It could soon be compulsory for all licensed taxi drivers across Medway to accept card payments – despite significant opposition from some cabbies.
According to KentOnline, a recent survey among drivers showed that 52% were in favour of implementing the new policy.
The 48% against cited inadequate mobile data signal data in certain areas and extra charges incurred by card transactions as reasons for opposing the plan.
While 60% of members of Medway Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (MLTDA) already take non-cashless fares, the issue to make it mandatory was highlighted during lockdown with passengers considering it a safer and more convenient form of payment.
It also highlighted safeguarding issues with examples of some people stranded late at night because they did not have cash on them.
Now Medway Council is calling for electronic payment devices to be installed in the entire licensed hackney and private hire fleet.
Nigel Jackson, MLTDA chairman, said: “Several issues were raised by the trade during this consultation, the main sticking point being the signal outages in parts of Medway especially in the Hoo Peninsula.
“In order for a card transaction to be made in the vehicle there needs to be a mobile data signal present.
"Since mid 2020 the mobile data signal strength has improved considerably with the introduction of 5g networks and in general there has been a vast improvement of mobile data signals across the whole of Medway.”
Some were concerned they would be out-of-pocket if the card was declined for some reason.
He added: “It must be pointed out that several of our senior taxi and private hire drivers do have difficulty in using technology. Some drivers are technophobic so using a card reader/terminal to take payment efficiently will be a big hurdle to overcome
“The MLTDA team is always there as a support network for any driver that may face difficulty. If the card mandate is authorised by the committee, the MLTDA team intends to set up workshops to assist and advise any driver who may have difficulty in adapting to this new method of payment
The council’s licensing meeting will meet on Wednesday 23 August to discuss the proposal.
A taxi driver is fighting for his life in hospital after a collision involving a horse which had escaped from a nearby field.
HertsLive reports that the incident happened on the A601 on the westbound carriageway in Little Wymondley at around 4.12am on Friday August 18.
The cabbie was travelling along the road when they collided with a horse that had escaped from a nearby field.
The driver was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and the passenger was taken to hospital with serious but not life changing injuries.
Sadly, the horse was put to sleep at the scene.
Sergeant Dan Newton, from the Road Policing Unit, said: “Our enquiries are continuing, and we are appealing for anyone with information to please come forward.
"If you were travelling in the area at the time and had a dash-cam fitted, please check it as you may have some crucial information to assist our enquiries.
“I would also like to thank the public’s patience as the road remained closed for several hours while our officers carried out crucial work at the scene.”
You can also report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in the Force Communications Room via the online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/66229/23.
Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.
A private hire driver who raped a teenager passenger and sexually assaulted another in his vehicle has been jailed for eight years.
STV News reports that Saifal Zaveri preyed on a terrified 17-year-old student after picking her up in Dundee on August 14 2021.
The married 42-year-old had earlier molested and groped another young woman in his private hire vehicle on March 1, 2020.
On Thursday 17 August, Zaveri was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
He had been convicted of rape and sexual assault after a trial in Edinburgh in June.
It emerged Zaveri already had a previous conviction for stalking a teenage girl when he was aged 36 at the time.
His lawyer Kris Gilmartin told the sentencing hearing that the rapist had urged him to ask Lord Fairley to consider an alternative to jail.
But, the judge dismissed the request for what he branded “opportunistic and predatory” crimes aggravated by a serious breach of trust.
Praising the two victims, Lord Fairley told Zaveri: “The young women demonstrated great courage in giving evidence against you.
“It did not surprise me the jury found you guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
“I have now read the victim statements and it is quite clear your actions have had a devastating effect on each of them.
“Your instructions to Mr Gilmartin to seek a non custodial sentence are wildly unrealistic and reflect a troubling lack of insight to the seriousness of your offending.”
Zaveri will be monitored for a further three years on his release and be on the sex offenders list indefinitely.
A woman in a group of his family and friends collapsed in tears in the courtroom as he was lead handcuffed to the cells.
The rape victim earlier told jurors how Zaveri had been driving her to address in Dundee when he instead pulled into a lay-by.
She recalled: “I was scared. I just remember him going on about sexual things.
“First of all he was saying I was good looking and then he went to kissing me.
“I had a top on with a zip down the front of it and he unzipped it.”
The young woman told prosecutor Margaret Barron her attacker was aggressive before going on to rape her.
Zaveri went on to state to her: “That was good.”
The teenager eventually escaped before contacting a friend in tears via Snapchat.
Zaveri had earlier pounced on a 16-year-old girl on a journey from Dundee to Monifieth in Angus.
He struck as she sat in the front of his taxi.
Zaveri, also of Dundee, claimed in his evidence that there had been consensual sexual activity with the rape victim.
He told jurors: “I let my family down.”
The predator also insisted nothing happened with the other girl and that all was “fine” when the teenager and her friend got out his vehicle.
The court heard that Zaveri maintained his innocence.
A number of letters of support – including from his wife and an Islamic society group – were handed to Lord Fairley to consider.
A taxi driver had an air gun pointed in his face after a customer had jumped from his moving car after he was ordered to pay cash.
The Nottingham Post reports that his ordeal began after he picked up a group from Nottingham city centre at about 1.30am.
They wanted to go to McDonald's first for food. The driver patiently waited 40 minutes before he dropped two people off on the A52, before then turning into Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottingham Crown Court was told on Tuesday 15 August.
This left the defendant and a second person in the car who were driven to an address in Stragglethorpe Lane, Cotgrave.
Passenger Johnny Doherty asked if could pay by card as he didn't now have any cash.
But the taxi driver insisted he pay cash - and offered to drive him to a cashpoint. Doherty then opened the rear door and jumped out.
The second passenger shouted to the driver to stop - and she and Doherty walked towards a gate and opened it. The driver turned his car around.
Doherty, of Stragglethorpe Lane, appeared with the air rifle. He shouted aggressively and pointed the air gun at him in a threatening way.
By now the driver was on the phone to police and followed the instructions from the call handler to drive away and wait a short distance away from the car for the police to arrive.
Firearms officers rushed to the scene of a secure compound, with outbuildings and a mobile home. Police removed fence slats to gain entry - and Doherty was arrested.
A black air rifle was recovered.
Doherty, 35, pleaded guilty to affray. Judge Nirmal Shant KC referred to the victim saying he was scared when the air gun was pointed at him - and he did not know what to do.
Nothing like this had happened to him before - and the length of the firearm was "as long as his arm and black in colour".
The case, which dates back to September 3, 2018, was put back for sentencing and referred back to the judge who accepted Doherty's plea to affray.
Source: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/passenger-pointed-air-rifle-taxi-8679969
The boss of a Hucknall private hire company says Ashfield drivers are waiting up to 20 weeks to get the necessary licence plates for their cars.
The Hucknall Dispatch reports that Danny Mellors, who runs Ideal Cars, says Ashfield District Council’s testing station at Sutton is no longer fit for purpose if it is leaving drivers waiting up to five months for their plate.
And he says the length of waiting time is now pushing other drivers to other get licences from other councils and licensing authorities where the waits are much shorter.
Danny gave Nottingham City, Gedling and Broxtowe councils as examples where drivers are waiting just seven days.
And he says Ashfield drivers are being unfairly condemned to being constantly forced to rent cars – so having the extra costs of that – rather than being able to buy their own because of the long waits to get a plate from Ashfield Council.
He said: "The simple issue is the Ashfield testing depot at Sutton is no longer fit for purpose for firms like ours.
“We first notified the council last September that the waiting times for plating appointments was too long.
"At that time it was ‘only’ eight weeks but that was too long and now it’s 20 weeks – that’s five months.
"We said then and we’re saying now that this simply isn’t good enough and isn’t fair to drivers who rent cars, but wish to buy their own.
"We had a driver, who wanted to buy and plate ten wheelchair-accessible vehicles and start his own company, working solely in partnership with Ideal Cars.
“He had £110,000 with which he would buy the cars and then we would put our drivers in them.
"But the current situation with Ashfield means he would be investing £110,000 and then be waiting five months before he could even get them plated.
"Who would invest that amount of money and not get a return for five months?
“Ideal Cars, as a company, has been loyal to Ashfield council since we started in 2015 and we and have only ever held an Ashfield operator’s licence.
"But now we hold a Wolverhampton operator’s licence as well and we’re looking at a Nottingham City licence because the wait times are so much shorter.”
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.