A change to one of the main routes leaving Reading could see journey times sped up for private hire drivers and their customers.
The Reading Chronicle reports that Reading Borough Council has begun a consultation into allowing private hire drivers to use the outbound bus lane in King’s Road.
The road is a main eastern route to East Reading, Woodley and the A329(M), itself an access point for the M4.
Currently, the outbound bus lane can be used by buses, motorbikes, pushbikes and hackney carriages. But a proposed change would allow private hire drivers to use this bus lane as well.
A representative of private hire drivers has said drivers and customers have been pushing for the change for years.
Kamran Saddiq, the chairman of the Reading Private Hire Association, said: “Lots of our customers have filled in the survey.
"It’s stressful when you’re late when you get stuck on the King’s Road.
“We take people to the hospital and the airports, and our customers see out-of-town drivers use that lane while we are stuck in traffic.
“It can take about 15-20 minutes to get onto the motorway [A329(M) and M4].
“It only takes one little incident on Kings Road, London Road or the A329 to back up the traffic and have an effect on Kings Road.
“We have spoken to our customers but they didn’t need any encouragement to fill in the survey.
“The changes need to be made and should be made for private hire drivers.”
There is also a proposal to change the bus lane in Kings Road on the way to traffic lights at Watlington Street, opposite the Verto apartments and the Back of Beyond pub.
Currently, this lane is reserved for buses, motorbikes, bikes and wheelchair accessible taxis only. A change would allow hackney carriage drivers to use this lane as well.
You can take part in the consultation by filling in a survey on the Consult Reading website: https://consult.reading.gov.uk/dens/kingsbuslane/consultation/subpage.2019-07-29.7576326305/
Questions and queries can be emailed to highway.objections@reading.gov.uk .
The consultation closes on Thursday, November 30.
The consultation is taking place after negotiations between the council’s highways team and the Reading Private Hire Association.
Mr Saddiq has argued that private hire drivers have been using the inbound bus lane in Kings Road without issue after being allowed access for over a decade.
Source: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/23905583.reading-private-taxis-use-bus-lane-change/
A taxi driver from Conwy has been convicted of fraud and driving without insurance following an investigation by Stockport Council.
According to the North Wales Pioneer, Wasim Afzal Chaudhry, 50, was accused of creating a fake Stockport Council taxi licence document and supplying the fraudulent document to employers in 2018 so he could continue working as a taxi driver.
He had worked as a licensed Stockport taxi driver since 2006, but his licence was revoked in December 2016 after failing to disclose a previous conviction for battery.
He appeared at Bolton Crown Court on September 19 for a two-day trial in relation to the offences.
He pleaded guilty to the fraudulent use of the taxi licence and was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment for a Bail Act offence for failing to attend previous hearings.
He reappeared at Bolton Crown Court on October 20, via video link from prison, for sentencing and also pleaded guilty to driving without insurance.
He was sentenced to 22 weeks’ custody suspended for 12 months, 150 hours of unpaid work and six penalty points on his driving licence.
He must also pay £500 costs and a victim surcharge within six months.
Stockport Councillor Frankie Singleton said: "Residents and visitors to the borough need to know they are safe when they get in a taxi or private hire booking and this is why our Taxi Licensing Team works so hard and are so stringent in taking action against rogue taxi drivers.
“This is crucial in our commitment to safeguarding unsuspecting passengers and maintaining the standing of legitimate taxi drivers who provide a vital service for our community.
“Congratulations to our Taxi Licensing Team for sending out a strong message that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and that they will do everything they can to ensure every taxi journey in Stockport is safe and provided by licensed, responsible and trustworthy drivers."
An increase in taxi fares of 7.67% is being considered by the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure.
The increase, which is supported by the Guernsey Taxi Drivers Association, would reflect inflation over the period June 2022 to June 2023.
As an example of what an increase of this level would mean, a two-mile journey during normal daytime hours would increase by 60p, from £8.10 to £8.70.
A five-mile journey in evening hours would increase by £1.80, from £21.30 to £23.10.
The 2022 increase in fares (which took effect in April 2023) reflected the inflation over the period June 2021 to June 2022.
The Committee is now inviting comments from islanders on this proposed increase.
They can send their submissions by email to passengertransport@gov.gg.
They can also send letters to: The Manager, Licensing and Operations, Edward T Wheadon House, Le Truchot, St Peter Port, GY1 3WH.
Submissions should be sent no later than Tuesday 21 November.
Source: https://www.gov.gg/article/198446/Proposed-increase-in-taxi-fares
Confusion around Glasgow's low emission zone is driving even compliant motorists away from the city over fears of hefty fines, it has been claimed.
The Scottish Daily Express reports that the LEZ scheme has penalised more than 20,000 motorists since it was introduced in June, with penalties already potentially topping £1million.
Footfall in the city centre was already declining and combined with "punitive" on street parking charges and the city's maze of one-way streets and bus and cycle lanes, the LEZ – which survived a legal challenge last week – has turned the once-thriving heart of Glasgow into a no-go zone for some motorists.
A spokesman for the AA said the SNP-run city council had ignored calls to improve the park and ride facilities in the city.
He said: "In recent years, we have seen so many stories of car and van owners who bought diesel vehicles they thought met clean air standards only to find out they didn't.
"With that confusion, drivers will play it safe, stay away from cities with LEZs and potentially deny those cities the spending those visitors would have brought with them.
"Ironically, the AA has previously flagged the inadequacy of Glasgow's Park and Ride provision compared to cities like Cambridge. Not only should that provide an easy alternative for those car drivers worried that their vehicle has become a fines magnet but also encourage other drivers, even with compliant vehicles, to leave them on the outskirts.
"That would contribute even more to improving inner-city air quality – not just now but for years after non-compliant cars have gone on the scrapheap. Indeed, had Glasgow copied Cambridge – with a far smaller population – which converts millions of car journeys into bus trips each year, the resulting impact would probably have removed the need for a LEZ targeting cars.
"But there again, the council wouldn't have reaped fines on such an industrial scale."
Fines for non-compliant vehicles start at £60 with the penalty charge doubling with each subsequent breach, rising to a maximum of £480 for cars and light goods vehicles and £960 for buses and HGVs.
Taxi drivers have been given a one-year exemption until June 2024 but the Scottish Taxi Federation warned that the council's green policies could negatively impact city centre businesses.
A federation spokesman said: "While the taxi trade is not currently affected by the penalty charge aspect of the LEZ, we are concerned that the restrictions combined with punitive parking charges will discourage the public from travelling to Glasgow. This is clearly bad for business and the city economy."
The spokesman added: "On a daily basis we hear from members of the public who are still confused on how the LEZ will impact on them, even when their cars are compliant, and our concern is that they will avoid Glasgow entirely."
Scottish Conservative shadow transport minister Graham Simpson MSP said: "It's clear that the imposition of the LEZ is placing a huge burden on ordinary drivers in the midst of a cost of living crisis. Glaswegians are paying a hefty price for the SNP-Green hostility to drivers and the council's failure to plan ahead for their own vehicles has stacked up yet more costs for taxpayers.
"It’s clear this scheme is not working as intended and is hammering motorists."
And Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said figures showed shopper footfall in Glasgow remained over a tenth down on pre-pandemic levels.
He said: "Glasgow City Council needs to consider carefully the overall economic impact of any new policies which might make the city centre less accessible and more costly to visit and whether the potential revenue raised from new congestion levies measures up against the likely impact on retail and hospitality businesses trading in the city.
"One in every six stores in Scotland is lying vacant, so the focus should be on measures to bring the energy and footfall back into our larger cities rather than deterring people further from coming back."
Chairman of the Glasgow Restaurant Association Ryan James, who owns The Buttery Restaurant in the city, said: "A lot of people are very wary about bringing their cars into the city centre because they have not checked it out properly or they just fear they are going to get a fine of some description."
Mr James said the introduction of the LEZ scheme, combined with hybrid working, had seen the numbers visiting the city during the day plummet, adding: "There has definitely been a lot less people coming to town."
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: "Glasgow's LEZ which is based on national legislation, is a crucial public health measure that aims to tackle the harmful air pollution that has blighted the city centre for decades – creating and exacerbating people's health conditions and the city's health inequalities, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.
"Plans to extend a LEZ to all vehicle types was announced in 2018 and since then the council has undertaken an extensive programme of communications and engagement to raise awareness of the scheme, its timescale for introduction and the availability of funding to ease compliance."
Source: https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-lez-killing-city-centre-31366964
Mandatory CCTV cameras in private hire vehicles will not be brought in by South Derbyshire District Council despite a range of incidents they would have helped in.
The council is continually reviewing plans to make CCTV cameras in private hire vehicles mandatory but in the meantime it will not be enforcing the issue.
DerbyshireLive reports that officers have written in a report to be debated next week that the move could currently be viewed as “excessively disproportionate” and “not appropriate or necessary”.
They state that CCTV cameras could cost £1,000 per vehicle to install and a strong evidence base would be needed to back such a policy.
Between November 2021 and May 2023, 66 incidents involving taxis were reported to the police and it was found CCTV would have been helpful in 39 of those incidents – only one related to a South Derbyshire private hire vehicle.
Meanwhile, between November 2021 and August 2023, there were 28 complaints relating to private hire drivers and vehicles reported to the district council and it was found CCTV would have been helpful in 20 of those complaints.
The report details: “Officers have concluded that there is not a strong evidence base to justify a mandatory requirement for CCTV in licensed vehicles at this time. Whilst licensing officers have received several complaints over the years where CCTV would have been helpful in resolving the complaint, this is not in itself considered to be a strong enough justification.
“The cost implications of introducing a mandatory requirement for CCTV must also be considered. The cost to the trade would be in the region of £1,000 per vehicle. Covid and the cost of living crisis has hit and continues to hit the licensed vehicle trade particularly hard and adding to their costs at this time is not considered to be appropriate or necessary.
“Officers recognise the positive impact that CCTV would have as an additional safeguarding tool which would provide confidence, added protection and reassurance to both drivers and the public, however a strong evidence base is required before this can be progressed. The principal consideration must be one of public safety.
“Public protection is paramount, yet it should be recognised and celebrated that we do not have an identified and pressing need for mandatory CCTV in South Derbyshire and the introduction of a mandatory requirement could be seen as excessively disproportionate at the present time.”
This debate over CCTV cameras in private hire vehicles comes nearly two years after the council in January 2022 rejected a 120-strong petition from cabbies over now-approved plans to bring in new restrictions for tinted windows.
The lead petitioner, iCars driver Qasim Ali, had said the new tinted window plans, requiring significant adaptations to vehicles, would cost between £350 to £1,000. He said sourcing a car suitable to be used for a taxi can cost between £12,000 and £15,000 and they often come with tinted windows as standard from the manufacturer.
The move represented an aim to prevent any additional risk to children and vulnerable adults, with the charity Safe and Sound, based in Derby, claiming there was evidence of taxis being used to transport vulnerable young people who are being exploited.
Source: https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/cctv-cameras-south-derbyshire-private-8877126
Taxi drivers across the Fylde Coast are set to receive a briefing note aimed at clearing up confusion over out-of-area private hire vehicles.
Police are appealing to find a taxi driver who may have "vital clues" about the murder of Ryan Passey seven years ago since he was fatally stabbed in a Stourbridge nightclub.
A joint operation by Hull City Council, Wolverhampton Council, and Humberside Police has uncovered a number of safety issues with taxis operating in the city.
French taxi drivers are calling for government compensation after suffering significant revenue losses during the Paris Olympics.
Coventry city centre has introduced a new taxi marshal service aimed at improving safety and efficiency for late-night revellers.
A court heard harrowing details of the moment a drink-driving uninsured motorist killed three people in a 90mph crash.
The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans was amongst the thousands who enjoyed the Battle Proms at Highclere Castle on 3 August.
Swindon residents could be facing a hike in taxi fares from October after councillors gave the green light to a £1 increase in the standard fare minimum charge.
Ricky Harold, a 20-year veteran of the town’s taxi trade, was parked in a lay-by when his vehicle was struck from behind by a black Audi A2.
Chinese automotive giant Geely has deepened its commitment to the UK electric vehicle market with a £120m cash injection into London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC).
North Tyneside Council is facing a backlash over plans to increase taxi fares by 6.3%.
Nazim Asmal preyed on his victims after nights out in Preston and Darwen, driving them to secluded spots before carrying out horrific sexual assaults.
Newcastle is set to see a surge in pink taxis driven by women as part of a new initiative aimed at improving passenger safety.
An unlicensed taxi driver who picked up two vulnerable women in Aberdare has been ordered to pay nearly £1,500 in fines and costs.
Cleethorpes taxi drivers are breathing a sigh of relief after council enforcement officers cracked down on vehicles illegally parked in designated taxi ranks.
A Barry man has avoided jail after launching a drunken attack on a taxi driver who refused him entry to his vehicle.
Jersey’s taxi service is in crisis, with driver numbers plummeting by more than a quarter since 2014, a new report has revealed.
On Wednesday 27 July, more than 300 vulnerable youngsters were taken on an all-expenses paid trip to Southport.
Taxi drivers in the town will be able to charge passengers more following a decision by the borough council on 31 July.
A taxi driver has been sentenced to a community order after admitting causing the death of a pedestrian by driving at excessive speed.