could feel my heart pumping with anger,” said Mr Shankland, “I have never felt anything like it.”
Mr Hood, 88, is the sole carer for his 85-year-old wife, who is blind and has been in a wheelchair for two and a half years because she has difficulty walking.
The couple, who have been married for 63 years, were so upset by the incident they gave Mr Shankland £20 towards the fine.
Mr Hood said: “I thought it was very, very unfair for him. You couldn’t be there long because we came right down. He was just getting the door open.”
Once or twice a week, the couple, who live at Newlaithes Avenue, Morton, Carlisle, get dropped off at Marks & Spencer and picked up outside the post office by taxis so that they can do their shopping.
“I have never had any bother there before and we go there often,” said Mr Hood.
Mr Shankland has driven taxis in Carlisle for 16 years but said he has never known anything like it. He said you might expect such things to happen in London but not in Carlisle.
He said: “In my mind, in my estimation, [the warden] was discriminating against that disabled person.”
Mr Shankland argued that taxi drivers can wait for disabled passengers on double yellow lines and have a duty to their disabled customer to ensure they do not discriminate against them.
He said: “If I hadn’t picked the customer up, I would have been in breach of my licensing badge, then I’d have been discriminating against a wheelchair user. I would have been suspended with no pay.”
Wayne Casey, the chairman of the Carlisle Taxi Drivers’ Association, supported Mr Shankland.
He said: “I think the driver is entitled to wait as long as it takes to get a customer in and out of a vehicle. There’s a bit of a difference between parking and waiting.”
By law, taxi drivers cannot refuse to give disabled people in wheelchairs a lift or charge them extra.
Mr Shankland said he would be appealing against his ticket to Cumbria County Council.
He was issued a parking ticket last month when he nipped into the bakers for a roll but he paid the fine as he admitted it was his fault for parking on double lines.
A spokesman for the county council said: “The council carries out on-street parking enforcement in order to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and prevent inconsiderate parking.
“In this particular case, if Mr Shankland wishes to challenge the ticket, he can do so through the council’s normal appeals process.
“The council investigates every challenge on its own merits and mitigating circumstances will be taken into account. In instances where the council decides there is no case for a ticket to be cancelled, drivers still have the opportunity to make a further appeal to the independent adjudicator at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.”
http://goo.gl/rCQx9V
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HAMPSHIRE
TAXI drivers have spoken of their anger after a string of attacks on their vehicles.
Nearly 20 cars have had their windows smashed in a spate of vandalism between May 8 and 17.
Police have linked several of the crimes and are still investigating further incidents of damage.
Faizul Fahim, 37, had his City Wide taxi windows smashed overnight twice, first one window then two.
Both happened in Hanway Road, in Buckland.
Speaking to The News Faizul said: ‘It’s really bad, it’s cost me £200 and £115 the first time – it’s really frustrating.
‘I was absolutely shocked. It’s not just my taxi, there were four broken on Monday.’
Stuart Hogg, 40, of Paulsgrove, co-owns a fleet of 20 taxis – of which 11 have been vandalised in two weeks.
He said: ‘It’s a nightmare and all 11 of ours didn’t have a single thing stolen.
‘It’s been happening over and over again.
‘Our insurance is going to go up and fares are going to go up. It does affect everybody.’
He added he does not think the culprit is anybody connected with the taxi trade.
Hampshire police have confirmed about 17 reports but are investigating more that could be linked.
In most cases nothing was taken but £200 was stolen from one taxi in Brownlow Close, in Buckland, overnight between May 8 to 9.
On the same night, windows were smashed on cars parked in Hanway Road and Crown Street.
More vehicles were targeted overnight on May 16 to 17 in Washington Road, Buckingham Green, George Street, Outram Road, Little George Street and two were taxis targeted in Nutfield Close.
Five taxis had their windows smashed in Northern Parade, Hilsea, on May 18.
Driver Forhad Mahmud, 38, of Southsea, added his car was damaged in Clive Road overnight on May 10 to 11.
He said: ‘I had the MoT booked for the next day and couldn’t go to the MoT.
‘I had to pay for the windows, it’s very frustrating. I’ve got two windows broken, they’re smashed for no reason.’
A Hampshire police spokeswoman said: ‘I can confirm police are investigating a number of linked incidents.’
n A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of theft from motor vehicle and criminal damage and was bailed until June 20.
http://goo.gl/xERJWz
Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, general manager of Uber Montreal, said the U.S.-based firm would charge clients taxes on every ride — at the source — which he said would provide state coffers with about $3 million a year.
His comments came on the first day of hearings into Bill 100, which would force Uber drivers to conform to the same laws as cabbies with regard to regulations such as permits and taxes.
Uber says the bill, if enacted as is, would mean the end of the company’s operations in Quebec.
Guillemette said Uber would be willing to charge an added tax of seven cents a ride that would go to Quebec’s automobile insurance board.
Additionally, Uber is open to letting traditional taxis have exclusive access to reserved lanes, government contracts and rides hailed from the street.
Guillemette said that if Uber can sit down with the government to talk and find common ground, “we are ready to suspend our operations during that time.”
“We are showing good faith,” he told the hearing.
Transport Minister Jacques Daoust and other members of Quebec’s legislature reacted skeptically to Guillemette’s offer.
“In terms of how much taxi permits represent, it’s very marginal,” Daoust said.
Daoust noted Quebec’s taxi industry was founded on the idea of supply management and that the government enforces a system whereby people have to pay — sometimes as much as $200,000 — for a permit to drive a taxi.
He said that if the government allowed Uber to operate without buying into the permit system, the value of existing permits would erode.
“There is a large population of immigrants often more educated than the job requires, and they bought the right to work in the land that welcomed them,” he said. “The minute we add to (the existing permits) the value of their taxi licence necessarily diminishes.”
Earlier in the day, the head of a Quebec taxi lobby said Uber has the attitude of a “hardened criminal” and is stealing money from the state.
“Just watch them,” Guy Chevrette told reporters, explaining how he believes Uber will try to stall the passing of the bill. “It’s theft. Today, watch them go, with crocodile tears, like hardened criminals. They will pull out all the stops to try and waste time.”
According to Chevrette’s organization, the government has two choices: pass Bill 100, which would force Uber out of the Quebec market, or compensate all the drivers and companies that have paid for taxi licences.
He said paying back drivers could cost as much as $1.4 billion.
http://goo.gl/GmCMyz
--------------------------------------------------------------
Toyota
Two major automotive brands have independently announced significant investment in two taxi apps.
The first is Toyota, which has entered into a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Uber, alongside a strategic investment in the app business.
Under the deal, a program will be launched enabling drivers to lease vehicles from Toyota Financial Services and cover their payments through earnings from working as an Uber driver, building on Uber’s current Vehicle Solutions program.
Their collaboration will also extend to the development of in-car apps for Uber drivers, establishing a fleet program to sell Toyota and Lexus vehicles to Uber’s drivers, and sharing knowledge to accelerating the research efforts of each company.
For Uber, the motivation seems to be developing driverless cars – and it reportedly wasn’t too fussy about which automaker it partnered with. According to Recode, Uber has been in talks with a number of automotive brands over the past year, including General Motors and Ford, in an attempt to strike a deal like the one it has now announced with Toyota.
The second investment comes from Volkswagen, which has put $300m (£204m) into Gett, an Israel-based ride sharing app currently focused on European cities. The investment is intended to help Gett strengthen its position in the market, and support a joint growth strategy focused on ‘collaborative development and market expansion of on-demand mobility services in Europe and beyond’.
It’s part of Volkswagen’s goal to generate a ‘substantial share of sales revenue’ from ride sharing and other mobility services by 2025.
These services represent a potentially enormous new revenue source for automotive brands, so it’s no surprise that Toyota seems to be looking in the same direction. “Ridesharing has huge potential in terms of shaping the future of mobility,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of Toyota – and they’re not alone.
General Motors signed a similar partnership with Lyft back in January, investing $500m in the ride-hailing app. Meanwhile, Ford has launched the FordPass app, collecting a range of mobility services under a single umbrella.
Ford’s Consumer experience marketing head Jörg Ullrich recently told Mobile Marketing: “Our core business right now is selling vehicles, but we want to get into that emerging business and build it slowly but steadily. It’s not going to happen overnight, but there’s a lot of those little things which tie together. Car sharing, parking tickets, gas stations – if you add all those revenue streams together there’s a lot of business out there that we’re not even touching at the moment.”
http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/toyota-volkswagen-invest-taxi-apps-uber-gett/?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
GUIDE DOGS
Hundreds of people who use guide dogs lobbied Parliament today - calling for tougher sentences for taxi and minicab drivers who illegally refuse to take the animals in their vehicles.
The charity Guide Dogs claims some are let off with a £50 fine and a warning, which they call "woefully inadequate".
Under the Equality Act, it's illegal for taxis and minicabs not to let Sue and Conway in.
Refusals can lead to a driver having their licence removed and fines up of to £1000 pounds. But a report by the Guide Dog charity shows prosecutions are rare and some local authorities are fining as little as £50 pounds.
http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2016-05-25/guide-dog-owners-protest-against-taxi-discrimination/?
------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON
The world's first amphibious taxi service could be set to hit London's highways and waterways as state-of-the-art vehicles took to the Thames to show how they can offer another option for public transportation.
Amphibian vehicle experts Gibbs Technologies demonstrated its high-speed amphibian (HSA) fleet in front of taxi company executives and potential licensees in London in a bid to showcase how road-to-water cabs could revolutionise the capital's transportation scene.
An open-top, four-wheel-drive vehicle called the Humdinga was presented as the best application for a viable taxi option. Able to carry up to nine passengers it drove from the roads around North Greenwich straight into the choppy waters of the Thames where it transformed in five seconds into a sea-faring vessel capable of hitting 30mph. From there it took passengers down the Thames at speed, seemlessly returning to dry land up a designated ramp where it continued its journey on the road.
Not many cities in the world benefit from having a river cutting through it but London is an ideal set-up to offer an alternative option to congested roads and packed public transport by taking to the water highway. A high-speed amphibious vehicle would not only be a useful option for taxis but also emergency services, which could offer rapid response for bypassing city traffic.
"We are delighted to have had the opportunity to show our vehicles here as it really does allow us to demonstrate the technology in all of our vehicles and shows their value to potential licensees," said Neil Jenkins, CEO of Gibbs Technologies. "We are very excited to be in talks with a number of potential licensees worldwide, but particularly, businesses in the UK with a view to developing the first-ever high-speed amphibian river taxi which could truly revolutionise transport in London," he added.
London already offers public transportation on the Thames in the form of its Thames Clipper boat services, however these are an interval service rather than a hail-and-ride offering. They also only depart from certain points along the Thames and are not as fast as the Humdinga demonstrated by Gibbs. The amphibious vehicle also has the advantage of being able to drive back onto dry land to reach the customer's destination, meaning in theory they could reach almost any destination in London via a combination of road and water.
As well as the Humdinga, Gibbs Technologies also showed off other HSA vehicles including a quad bike called the Quadski as well as an off-road buggy called the Terraquad. Its sports car has been around for a few years now.
With Uber looking at the possibility of rolling out self-driving taxis could we also be seeing an Uber Amphibian popping up on our smartphone app in the future? It is a tantalising thought and certainly something customers would not say no to – especially those who get caught up in the chaos of train delays and strikes. The question is whether the likes of Uber, Addison Lee or TfL were to jump on-board the amphibious route how much a ride would cost. At least, if none of the above are interested maybe they might want to stop off at Vauxhall and knock on the door of James Bond's MI5.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/worlds-first-high-speed-amphibious-taxi-service-could-revolutionise-londons-public-transport-1562015
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLISLE
A furious taxi driver has vowed to appeal against a parking ticket he was issued while picking up a disabled passenger.
A traffic warden issued Jimmy Shankland a £70 parking ticket as he waited for Jack and Jean Hood outside the post office on Scotch Street, Carlisle city centre, just before 11am on Friday.
Although Mr Shankland, 61, told the warden he was waiting for a disabled customer, his appeals made no difference.
“I have never been so angry and I could feel my heart pumping with anger,” said Mr Shankland, “I have never felt anything like it.”
Mr Hood, 88, is the sole carer for his 85-year-old wife, who is blind and has been in a wheelchair for two and a half years because she has difficulty walking.
The couple, who have been married for 63 years, were so upset by the incident they gave Mr Shankland £20 towards the fine.
Mr Hood said: “I thought it was very, very unfair for him. You couldn’t be there long because we came right down. He was just getting the door open.”
Once or twice a week, the couple, who live at Newlaithes Avenue, Morton, Carlisle, get dropped off at Marks & Spencer and picked up outside the post office by taxis so that they can do their shopping.
“I have never had any bother there before and we go there often,” said Mr Hood.
Mr Shankland has driven taxis in Carlisle for 16 years but said he has never known anything like it. He said you might expect such things to happen in London but not in Carlisle.
He said: “In my mind, in my estimation, [the warden] was discriminating against that disabled person.”
Mr Shankland argued that taxi drivers can wait for disabled passengers on double yellow lines and have a duty to their disabled customer to ensure they do not discriminate against them.
He said: “If I hadn’t picked the customer up, I would have been in breach of my licensing badge, then I’d have been discriminating against a wheelchair user. I would have been suspended with no pay.”
Wayne Casey, the chairman of the Carlisle Taxi Drivers’ Association, supported Mr Shankland.
He said: “I think the driver is entitled to wait as long as it takes to get a customer in and out of a vehicle. There’s a bit of a difference between parking and waiting.”
By law, taxi drivers cannot refuse to give disabled people in wheelchairs a lift or charge them extra.
Mr Shankland said he would be appealing against his ticket to Cumbria County Council.
He was issued a parking ticket last month when he nipped into the bakers for a roll but he paid the fine as he admitted it was his fault for parking on double lines.
A spokesman for the county council said: “The council carries out on-street parking enforcement in order to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and prevent inconsiderate parking.
“In this particular case, if Mr Shankland wishes to challenge the ticket, he can do so through the council’s normal appeals process.
“The council investigates every challenge on its own merits and mitigating circumstances will be taken into account. In instances where the council decides there is no case for a ticket to be cancelled, drivers still have the opportunity to make a further appeal to the independent adjudicator at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.”
http://goo.gl/rCQx9V
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HAMPSHIRE
TAXI drivers have spoken of their anger after a string of attacks on their vehicles.
Nearly 20 cars have had their windows smashed in a spate of vandalism between May 8 and 17.
Police have linked several of the crimes and are still investigating further incidents of damage.
Faizul Fahim, 37, had his City Wide taxi windows smashed overnight twice, first one window then two.
Both happened in Hanway Road, in Buckland.
Speaking to The News Faizul said: ‘It’s really bad, it’s cost me £200 and £115 the first time – it’s really frustrating.
‘I was absolutely shocked. It’s not just my taxi, there were four broken on Monday.’
Stuart Hogg, 40, of Paulsgrove, co-owns a fleet of 20 taxis – of which 11 have been vandalised in two weeks.
He said: ‘It’s a nightmare and all 11 of ours didn’t have a single thing stolen.
‘It’s been happening over and over again.
‘Our insurance is going to go up and fares are going to go up. It does affect everybody.’
He added he does not think the culprit is anybody connected with the taxi trade.
Hampshire police have confirmed about 17 reports but are investigating more that could be linked.
In most cases nothing was taken but £200 was stolen from one taxi in Brownlow Close, in Buckland, overnight between May 8 to 9.
On the same night, windows were smashed on cars parked in Hanway Road and Crown Street.
More vehicles were targeted overnight on May 16 to 17 in Washington Road, Buckingham Green, George Street, Outram Road, Little George Street and two were taxis targeted in Nutfield Close.
Five taxis had their windows smashed in Northern Parade, Hilsea, on May 18.
Driver Forhad Mahmud, 38, of Southsea, added his car was damaged in Clive Road overnight on May 10 to 11.
He said: ‘I had the MoT booked for the next day and couldn’t go to the MoT.
‘I had to pay for the windows, it’s very frustrating. I’ve got two windows broken, they’re smashed for no reason.’
A Hampshire police spokeswoman said: ‘I can confirm police are investigating a number of linked incidents.’
n A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of theft from motor vehicle and criminal damage and was bailed until June 20.
http://goo.gl/xERJWz
Tuesday 24 May 2016
DUBLIN NORTH, A Killing Ground
A nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was riddled up to six times by a Kinahan hit squad in Dublin's north inner city yesterday.
Taxi driver Gareth Hutch, 35, was blasted several times in the head, neck and chest by two gunmen as he got into a black Volkswagen before 10am.
The assassins, both carrying handguns with silencers, approached Hutch at the Avondale House flat complex off North Cumberland Street and shot him beside his VW Passat.
Fatally injured, the father of one fell near the open car door and died.
As the capital was rocked by the seventh execution in the Hutch-Kinahan feud, it emerged:
HUTCH was desperate to move as he feared the Kinahans would try to kill him while his seven-year-old son was staying with him.
HIS cousin Ross witnessed the horror execution and chased after the killers.
THE crazed gunmen failed to start their BMW getaway car and left two handguns at the scene, and
THE brazen killers, one wearing a scarf, struck even though an armed Garda checkpoint was in operation just 200 metres away on Mountjoy Square.
A witness said: "Two guys jumped out of a car. Moments later we heard three or four shots.
"They had guns with silencers. They shot the guy by the window."
The witness, who ran to check on the victim, added: "I went over and I felt for a pulse but there was none.
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/taxi-driver-gareth-hutch-blasted-8043762?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORCESTER
POLICE caught a man carrying heroin and crack cocaine worth about £7,500 after stopping a taxi in Worcester, a court heard.
Atif Hussain, aged 20, of Glendower Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was acting as courier for the drugs, Worcester Crown Court was told.
Hussain admitted possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and was given two years' detention by Recorder Justin Wigoder.
William Dudley, prosecuting, said police had received intelligence about people traveling from Birmingham to Worcester to supply drugs.
And, on January 25, officers in plain clothes followed a Birmingham-based taxi, which stopped next to another cab in the Bath Road area.
Officers later stopped one of the taxis to find Hussain, a rear passenger, who accepted he had drugs.
He was caught with heroin worth just over £6,000 and crack cocaine valued at £1,390.
Martyn Keys, defending Hussain - who also admitted breaching a suspended prison sentence for battery- said he had been the courier for the drugs and was due to be paid £100 but never got the money.
Mr Keys also said Hussain had done a course in barbering while in prison and wanted to move on with his life.
http://goo.gl/8R4gcr
A nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was riddled up to six times by a Kinahan hit squad in Dublin's north inner city yesterday.
Taxi driver Gareth Hutch, 35, was blasted several times in the head, neck and chest by two gunmen as he got into a black Volkswagen before 10am.
The assassins, both carrying handguns with silencers, approached Hutch at the Avondale House flat complex off North Cumberland Street and shot him beside his VW Passat.
Fatally injured, the father of one fell near the open car door and died.
As the capital was rocked by the seventh execution in the Hutch-Kinahan feud, it emerged:
HUTCH was desperate to move as he feared the Kinahans would try to kill him while his seven-year-old son was staying with him.
HIS cousin Ross witnessed the horror execution and chased after the killers.
THE crazed gunmen failed to start their BMW getaway car and left two handguns at the scene, and
THE brazen killers, one wearing a scarf, struck even though an armed Garda checkpoint was in operation just 200 metres away on Mountjoy Square.
A witness said: "Two guys jumped out of a car. Moments later we heard three or four shots.
"They had guns with silencers. They shot the guy by the window."
The witness, who ran to check on the victim, added: "I went over and I felt for a pulse but there was none.
Detectives told the Irish Mirror the north inner city is now a "killing ground" for Kinahan hitmen intent on wiping out the Hutches and their families.
One said: "It is not just a feud anymore - this is a massacre. It's as simple as that.
"The Hutches are being taken out, one by one. The Kinahans have killed six - the Hutches just one, Davy Byrne, at the Regency Hotel.
"Gerry Hutch, the Monk, is reeling from this. And knows he could be next. He is top of the Kinahan hit list.
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/taxi-driver-gareth-hutch-blasted-8043762?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORCESTER
POLICE caught a man carrying heroin and crack cocaine worth about £7,500 after stopping a taxi in Worcester, a court heard.
Atif Hussain, aged 20, of Glendower Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was acting as courier for the drugs, Worcester Crown Court was told.
Hussain admitted possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and was given two years' detention by Recorder Justin Wigoder.
William Dudley, prosecuting, said police had received intelligence about people traveling from Birmingham to Worcester to supply drugs.
And, on January 25, officers in plain clothes followed a Birmingham-based taxi, which stopped next to another cab in the Bath Road area.
Officers later stopped one of the taxis to find Hussain, a rear passenger, who accepted he had drugs.
He was caught with heroin worth just over £6,000 and crack cocaine valued at £1,390.
Martyn Keys, defending Hussain - who also admitted breaching a suspended prison sentence for battery- said he had been the courier for the drugs and was due to be paid £100 but never got the money.
Mr Keys also said Hussain had done a course in barbering while in prison and wanted to move on with his life.
http://goo.gl/8R4gcr
GETT ready for PH Cars.
The on-demand transportation service continues to heat up, and today the spotlight is shining on a New York startup whose business is based primarily in Europe. Gett, a cab-hailing startup with operations across some 60 cities, is getting a $300 million investment from German car giant Volkswagen. VW plans to use the investment to spearhead its own move into ride-sharing, on-demand transportation and autonomous cars.
We still don’t have a valuation for Gett in the wake of the deal but we are trying to find out. In November, Haaretz, a publication out of Israel — Gett has operations and an R&D center in the country — reported that Gett was looking for debt funding at a $2 billion valuation, having previously been valued at $575 million. We have confirmed with Gett’s co-founder and CEO Shahar Waiser that VW is the sole investor in this round.
Gett has now raised $520 million in funding — other investors include Access Industries and Kreos Capital — and it says it is profitable in several cities, with annual revenues of $500 million.
VW is Europe’s largest car maker, with other brands under its ownership including Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and many more. And while $300 million is no small sum of money and is a huge win for Gett, $300 million is a relatively small sum for VW, which reported revenues of $238 billion (€213 billion) in 2015.
But VW also posted a loss of $1.8 billion (€-1.582 billion) in that same period, in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal that affected 11 million vehicles, which came just on the heels of a previous scandal involving the company suppressing news about a security flaw in some of its vehicles. In that regard, VW investing in the next generation of transportation is one way for VW to point to the future and put some of that bad news behind it.
“Alongside our pioneering role in the automotive business, we aim to become one of the world’s leading mobility providers by 2025,” says Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, in a statement. “Within the framework of our future Strategy 2025, the partnership with Gett marks the first milestone for the Volkswagen Group on the road to providing integrated mobility solutions that spotlight our customers and their mobility needs.”
This is VW’s first investment into one of the fleet of startups that are building up the on-demand transportation market, but it’s not the first to work with them. Perhaps most notably, GM earlier this year put $500 million into another Uber competitor, Lyft, to build up its own business in this area, spearheaded by its launch of Maven and subsequent purchase of Cruise, the self-driving car startup. Further back, some car makers have tried to acquire their way into the market, such as when Daimler acquired RideScout in 2014.
Gett CEO Waiser, who co-founded the company with Roi More, tells us there are many reasons why the partnership makes sense: “The first is that we share the same footprint. The world’s largest car producer are the strongest in Europe, with a 25% market share across their brands. And Gett is strong in Europe too, available in 60 cities and this footprint is a good match to start.”
He adds that the companies also have the same profile in terms of users across both corporate and consumer users. Gett has deals with some 4,000 business customers and says some 30 percent of its revenues come from that market. “Now VW has the opportunity to offer mobility on demand not just for consumers but for corporate users,” he added.
The third is in the technology Gett has been building around big data and predictive algorithms, heat maps for demand and more. “When you look at what we are doing today you can recognise that this tech will be necessary when you go with autonomous cars,” he added.
Earlier this year, Gett launched a £6 flat-rate courier service in London to expand beyond taxi services, and it also consolidated some of its position by acquiring Radio Taxis, a rival firm.
http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/24/vw-invests-300m-in-uber-rival-gett-in-new-ride-sharing-partnership/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cabbies will have to pull over after driving 12 hours in any 24-hour period under rules proposed by New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH'-zee-oh) announced the proposed rules Tuesday and said they will keep sleep-deprived taxi drivers off the streets.
Under the new regulations, taxi drivers will not be allowed to pick up passengers for more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period. There will be a 72-hour limit in any seven-day period.
Drivers will have to take a break of at least eight hours before they can reset the 12-hour work clock and begin picking up fares again.
De Blasio calls the proposed rules "a practical and prudent approach."
The taxi commission will hold a hearing on the proposals on June 23.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nyc-proposes-rules-put-brakes-sleepy-taxi-drivers-181614304.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
GLASGOW
A MAN was killed by a bus seconds after he climbed out the window of a taxi as it drove along the M8.
Lyle Rushbury, 23, was travelling in the back of a black Peugeot E7 when an argument broke out over payment.
The Record understands the rear doors were locked as is standard practice when vehicles operated by Glasgow Taxis are in motion.
But to the driver's horror Lyle climbed out the window and landed on the carriageway.
Seconds later he was struck by a bus and pronounced dead at the scene.
The tragedy happened near Junction 15 at 12.30am this morning.
Lyle is believed to have flagged down the taxi in Glasgow city centre. But while driving along the M8 it is understood he became embroiled in a row with the driver over payment.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/tributes-pour-man-who-hit-8041439#ut3EBGeEO3h9ZLZ8.99
-------------------------------------------------------------
Car-sharing firm Uber is a “reliable” and “safe” form of transportation, the head of the company has said following reports that the Minister for Transport was advised not to allow the company to operate services using ordinary drivers in Ireland.
Kieran Harte, general manager of Uber for Ireland and Northern Ireland, said he was looking forward to continuing an open line of communication with Shane Ross about the affordability, safety and regulation of the Uber car-sharing service which would use ordinary drivers rather than taxi divers.
Uber , a substitute for taxi and limousine services, runs in cities all over the world.
The company, set up in San Francisco in 2009, signs up drivers to an online platform which allows them to accept bookings via an app to carry passengers. Drivers use their own cars, without being licensed taxi or limo drivers.
Briefing documents prepared by civil servants for the new minister for transport show that there is strong official resistance to facilitating the arrival of most Uber services.
UberPop, the service which allows ordinary drivers to carry passengers for money, has caused controversy throughout Europe, leading to protests from taxi drivers and has been banned in some countries.
At present, Irish law requires that anyone carrying passengers for money must have a taxi licence, and there is limited Uber service in Dublin run by existing holders of taxi licences.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/uber-car-sharing-is-safe-says-irish-head-of-firm-1.2657610
Taxi app Hailo has backed the Department of Transport's opposition to ride-sharing services using unlicensed drivers, like those offered by companies such as Uber in other countries.
Hailo's general manager for Ireland, Tim Arnold, said the current regulation was fit for purpose and Hailo exemplifies a company with the ability to innovate within the law.
"Ride-sharing, and the substantial lowering of standards that it would entail, amounts to a race to the bottom on quality and price that would jeopardise passenger safety," he said.
Last week media reports said that the new Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, had been strongly advised by his officials to not to allow car-sharing firm Uber to operate services using ordinary drivers rather than taxi drivers in Ireland.
Uber does operate in Ireland, but in order to comply with the law, its drivers must have a valid taxi licence.
The company has been seeking a relaxation of the rules to allow it to run a service similar to the one it does in others countries, where its drivers do not need to be licensed taxi drivers.
Hailo's Tim Arnold said Hailo has shown that it is possible to innovate and grow demand within existing taxi regulations.
His comments came as the company announced it had carried over 20 million passengers in Ireland since its launch here four years ago.
In 2015, the company carried out five million journeys, carrying 45,000 passengers a day.
http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2016/0524/790651-hailo-and-uber/
------------------------------------------------------------
MANCHESTER
Organisers of the Parklife 2016 music festival in Heaton Park next month have signed a deal to give new Uber uses a free ride.
Any new users signing up to the Uber app can get a first free ride up to the value of £15 by using the code 'PARKLIFE15'.
Uber has made huge stride in the Manchester market since launching in May 2014 - and the new deal is thought to be a move to combat unlicensed taxi drivers and private firms charging fares that are higher than normal due to the demand of the 65,000 people expected at the festival each day.
The festival takes place in Heaton Park on June 11 and 12, with headliners including the Chemical Brothers, Major Lazer and Bastille.
Parklife have also offered a free spot on the guest list to Manchester United legend Eric Cantona as a present for his 50th birthday. The Frenchman, nicknamed The King by Manchester United fans, played 143 games for the Reds between 1992 and 1997.
Parklife tweeted a picture of Cantona sat on the throne to wish him a happy birthday and offered a free ticket if he dropped them a line.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/parklife-2016-uber-deal-cantona-11379305
http://goo.gl/KWEIPb
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARRINGTON
TWO brothers who operated as unlicensed taxi drivers have received driving bans.
Paul and Andrew Stafford have both been disqualified from driving for a period of six months after they were found to be driving taxis without licenses.
The pair, from Callands and Old Hall, had been operating vehicles in the Cheshire West and Chester area.
Appearing at court on Monday, Gresford Close resident Paul Stafford, 41, was fined £153 a received eight penalty points after admitting two offences and was also ordered to pay £125 costs and a victim surcharge of £20.
Andrew Stafford, 35, admitted three offences and was fined £253 and given eight penalty points.
The Livingstone Close resident was also ordered to pay £125 costs and a £29 victim surcharge.
A licensed operator was convicted and sentenced at an earlier hearing in connection with the duo’s offences.
Maria Byrne, director of place operations for Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “This case sends out a clear message that the authority will not tolerate unlicensed vehicles or drivers putting the travelling public at risk.
“We had no option other than to instigate prosecution proceedings.
“Licensed vehicles have plates attached to prove they are licensed which include an expiry date and vehicle licence number – drivers also have to wear a photo ID badge provided by the council.”
http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/14513104.Brothers_banned_from_driving_for_operating_as_unlicensed_taxi_drivers/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The on-demand transportation service continues to heat up, and today the spotlight is shining on a New York startup whose business is based primarily in Europe. Gett, a cab-hailing startup with operations across some 60 cities, is getting a $300 million investment from German car giant Volkswagen. VW plans to use the investment to spearhead its own move into ride-sharing, on-demand transportation and autonomous cars.
We still don’t have a valuation for Gett in the wake of the deal but we are trying to find out. In November, Haaretz, a publication out of Israel — Gett has operations and an R&D center in the country — reported that Gett was looking for debt funding at a $2 billion valuation, having previously been valued at $575 million. We have confirmed with Gett’s co-founder and CEO Shahar Waiser that VW is the sole investor in this round.
Gett has now raised $520 million in funding — other investors include Access Industries and Kreos Capital — and it says it is profitable in several cities, with annual revenues of $500 million.
VW is Europe’s largest car maker, with other brands under its ownership including Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and many more. And while $300 million is no small sum of money and is a huge win for Gett, $300 million is a relatively small sum for VW, which reported revenues of $238 billion (€213 billion) in 2015.
But VW also posted a loss of $1.8 billion (€-1.582 billion) in that same period, in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal that affected 11 million vehicles, which came just on the heels of a previous scandal involving the company suppressing news about a security flaw in some of its vehicles. In that regard, VW investing in the next generation of transportation is one way for VW to point to the future and put some of that bad news behind it.
“Alongside our pioneering role in the automotive business, we aim to become one of the world’s leading mobility providers by 2025,” says Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, in a statement. “Within the framework of our future Strategy 2025, the partnership with Gett marks the first milestone for the Volkswagen Group on the road to providing integrated mobility solutions that spotlight our customers and their mobility needs.”
This is VW’s first investment into one of the fleet of startups that are building up the on-demand transportation market, but it’s not the first to work with them. Perhaps most notably, GM earlier this year put $500 million into another Uber competitor, Lyft, to build up its own business in this area, spearheaded by its launch of Maven and subsequent purchase of Cruise, the self-driving car startup. Further back, some car makers have tried to acquire their way into the market, such as when Daimler acquired RideScout in 2014.
Gett CEO Waiser, who co-founded the company with Roi More, tells us there are many reasons why the partnership makes sense: “The first is that we share the same footprint. The world’s largest car producer are the strongest in Europe, with a 25% market share across their brands. And Gett is strong in Europe too, available in 60 cities and this footprint is a good match to start.”
He adds that the companies also have the same profile in terms of users across both corporate and consumer users. Gett has deals with some 4,000 business customers and says some 30 percent of its revenues come from that market. “Now VW has the opportunity to offer mobility on demand not just for consumers but for corporate users,” he added.
The third is in the technology Gett has been building around big data and predictive algorithms, heat maps for demand and more. “When you look at what we are doing today you can recognise that this tech will be necessary when you go with autonomous cars,” he added.
Earlier this year, Gett launched a £6 flat-rate courier service in London to expand beyond taxi services, and it also consolidated some of its position by acquiring Radio Taxis, a rival firm.
http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/24/vw-invests-300m-in-uber-rival-gett-in-new-ride-sharing-partnership/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cabbies will have to pull over after driving 12 hours in any 24-hour period under rules proposed by New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH'-zee-oh) announced the proposed rules Tuesday and said they will keep sleep-deprived taxi drivers off the streets.
Under the new regulations, taxi drivers will not be allowed to pick up passengers for more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period. There will be a 72-hour limit in any seven-day period.
Drivers will have to take a break of at least eight hours before they can reset the 12-hour work clock and begin picking up fares again.
De Blasio calls the proposed rules "a practical and prudent approach."
The taxi commission will hold a hearing on the proposals on June 23.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nyc-proposes-rules-put-brakes-sleepy-taxi-drivers-181614304.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
GLASGOW
A MAN was killed by a bus seconds after he climbed out the window of a taxi as it drove along the M8.
Lyle Rushbury, 23, was travelling in the back of a black Peugeot E7 when an argument broke out over payment.
The Record understands the rear doors were locked as is standard practice when vehicles operated by Glasgow Taxis are in motion.
But to the driver's horror Lyle climbed out the window and landed on the carriageway.
Seconds later he was struck by a bus and pronounced dead at the scene.
The tragedy happened near Junction 15 at 12.30am this morning.
Lyle is believed to have flagged down the taxi in Glasgow city centre. But while driving along the M8 it is understood he became embroiled in a row with the driver over payment.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/tributes-pour-man-who-hit-8041439#ut3EBGeEO3h9ZLZ8.99
-------------------------------------------------------------
Car-sharing firm Uber is a “reliable” and “safe” form of transportation, the head of the company has said following reports that the Minister for Transport was advised not to allow the company to operate services using ordinary drivers in Ireland.
Kieran Harte, general manager of Uber for Ireland and Northern Ireland, said he was looking forward to continuing an open line of communication with Shane Ross about the affordability, safety and regulation of the Uber car-sharing service which would use ordinary drivers rather than taxi divers.
Uber , a substitute for taxi and limousine services, runs in cities all over the world.
The company, set up in San Francisco in 2009, signs up drivers to an online platform which allows them to accept bookings via an app to carry passengers. Drivers use their own cars, without being licensed taxi or limo drivers.
Briefing documents prepared by civil servants for the new minister for transport show that there is strong official resistance to facilitating the arrival of most Uber services.
UberPop, the service which allows ordinary drivers to carry passengers for money, has caused controversy throughout Europe, leading to protests from taxi drivers and has been banned in some countries.
At present, Irish law requires that anyone carrying passengers for money must have a taxi licence, and there is limited Uber service in Dublin run by existing holders of taxi licences.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/uber-car-sharing-is-safe-says-irish-head-of-firm-1.2657610
Taxi app Hailo has backed the Department of Transport's opposition to ride-sharing services using unlicensed drivers, like those offered by companies such as Uber in other countries.
Hailo's general manager for Ireland, Tim Arnold, said the current regulation was fit for purpose and Hailo exemplifies a company with the ability to innovate within the law.
"Ride-sharing, and the substantial lowering of standards that it would entail, amounts to a race to the bottom on quality and price that would jeopardise passenger safety," he said.
Last week media reports said that the new Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, had been strongly advised by his officials to not to allow car-sharing firm Uber to operate services using ordinary drivers rather than taxi drivers in Ireland.
Uber does operate in Ireland, but in order to comply with the law, its drivers must have a valid taxi licence.
The company has been seeking a relaxation of the rules to allow it to run a service similar to the one it does in others countries, where its drivers do not need to be licensed taxi drivers.
Hailo's Tim Arnold said Hailo has shown that it is possible to innovate and grow demand within existing taxi regulations.
His comments came as the company announced it had carried over 20 million passengers in Ireland since its launch here four years ago.
In 2015, the company carried out five million journeys, carrying 45,000 passengers a day.
http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2016/0524/790651-hailo-and-uber/
------------------------------------------------------------
MANCHESTER
Organisers of the Parklife 2016 music festival in Heaton Park next month have signed a deal to give new Uber uses a free ride.
Any new users signing up to the Uber app can get a first free ride up to the value of £15 by using the code 'PARKLIFE15'.
Uber has made huge stride in the Manchester market since launching in May 2014 - and the new deal is thought to be a move to combat unlicensed taxi drivers and private firms charging fares that are higher than normal due to the demand of the 65,000 people expected at the festival each day.
The festival takes place in Heaton Park on June 11 and 12, with headliners including the Chemical Brothers, Major Lazer and Bastille.
Parklife have also offered a free spot on the guest list to Manchester United legend Eric Cantona as a present for his 50th birthday. The Frenchman, nicknamed The King by Manchester United fans, played 143 games for the Reds between 1992 and 1997.
Parklife tweeted a picture of Cantona sat on the throne to wish him a happy birthday and offered a free ticket if he dropped them a line.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/parklife-2016-uber-deal-cantona-11379305
http://goo.gl/KWEIPb
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARRINGTON
TWO brothers who operated as unlicensed taxi drivers have received driving bans.
Paul and Andrew Stafford have both been disqualified from driving for a period of six months after they were found to be driving taxis without licenses.
The pair, from Callands and Old Hall, had been operating vehicles in the Cheshire West and Chester area.
Appearing at court on Monday, Gresford Close resident Paul Stafford, 41, was fined £153 a received eight penalty points after admitting two offences and was also ordered to pay £125 costs and a victim surcharge of £20.
Andrew Stafford, 35, admitted three offences and was fined £253 and given eight penalty points.
The Livingstone Close resident was also ordered to pay £125 costs and a £29 victim surcharge.
A licensed operator was convicted and sentenced at an earlier hearing in connection with the duo’s offences.
Maria Byrne, director of place operations for Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “This case sends out a clear message that the authority will not tolerate unlicensed vehicles or drivers putting the travelling public at risk.
“We had no option other than to instigate prosecution proceedings.
“Licensed vehicles have plates attached to prove they are licensed which include an expiry date and vehicle licence number – drivers also have to wear a photo ID badge provided by the council.”
http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/14513104.Brothers_banned_from_driving_for_operating_as_unlicensed_taxi_drivers/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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