Chelmsford City Council has granted 20 hackney carriage licences to electric vehicles (EVs), making it the leading local authority for electric taxis in Essex.
According to Chelmsford City Life, all 20 vehicles are brand new – with a range of models from MGs to Teslas.
With 20 licensed electric taxis in the district, Chelmsford is far ahead of the trend across Essex, with other local authorities hosting between one and four EV taxis, if any.
To encourage City taxi drivers to make the change to electric cars, the council’s Licensing Committee agreed to release ten special hackney carriage plates for saloons. The demand for these plates was so high that a further ten were then granted.
Chelmsford licensing rules state that new hackney carriages must be wheelchair accessible. For electric vehicles, this will add between £10,000–20,000 to the purchase price.
So in order to make new EVs more obtainable for drivers, this limited run of EV plates waives the requirement to be wheelchair accessible.
Demand from drivers is high, with over 40 expressing an interest in these limited EV plates.
Councillor Rose Moore, Cabinet Member for a Greener and Safer Chelmsford, says the important next step is to get wheelchair accessible electric taxis on our roads.
Cllr Moore said: “Seeing these electric vehicles and their green hackney carriage licences is a very proud moment. It’s wonderful to see our city’s taxi drivers taking such pride in their cars and in their commitment to progress.
"Our aspiration now is to see wheelchair accessible electric taxis, and eventually for all vehicles in the fleet to use only clean energy.
"There is work to do to support this, such as installing more on-street charging stations, and of course within the current economic climate there will be challenges.
"But, with so many drivers already on board and residents equally determined to improve the air quality in our city, I believe we will meet our goals.”
To celebrate the recent launch of the EV fleet, Councillor Moore met with some Chelmsford taxi drivers to learn how they have found the transition.
Mr Sedat said the highlight has been customer reactions: “Clients all love the new car! Almost everyone comments on the interior and tell me they’re happy to see an electric taxi. I’ve had a wonderful response.”
Electric taxis can easily be identified by their green licence markings.
A cabbie helped police catch an alleged thief who fled on an electric scooter. The 43-year-old man was found hiding in a garden when officers got to him.
According to the M.E.N., he had fled from a supermarket in Newton Heath after being accused of shoplifting by store staff.
Police were called but were unable to keep up with him on foot after he made off on an electric scooter.
A taxi driver noticed where the man had escaped and gave police a lift in his car to where he had last been seen.
Police then found the man hiding in a garden, and he was arrested on suspicion of theft and other alleged crimes.
In a post on the GMP Manchester North Facebook page, officers said: "As officers entered a local supermarket on Old Church Street in Manchester a male was on his way out and began to drive off on his electric scooter.
"Staff informed the officers he had tried to steal items and the officers requested him to stop.
"He chose against this and drove off and went through a red traffic signal and made off and officers chased on foot.
"Fortunately a taxi driver offered to help and drove one of the officers to the street the male had last been seen on and the male was found to be hiding in a garden.
"A search of the male found further stolen items.
"A 43 year old male was arrested on suspicion of theft, going equipped to steal, driving not in accordance with a licence and no insurance and failing to stop for police and remained in police custody for questioning."
A woman has died and two people seriously injured when the taxi they were passengers in crashed in Leicester at 8.23pm on Saturday 16 September.
The Leicester Mercury reports that Leicestershire Police officers were called to the Glenfield Road junction with Westfield Road after a report of the incident, which involved the taxi, a black Peugeot E7 XS, and a silver Vauxhall Astra.
A woman in her 60s was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man in his 40s and a woman in her 50s are in hospital in a serious condition.
The drivers of both cars were also taken to hospital, but have since been discharged.
Police arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving over the prescribed limit of alcohol.
The road was closed for several hours while the incident was dealt with. Detectives are now appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
Detective Constable Maggie Langton, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "Sadly, this incident has resulted in a woman losing her life and another two people are currently in hospital with serious injuries.
"We are now trying to piece together the full details of what happened and I would urge any witnesses to come forward.
"If you saw the collision or were travelling past after the collision occurred or if you have captured anything on dash cam – information or footage you have could be useful to our investigation.”
Anyone with information can report online at www.leics.police.uk or call 101, quoting incident number 656 of 16 September.
Source: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/woman-dies-two-seriously-injured-8758241
A private hire vehicle registered in Braintree was asked to drive 300 miles to pick up a child for a school run in Cornwall - ferrying the pupils four miles from his home to school.
According to WalesOnline, another driver who recently took three pupils to the same school had driven from Shropshire – almost 250 miles away.
The Braintree driver is being paid to take pupils to and from North Petherwin Primary School and is staying at a Travelodge in Devon in between school runs.
Adam Paynter, whose son was picked up by the Essex-registered cab, said: “It’s unbelievable. If I told you that down the pub, you’d think I was having a laugh and I’d had too many drinks.”
The dad said it was a “complete waste of money” and questioned whether public funds were being used to pay for the school transport, which is funded by the local authority. However, the council said it was a temporary measure and it wasn’t paying for the temporary relocation of taxi staff, the cost of their travel to and from Cornwall or their accommodation.
Mr Paynter, who is a former leader of Cornwall Council, said his son and two girls, who also attend the primary school, used to get picked up by a council-funded minibus, but that was later reduced to a taxi from Launceston seven miles away. He thought it was bad enough last year when a taxi from Truro took over and started making a round-trip of over 100 miles every day to do the school run.
Mr Paynter said he was told by the council’s passenger transport unit that no one had picked up the tender to take the pupils to school, so it was given to A2B Taxis which covers the whole of Cornwall. He added: “It didn’t seem to make sense with climate change and everything else. You can do your own maths of how much it would cost to drive from Truro to North Petherwin, back again, and doing the same in the afternoon.”
The councillor, who is deputy leader of the Independent Group at the council, said: “They’ve gone one better this year. The school year started last Wednesday – we had no correspondence from Cornwall Council or any operator, so we rang the taxi driver from A2B and asked what’s going on. He hadn’t got the contract. Have a guess where the taxi came from to pick up my son?
"I suggested Penzance or, at a stretch, somewhere in Devon. Well, I asked the same of my colleagues and they got nowhere near,” said Mr Paynter.
“This week it’s been done by a taxi driver from Essex, registered with Braintree District Council, with a Braintree plate on his car.
“Last week, the taxi that took my son and the girls to school had come down from Shropshire, working for the same company in Essex. He told me he was doing those three days, then there would be somebody else this week. He was staying in the middle of nowhere for two nights when he did the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for the children and then drove back to Shropshire.
“The driver from Essex is staying at a Travelodge at Sourton Cross, near Okehampton, and he’s just doing the pick-ups and drop-offs either end of the day for three kids to go to North Petherwin School and he lives in Essex, and he’ll drive back on Friday afternoon. You wonder what he’s going to do for the other ten hours of the day. Can you believe it?”
The councillor added: “I’ve been leader of the council, I’ve been finance portfolio holder – that is something we would not sanction and would never have done as Independents running the council. When we ran the council it was all about local procurement and money going into local pockets. At least if it’s a Truro driver you’ve got someone in Cornwall getting a wage and a company is getting money out of the council.
“You’ve got someone coming down from Essex, the kids don’t know them – this is the second driver they’ve had in five days. Who’s going to turn up next week? Are they going to come from Edinburgh?”
The pupils had to tell the taxi driver he was going the wrong way on one of his first journeys.
“He said he didn’t have a clue where he was or where he was going, and yesterday he was quarter of an hour late because the sat-nav took him completely the wrong way. The two girls in the back of the taxi told him he was going the wrong way and they directed him back to ours. You couldn’t make it up,” added Mr Paynter.
“Considering the council has declared a climate emergency, it would be interesting to see if they’ve worked out how much carbon those decisions are making if they’re driving from Essex to Cornwall.”
Mr Paynter said: “The council seems to be getting more and more out of touch, and certainly the way it is being run at the minute – they’re cutting services left, right and centre while maximising council tax and wasting money.”
A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “A company called 24/7 Taxis who specialise in school transport and operate across multiple local authorities, have established themselves in Cornwall. The company is employing new drivers locally and their Cornwall operation is based here.
“The demand for school transport is growing and, until now, we have not had enough taxi companies to cater for this need – about 30 transport routes for around 60 to 70 students.
“As the company is in the process of establishing itself, it is temporarily supplementing the local workforce with drivers from other areas of their business. Cornwall Council is not paying for the temporary relocation of staff, the cost of their travel to and from Cornwall or their accommodation. It is very much a short-term measure while more drivers come through the required checks and processes before they can start work. The fact that the company is able to do this is a positive of working with a supplier with resource available nationally which can be utilised at a local level where needed.
“The arrival of this company is an example of the hard work taking place within the council to encourage and grow the supply of transport providers in Cornwall, helping to ensure the council can meet its obligations to support school, post-16 and social care travel, whilst providing employment opportunities for local people.”
Mr Paynter argued that the council’s statement “doesn’t add up”. He said: “There was a massive fuss only a few months ago when the council removed the limit on the number of taxis that could operate and we heard there were now too many taxis in Newquay, and it was affecting people’s livelihoods. Yet the council says there aren’t enough taxis in Cornwall to provide travel to schools.
“We are hearing there are now too many taxis in Cornwall because of the change of policy, but the council is bringing taxi companies in from Essex. These school trips would be a solid base for any taxi in Cornwall to cover – the work’s guaranteed.”
Source: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/taxi-drivers-sent-300-miles-27730753
Two drivers have been suspended after a “safety operation” carried out across East Lancashire and the West Midlands.
The Lancashire Telegraph reports that the taxis and private hire vehicles were among a total of 23 from around Blackburn, Hyndburn and Wolverhampton that were checked by police and Hyndburn Borough Council officials last week.
Officers say that as well as the two that were suspended, several drivers were also warned about failing to wear their badges properly.
A Hyndburn Police spokesperson said: “On Tuesday September 12 2023, local Hyndburn neighbourhood policing officers with partner agency Hyndburn Borough Council licensing office have conducted a taxi safety operation.
“A total of 23 taxis from Hyndburn, Wolverhampton along with Blackburn Borough Council were checked.
“A number of drivers have been warned regarding failing to wear their drivers’ badges.
“A taxi was issued with an immediate prohibition notice, another was issued with a seven day delayed prohibition notice, both drivers' licences were suspended with immediate effect.
“A couple were issued with delayed prohibition notices, one with a section 38 and improvement notices issued to several taxis.
“The aim of the operation is to make sure that the community we serve can travel safely within local taxis.
“Thank you for your continued support.”
A local councillor has sparked a debate on passenger safety after claiming that using locally licensed taxis is safer than hailing an Uber.
A taxi driver was attacked and subjected to racist abuse after two brothers refused to pay him up front.
Christopher Hilling, 64, admitted to engaging a child in sexual activity at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 8 August.
Abdigani Ebrahim, 38, of Grangetown, admitted charges of affray and criminal damage following the incident in Northcote Street, Roath, last July.
The crackdown targeted drivers operating across council boundaries to ensure public safety and compliance with regulations.
Lucio Valentino relies on his six-year-old Border Collie, Pixel, to help manage his mental health conditions, including depression and personality disorders.
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.