A new maximum taxi fare has been approved for areas of Oxfordshire despite concern the scheme is "rubbish" and the authority responsible is "behaving like a dictator".
The Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils agreed to set the tariff at a recent cabinet meeting.
Drivers will now be allowed to issue a maximum charge of £5.90 per mile for daylight hours and £7.85 for later hours and Sundays or bank holidays.
A consultation was conducted by the councils in February after an email was sent round to traders.
Most respondents in South Oxfordshire - 60 per cent - disagreed with the proposed tariff while six per cent expressed strong support.
Of Vale of White Horse district respondents, 38 per cent agreed with the proposed tariff while 27 per cent disagreed.
One objector said: "Licensing are behaving like dictators just telling us what they say we can charge without properly listening to the trade."
Cabinet member for corporate services, policy and programmes, Andy Foulsham, said he thought the fact of 80 per cent of people opening the survey email was "quite exceptional" and that consultation had been sufficient.
This was despite the fact that no more than 26 people from the Vale of White Horse district and 53 people from South Oxfordshire had got back with a response, the majority being taxi drivers.
This comes as one member of the public said in the public meeting the scheme was "rubbish" amid claims it had not been subject to proper consultation.
Source: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24281668.maximum-taxi-fare-agreed-south-west-oxfordshire-area/
More than 300 taxis are still not compliant with Glagow’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) rules, it has been confirmed.
GlasgowLive reports that during a city administration committee on 27 April, a council officer advised councillors that around 350 taxis were still non compliant and 76 had been given an exemption.
It comes as an updated report on Glasgow’s Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) was presented to councillors, which highlighted the steps the local authority is taking to reduce air pollution between 2024 and 2029.
So far this includes, alternatives to private vehicle use, promoting low emission transport, promoting travel alternatives, public information, transport planning and infrastructure, traffic management and vehicle fleet efficiency.
During the meeting councillor Saqib Ahmed raised questions on the number of taxis which meet the LEZ rules.
Councillor Ahmed said: “Can someone please advise how many taxis are there that operate within the city centre that do not meet the LEZ requirement.
“What is the council doing to help the taxi drivers move towards a vehicle that is compliant with the LEZ?”
A council officer confirmed that a number of taxi operators had been applying for funding to go through the retrofit process.
Councillor Angus Millar, Glasgow’s convener for climate, also said that the council would continue to be “flexible” beyond June 1.
Cllr Millar said: “The number has been changing as more and more taxi operators who have been continuing to go through the process have been applying for and in many cases receiving their most up to date exemptions to allow the work to be completed to be compliant.
“We are continuing to be flexible beyond June 1 so that when the process has been initiated to achieve retrofit we are supporting taxi operators to continue to undergo that process.”
A council officer added: “At this point in time we believe that there are around 350 taxis which are still non compliant, 76 taxis have been granted an exemption to their extension and another 15 approved and pending.
“There are a number of operators now that are going through the process of submitting applications in relation to the new funding and availability.”
Source: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/profile/hundreds-glasgow-taxis-still-not-29061013
A cabbie who allegedly punched a man in a revenge attack with his brothers for opening a rival shop two doors down from their dad’s butchers has been banned for ten years.
According to BristolLive, Bristol city councillors refused to renew his licence over the assault and a separate road-rage incident the day before that left a couple fearing for their safety.
He denied wrongdoing in both cases but the public safety & protection sub-committee decided he was lying and that the victims were truthful and credible.
In the assault on May 30 last year, the cabbie and his brothers “cornered and attacked” a man who used to work in their father’s butchers shop and had opened a similar business two doors away a few months later, the panel was told at a private hearing.
Recently published minutes from the City Hall meeting said the taxi driver’s family were not happy about this, accused the former employee of poaching their dad’s customers and took revenge against him.
The council papers said: “He was beaten up and [the driver] had punched him in the face causing him to bleed and resulting in a bruised eye.”
The cabbie and his siblings “fled the scene after the attack” and, although the police arrested one of the brothers and began an investigation, no further action was taken because of insufficient evidence as there were no independent witnesses, the minutes said.
The assault left the victim suffering from depression, unable to think properly and “fearful” of the driver, who would “always swear at him and use the F-word” whenever they saw each other in the street.
The cabbie denied any involvement and his lawyer told councillors that “it had all been made up” by the man.
Members heard that the driver had agreed to a voluntary interview with the police but had not been arrested.
The day before, he was involved in a road-rage incident where a couple had crossed Fishponds Road in front of his “speeding” car.
The cabbie blew his horn, stopped abruptly and walked over to them in an “abusive and confrontational manner” while swearing and came “right up to their faces”, the panel heard.
He told council officers in an informal interview that the traffic lights were red for pedestrians but the couple were crossing the road, so he had to “slam on his brakes and sound his horn to make them aware” and let them continue to the other side.
The driver said he got out of his car because he thought they had thrown something at it and alleged he was subjected to a “torrent or racial abuse”, a claim the pair denied and which left them “horrified” when it was put to them separately.
During the interview he denied swearing and calling names but admitted it when the woman’s video clip of the incident proved it.
His solicitor told the hearing that the cabbie had driven taxis for 15 years without an incident.
The redacted minutes said: “The committee considered the evidence from the two complainants and [the driver’s] version of events which were so far apart from each other that someone was not being truthful.
“On a balance of probabilities, the committee unanimously upheld the complaint.
The panel also decided that “based on the incident that had happened only the day before and the friction” between the alleged assault victim and the driver’s family, “it was more probable than not” that the cabbie was involved in the attack on his dad’s ex-employee.
The minutes said: “As a result of these two incidents involving threatening behaviour and violence the committee could no longer be satisfied that [the cabbie] was a fit and proper person to hold a private hire driver’s licence.
“His application to renew his licence was therefore refused.”
The panel took no action to remove his private hire vehicle licence, so he could hire it to a licensed driver.
Council and national policy is that a new licence will not generally be granted until at least ten years since an offence involving violence.
Police have released mugshots of three people who tried to force an Uber driver to give them money. The driver was racially abused and beaten up by one of the three.
The Leicester Mercury reports that the drunken trio, brothers Shane and Joseph Woolley and Joseph's girlfriend Louise Horrobin, approached the car in Bakewell Street, Coalville.
The driver said to Shane Woolley, "Alright, mate?", and was punched in the face. Shane Woolley repeatedly punched the man while demanding money, telling him: "Give me your ******* money now or I'll batter you".
The driver explained Ubers were booked online and no cash was involved.
Using an offensive term about Asian people, Shane Woolley added: "All you ***** have money, where the **** is it?"
The other two defendants began searching the vehicle and the driver's wallet for cash, with Joseph Woolley climbing into the front passenger seat to look.
After some time, Shane Woolley got into the driver's seat and drove up the road, leaving the Uber driver behind, while the other two robbers walked away empty-handed.
But Shane Woolley changed his mind and returned to the Uber driver and threatened him to get into the car with him so they could go to a cashpoint.
Woolley drove him to Morrisons, but discovered the victim did not have his wallet with his bank card as the trio had stolen it and thrown it away.
So Shane Woolley took the driver back to Bakewell Street, and, while making threats, forced him to help him search the ground for the wallet.
The Uber driver started screaming for help, and Shane Woolley repeatedly punched him, knocked him to the ground and kicked him in the ribs before fleeing the scene.
The victim was left covered in blood from the many wounds to his face. All three robbers were arrested the next day.
The three already had 90 previous offences between them when they carried out the robbery at about 1.30am on Wednesday, March 29, last year.
Leicester Crown Court heard on Thursday, April 18, that the whole thing, including an audio recording, was caught on CCTV.
The court heard that Horrobin, 36, from Coalville, had 43 previous offences on her record. Joseph Woolley, 38, from Coalville, had 12 previous offences while his brother Shane Woolley, 31, from Thringstone, had 35 offences on his record.
Shane Woolley admitted robbery and attempted robbery, while the other two had each admitted attempted robbery.
Judge Philip Head, sentencing the trio, described the incident as a "really nasty attack on a vulnerable taxi driver" and as a joint enterprise between the three.
Shane Woolley was jailed for 64 months, Joseph Woolley was sentenced for 43 months and Horrobin was jailed for 30 months.
All three will serve half their sentences, minus the time they have already spent in custody since last year.
Source: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/pictured-coalville-trio-who-tried-9247154
Changes to taxi fares on the Isle of Man have seen maximum prices rise and the late-night tariff pulled forward by an hour.
BBC News reports that the revisions by the Road Transport Licensing Committee (RTLC), the regulatory body responsible for overseeing taxi fares, were brought in after consultation with Isle of Man Unite Taxi Branch and the Manx Taxi Federation.
Secretary of both lobby groups, Mike Birchall, said the "majority of drivers" were happy with the moves to offset increasing costs.
But RTLC chairman Graham Curphey admitted it had been "a mistake" not publicise the changes more widely prior to them coming into force.
On Monday, the fare for tariff one, which applies to journeys made between 06:00 and 23:00 BST, increased by 30p to £3.80 for the first 60 seconds of a journey, while tariff two fares rose by 40p to £4.70 for the same distance.
A 50p rise in the surcharge for fares from the Isle of Man Airport rank, now set at £2, has also been introduced.
A survey by the committee found 39% of respondents backed no changes to tariffs, but 46% supported increase in fare prices of between 1% and 5%.
Mr Curphy said there had been complaints that there were "no taxis around at midnight when people are kicked out of pubs and clubs" and introducing the more expensive tariff at 23:00 might encourage more operators to pick up.
But if the change did not work for the industry the RTLC could "revisit it", he said.
Mr Birchall said drivers "needed some kind of increase" to cover insurance, mechanic and general cost of living increases.
They had backed the "reasonable" changes and did not want to increase prices any further to "hit the pockets of the general public", he added.
The single zone could bring about a new 'knowledge test' covering the whole of North Northamptonshire if plans are approved.
Erewash Borough Council is looking to hike a wide range of fees applying to taxi and private hire drivers for the first time since 2019.
A taxi driver whose dangerous driving caused a pedestrian's death just sixteen minutes after he had been warned about his speed by the police was jailed for six years and ten months on 2 May.
North Yorkshire Police said a man ordered the taxi from Pickering to Scarborough, but when the taxi arrived at the seaside town, he ran away without paying.
A sign has appeared on Railway Approach this week reading: “No parking. A £100 penalty notice (reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days) may be issued to any vehicles parked in this area.”
The teen admitted to the assault in an interview and he liaised with the victim.
A group of more than 10,000 black cab drivers is suing Uber after accusing it of breaching booking rules in London, in a move which could cost the ride-hailing giant more than £250m.
Disabled passengers across Sheffield have told taxi drivers how they are made to wait a number of hours for rides.
Shortly after 9.30pm on April 29, the cabbie picked up a man at Coventry train station, before driving on towards Bennetts Road South.
Wyre Forest DC is consulting on the plans after a review of the existing licensing policy that currently only requires drivers applying for a first licence to complete such training.