The Dewsbury Neighbourhood Policing Team conducted a multi-agency day of action with partners in the Ravensthorpe area on Friday July 21, in which dozens of vehicles including taxis were checked.
According to the Dewsbury Reporter, colleagues from the force's Roads Policing Team, Kirklees Taxi Licencing, DVLA and DVSA also took part in the operation.
A total of 40 taxis were checked by Kirklees Taxi Licensing with ten given rectification notices for offences such as failure to maintain lights, failure to have a fire extinguisher and needing new door signs.
Inspector Liz Lockwood of the Dewsbury NPT, said: “Officers had a really positive reaction from local residents they’ve spoken to in the operation with most drivers acknowledging the importance of our safety checks.
“We do of course carry out road safety activity day in and day out on our roads in Kirklees but days like these are an excellent opportunity for us to focus resources on the issue.”
A woman has hit out at Uber after claiming her daughter was wrongfully charged an £80 cleaning fee for being sick in a vehicle.
Zoe Wigglesworth's daughter Kia, 20, used the app to order a ride home after a night out in Bolton in the early hours of July 8.
She arrived home without incident - but two weeks later she was left stranded after discovering she had been left with no money in her account.
After checking, Kia realised she had been charged over £100 for the trip, which should have been just £21.99.
"The money came out of her account 12 days after the journey," Zoe told the Manchester Evening News. "She was in town and she couldn't get back because £80 had come out her account and she didn't know why."
Zoe and Kia messaged Uber in the app to query the charge, and were told it was a cleaning fee because Kia had been sick in the car. When the pair asked for proof they were sent a picture of vomit on a black leather seat, but Zoe says there has been no proof the mess was made by Kia.
"It's not fair. She's not in work at the moment, and this was all she had in her bank," Zoe said. "She had to rely on her friend to get home the other night."
Uber have since refunded Kia the £80. But Zoe wants to highlight the issue to warn others who may face similar issues in the future.
"She didn't even have any communication from them [Uber]," she said. "She was in the taxi alone that night.
"I think it's really wrong. They shouldn't be doing things like this. I think it is disgusting."
An Uber spokesperson said: “Participating in fraudulent activity of any kind is a clear violation of our Community Guidelines. We are constantly evaluating our processes related to such claims and will take appropriate action whenever fraud may be detected.”
They also insisted the vast majority of cleaning fee reports are 'legitimate' and all cleaning fee claims are investigated.
Uber recommended riders should report incorrect charges 'immediately' through the 'help' section of the app.
A new, streamlined private hire licence has been launched in one area of Leicestershire in a bid to help meet growing demand for home-to-school transport.
LeicestershireLive reports that the licence is dedicated to school runs and will be quicker and cheaper to get, Blaby District Council, which is introducing the scheme, has said.
Drivers will not have to take a council test – which involves assessments on local road knowledge, maths and receipt writing not needed for school runs, the district council added. However, they will still need to meet standards on driving ability, safeguarding, medical fitness and DBS checks.
Drivers with this licence would only be able to operate as a home-to-school transport and would not be able to carry out any other taxi or private hire services.
Blaby District Council hopes, by making the process easier, quicker and cheaper, more drivers will sign up for the scheme and more children will have the transport they need.
Leicestershire County Council, as the local authority responsible for education, has seen a 45 per cent increase in demand for home-to-school taxis, which mainly caters to children with special needs who cannot walk or travel to school by public transport, in the last five years. The county is “struggling to fulfil obligations”, Blaby District Demand has said, and is expecting demand to continue increasing by around six per cent each year.
Councillor Les Phillimore, Blaby District Council’s portfolio holder for housing, community and environmental services, said: “Leicestershire County Council is not alone in struggling to meet the demand for school transport services, so we hope by introducing this type of licence we could help to attract more drivers into the trade, supporting the county to deliver this valuable service.
"It may suit people with time on their hands who would like to offer a service to the community and would never have thought of applying for a private hire licence because they didn’t want to offer the usual ‘taxi’ services with some of the challenges that brings.
“I do want to stress however, this is not a shortcut to getting a private hire licence. We will maintain our stringent checks on applicants to make sure they are suitable for the role and of course we will ensure any vehicles meet our requirements for the job. The comfort and safety of the schoolchildren will be paramount.”
The county council is “fully behind the scheme”, Blaby said, adding that the education authority has seen a “significant decline in the number of licensed drivers”. This has, in some cases, “led to school transport contracts being handed back due to lack of available drivers”, it added.
Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We very much support the initiative taken by Blaby District Council as it will help with the national issue of driver shortages and assist us in increasing capacity in the home-to-school transport sector within Leicestershire.
"While this initiative helps smooth out the process of recruiting drivers, the safety and wellbeing of children remain our absolute priority, so all drivers remain subject to rigorous safeguarding checks.”
More than 50 per cent of the current demand for home-to-school taxis is met by private companies. Local private hire firms also support the new initiative, the district council has said.
Andy Mahoney is the managing director of 24/7 Ltd taxi group which has operators in Blaby district and is fully behind the scheme. He said: “Taking children to school is an important part of the taxi industry, especially special needs children. Without that infrastructure these children cannot get to school safely and that can cause major issues.
“If people come to us and want to do school transport they would usually have to apply for a standard private hire driver licence. This means going on a course which could take 16 weeks and learning about taxi meters, counting change, local road knowledge and other stuff which they would never need to know just for school trips.
“This new licence makes the whole process easier and simpler and it means people are applying for and getting a licence for a job they want to do and are happy to do.
"I think this will make a massive difference and will serve district residents well. Importantly, Blaby District Council has made a huge step in safeguarding vulnerable children.”
Source: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/new-school-run-only-taxi-8624313
Premier Cars Llandudno bans local Mayor following threatening phone call and unfair negative social media post and they have also lodged a complaint with taxi licensing.
The firm says the basis of the complaint is as follows.
Councillor Robbins booked a taxi at 17.00hrs last night 23/07/2023 to be collected at 17.45hrs from the Crosskeys pub.
Unfortunately due to extreme weather conditions and major traffic issues at the Parc Eirias site, we were running behind on scheduled bookings therefore my telephone dispatcher called Councillor Robbins to explain the situation and inform him we were "running 20 minutes" behind schedule. Councillor Robbins comments were not nice and he HUNG UP.
Councillor Robbins then made an inbound call to our office a few minutes later making a statement that he will "report you to licensing for your inability to work" and once again HUNG UP the call leaving the dispatcher no time to respond.
Our dispatcher then called Councillor Robbins back to explain the circumstances and once again offer an apology and Councillor Robbins responded "Believe me I'll make social media know how incompetent you are."
Shortly after the calls to and from our office Councillor Robbins places a post on facebook which reads like this:
"I have always used interlink taxis for many years. Obviously after their merger with Alliance I have continued to use this local company which employs local people.
Tonight for the first time ever, I have placed a booking from Premier Taxis as Interlink/Alliance were not answering the phone due to many bookings coming in relation to the concert in Eirias Park.
I booked Premier 45 minutes in advance, which they confirmed. 5 mins after the taxi should've arrived they phoned me to say it would be another 20 minutes".
Based on this post which received many views and also other comments we believe that Councillor Robbins actions have had a negative effect on our business which is based here in llandudno (Council Street West) and employs the majority of our staff from the county of Conwy with a high percentage fluent welsh/english speaking.
Within the area since our arrival there has been some hostility with other taxi operators. Councillor Robbins clearly defines he is a loyal customer to one of the other operators (Alliance/interlink) however I'm somewhat taken back by his statement "interlink/alliance were not answering the phone due to many bookings coming in relation to the concert in Eirias Park". how would Councillor Robbins know this fact if the calls were unanswered?
In my opinion Councillor Robbins has used his facebook site which clearly can identify him as the mayor/councillor (profile pic) in council robes to negatively impact our business because we fell short of his expectations and his connection to Interlink/Alliance taxis.
Whilst we don't disagree that our service was not of the expected standard, the actual main issue was because of the traffic management at Eirias Park which I believe CONWY COUNCIL have overriding authority over due to the events being licensed and the safety advisory group should have had better management of the road network.
Local authorities up and down the country constantly advertise "We will not tolerate negative/abusive conduct towards our staff" and we take the same stance. Councillor Robbins conduct was not acceptable, the call operator unknown to him is a young lady who is 34 weeks pregnant and didn't need the extra stress of Councillor Robbins.
As a result of the calls & the facebook post which we define are negative and threatening, we have taken the stance to make this formal complaint and Councillor Robbins is now BANNED from using any services we provide and we will be sending Councillor Robbins notification to this effect.
We have copies of all posts and full call recordings.
A trio of AA patrols teamed up with more than 50 London taxi drivers last week when they took part in an annual charity run for London children.
The London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children, which was established in 1928, runs annual outings for children with special needs or social disadvantages. It also provides funding for appeals in assisting children in need of help.
The committee is run by volunteers and all donations collected go straight to the good work that the charity performs.
This year, the destination of the run was Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, with a cumulative 864 miles once it had returned to the initial starting point on The Isle of Dogs.
The run saw 54 taxis, 132 children, 61 carers, three AA patrols and two AA vehicles pass through the park gates, where the charity’s organisers had generously arranged free lunch and ice cream for all – enjoyed by the guests in the generally warm weather.
The children and their carers had a fantastic time and got to see lots of the rare and often majestic animals, that are lovingly cared for by park staff.
London taxis, and black taxis generally, have enjoyed a long and productive relationship with the AA, which now offers custom-built breakdown cover* for taxis and other light vehicles that are used commercially.
Each year, the AA and its patrols also support other charity events, namely the Magical Taxi Tour which takes children from London to Disneyland Paris and is a major highlight in the diary of all involved and the Annual Commemorative Military Run from Sevenoaks to Hastings.
Overall, the day passed without any major breakdowns, only seeing a couple of minor electrical faults and a punctured tyre, expertly attended to by AA Patrols of the Year, Nick Powell, Dan Tyrrell and former Patrol of the Year, Tony Rich.
Nick Powell, AA patrol of the year, said: “We love the work that London cabbies do and they really know how to look after their vehicles, and have given 132 kids a good time.
"It’s always a pleasure working with fellow professionals for such a good cause.”
Details of Taxi, courier and delivery van cover can be found at www.theaa.com or by clicking on this link: Taxi, courier and delivery van breakdown cover | AA (theaa.com)
At least 14 cars have been damaged since June, with drivers suffering financial loss and emotional distress.
The attack happened at around 12.45pm on Etruria Vale Road, Stoke, when the victim, driving a Toyota Avensis, was punched in the face by one of the men.
Cumberland Council has taken decisive action to protect public safety by revoking the licence of a taxi driver charged last week with a serious racially aggravated offence.
A historic bridge has been closed indefinitely after an Uber car became wedged on Saturday morning.
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).