The introduction of Clean Air Zones in Birmingham and Leeds has been "significantly postponed" due to a government delay, councils say.

Vehicle checking software required to make the zones operational and enforceable was expected to be delivered by the government by October.

The cities' councils say the tool has been delayed until December, which will put back the January start date.

The government has been contacted for a response.

Leeds City Council and Birmingham City Council were asked to tackle air pollution as a priority after roads in the cities were identified as likely to fail legal air quality levels by 2020.

Birmingham said its new zone would now not come into force in July 2020, at the earliest.

A revised date for the scheme to start in Leeds has not yet been announced.

In a joint statement, the councils said they "had been on track to implement Clean Air Zones on the basis that a vehicle checker tool, which is being delivered by the government's Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU), would be ready by October 2019 as planned.

"However, JAQU has now confirmed that the vehicle checker will not be available until at least December 2019 - leaving just weeks before the zones were due to come into force in January 2020."

Leeds City Council said it had successfully met "a number of challenging deadlines" only for the government to "fail to meet its own commitments".

Councillor James Lewis, deputy leader, said: "The government now needs to outline new timescales that they are confident can be delivered in order to give residents and businesses across the country clarity and certainty."

It said it would still be installing the camera infrastructure required for the zone in the coming weeks.

Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for transport and environment, Waseem Zaffar, said sticking with the January start "would be completely unfair on residents, businesses and visitors to the city".

"This is simply unacceptable," he added.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-48679008

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A taxi driver was left unconscious with serious face injuries after a ‘sickening and cowardly’ unprovoked attack over the weekend.

The attack happened after a small group of people banged on the boot of a taxi in the Appleton Village car park in Widnes , which is at the side of St Bede’s Catholic Men’s Club.

The group left the victim lying unconscious on the floor and when he awoke, he came around to find he had suffered ‘serious’ facial injuries.

He phoned for help and was taken to hospital via an ambulance. He needs ongoing medical treatment.

Detectives have now launched an investigation and are appealing for any witnesses to get in touch.

Det Insp Ian Whiley of Widnes Local Policing Unit said: “This was a sickening and cowardly attack on a man who was simply trying to earn a living for his family.

“It has left him with serious facial injuries that require ongoing medical treatment and the unprovoked assault has left his family devastated – his children are extremely upset and cannot understand why anyone would attack their gentle dad.

“I would like to reassure the community that this appears to have been an isolated incident, we have stepped up patrols in the area and we are determined to establish who assaulted the victim and bring them to justice.

“Enquiries are ongoing and as part of our investigation we are appealing for anyone who believes they may have information or footage regarding the small group of people involved in the incident to come forward.

“The same goes for anyone who believes they may have CCTV or dashcam footage of them.

“Perhaps you were in the area and witnessed what happened or saw the people involved, or maybe you recognise the descriptions of them and think that you may know who they are.

“We also want to speak to the group of people who were with the two men and the woman before the attack took place. That group played no part in the assault and may not even know what happened after they left the area.”

A police spokesman said the men who assaulted him were both white, as was the woman they were with.

One of the men is described by officers as being around 25-years-old.

He had a short muscular build, a bald head and a dark brown mid-length beard. The man was wearing a dark-coloured beaded necklace, a long sleeved light grey plain shirt, grey trousers and dark leather shoes with a thick sole.

The other man looked to be around 18 to 19-years-old and 5ft 9ins tall. He had a slim build and a slim face and was clean shaven.

His short brown hair had a parting, he spoke with a ‘Widnes accent’ and he was wearing a grey jacket which was zipped up, dark trousers and shoes with laces.

The woman they were with was also around 18 to 19-years-old with a slim build.

She was approximately 5ft 6ins tall and had straight brown shoulder length hair with a side parting.

She had a coat and lighter coloured trousers on and was carrying a dark medium sized handbag over her shoulder.

Officers also want to speak to anyone who believes they may know the identities of anyone involved in the incident or have CCTV or dashcam footage of them.

Source: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/sickening-cowardly-unprovoked-attack-leaves-16441843

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A taxi driver was stabbed during an argument with three people he had picked up as a fare.

The attack took place shortly after 05:30 BST on Saturday in Dawlish Road, Swindon, police said.

The driver had picked up two men and a woman from Suji nightclub in Old Town and was directed to take them to the Park North area.

As the vehicle drove along Dawlish Road, the three passengers were abusive to the driver and he ended the journey.

An argument broke out and one of the men stabbed the driver before all three ran off in the direction of Radstock Avenue.

The victim was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol with minor slash wound injuries.

Wiltshire Police described it as "an unprovoked attack on someone who was simply doing his job" and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-48653860

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New taxis bought to cut harmful emissions in Edinburgh will have to sit with their engines running for more than an hour a day to solve a fault, drivers have claimed.

They said the air filters on models purchased to comply with impending tougher emissions controls rapidly become clogged up with harmful pollutants such as particulates.

The solution is to leave the engine on for up to 40 minutes twice a day to clear the filter – or costly and time-consuming oil changes which drivers said were setting them back £300 a time. The problem affects the more popular of the two black cabs with the latest Euro 6 engines, the Tourneo-based Ford ProCab.

Only taxis with Euro 6 engines will be permitted in Edinburgh city centre’s Low Emission Zone from 2022 and Glasgow city centre a year later.

The zone would permit only diesel vehicles with Euro 6 engines, which were introduced five years ago, and petrol cars with Euro 4 engines, introduced in 2005. And the restrictions would apply to private cars along with buses, lorries and other vehicles. Only around half the vehicles in the city are thought to currently meet the required standards.

Transport convener Lesley Macinnes said the move would bring major health benefits.

Edinburgh taxi driver Danny Tebb said his ProCab has had to have four oil changes since last December.

Colleague Richard Dourley has had nine in 18 months.

Tebb said: “I’m livid. The Euro 6s are clearly unfit for taxi driving. Ford has produced a prototype software update that allows a driver to manually initiate the filter clean (as an alternative to oil changes). We have worked out each driver would need to do this twice per day. That’s 40 minutes twice a day sat stationary with the engine running to clean the filter.”

David Facenna, sales director of Glasgow-based Cab Direct, which produces the ProCab, admitted the Euro 6 standards had “stretched” manufacturers.

Ford said it was “willing to hear” from drivers with “major issues”. It said: “Short stop-start drive cycles generate more particulates, which is well within the filter’s ability to handle and avoid clogging via a regeneration cycle when the engine’s up to temperature, running for 20 minutes and under load.”

Source: https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/new-green-taxi-oil-filter-fault-leaves-edinburgh-cabbies-fuming-1-4948235

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Taxi drivers have won a fight to use a Stevenston bus lane for a 12-month trial period after it was approved at North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet.

Jim McKerrell, of TOA Taxis, has been leading the fight to permit cabs access to the bus lane on the A738 Kilwinning Road.

As we reported previously, Jim submitted a petition North Ayrshire Council’s Audit and Scrutiny Committee in January. His request was scheduled to go towards Cabinet following further discussions.

Cabinet on Tuesday, June 11 approved the promotion of an experimental Traffic Regulation Order to enable taxis to use the lane for a period of 12 months and to allow the impacts of this to be monitored.

The executive summary recommendation to Cabinet said: “It is proposed that the full length of the bus lane be the subject of an experimental TRO permitting taxis to utilise the bus lane for a period of 12 months. This will allow Hackney licensed and private hire vehicles to utilise the bus lane.

"This would allow a sufficient period to assess its impact on bus services and incidences of misuse by non-taxi vehicles. The experimental nature of the TRO would also provide the council with the flexibility to rescind the order should the monitoring identify a sufficiently negative impact on bus services.”

Jim said following the decision: “I’m ecstatic. It’s been a long haul, a good 10 years on and off. This is going to benefit the general public who are using the taxis. I’m totally delighted, it’s fantastic. Thanks to the local community for backing the petition.”

Source: http://www.ardrossanherald.com/news/17701203.taxis-drivers-given-access-to-stevenston-bus-lane-for-trial-period

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