An Essex council has announced its plans to expand a crackdown on illegal taxi touts at Stansted Airport, where private hire drivers solicit customers for business in public, or accept journeys without prior booking.
Speaking in an Uttlesford District Council meeting on July 11, council officer Jamie Livermore said the authority "disrupted a number of suspected touts" after a trial procedure earlier this year.
EssexLive reports that he also said the district council will look to run more of the operations this summer.
Mr Livermore said of Uttlesford District Council's trial operation: "While we weren't able to take any formal action, we were able to disrupt a number of suspected touts.
"We will look to run more of these operations over the summer months while schools are closed and we are able to commit more time to doing so."
Touting is a criminal offence under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
Drivers who are arrested and charged with touting are additionally charged with holding no valid insurance for carrying passengers.
Mr Livermore, the district council's senior licensing and compliance officer, told the licensing committee the authority shadowed Metropolitan Police officers and Transport for London officials at Heathrow in March this year.
Source: https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/essex-council-wants-stansted-airport-8597292
A private hire driver has spoken out after being attacked “because of the signage” on his car while trying to go about his job in Bolton.
The Bolton News reports that the driver, a man in his thirties from Bolton, was on his way to the Co-Op in Bromley Cross on Friday July 7 between 9.30 and 10pm, when he received a call from the passenger asking that the pickup location be changed.
He went to Bromley Cross Train Station, where his car was among four vehicles waiting there, but the others were normal cars.
The driver was then shocked to find a group of around seven youths who pelted mud and stones at his car.
A number of stones were thrown, all missing, but the vehicle was left covered in mud.
The driver left work and has not returned since, having now spoken out about his alarm about the incident.
He said: “It was very stressful, I have not been back to work since because I am still stressed.
“It is the third time something like this has happened. I do not want to go to work, what is the point of going when it is so stressful.
“They were all youths, there were about seven of them, something like that, they were aged 12, 13, 14.
“The incident lasted a few minutes, traffic came to a stand still and they ran away.
“I have reported it to the police. I told them there is CCTV at Bromley Cross Train Station.”
He said that his car was the only one out of the ones there to be targeted.
He said: “I was targeted solely because of the signage on my vehicle identifying it as a private hire vehicle.”
The incident was reported to Greater Manchester Police who said the enquiry is now closed.
This comes amid ongoing concern about attacks on taxi and private hire drivers with GMP last year having launched Operation Claim which aimed to tackle attacks on licensed vehicles across the city region.
Source: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23654053.bromley-cross-taxi-driver-pelted-stones-mud-job/
Clydebank taxi drivers have claimed that faded road markings and a lack of visible signage at a local rank is negatively impacting the trade.
According to the Clydebank Post, drivers have raised concerns over people “constantly” using the Alexander Street rank as a parking bay due to unclear road markings.
Charles Murray, chairman of Clydebank Taxi Operators and Drivers Trade, told the Post that this can prevent taxis from being able to access the rank during key hours of the day.
Charles said: “People need to know that this is a taxi rank and not a parking bay.
"We pay fees for these ranks to be maintained and if we are outside of them the police could come along and fine us.
“People park here all the time and we tell them they need to move and they just look at you.
"If we can’t get in that rank and the other side is already full that is three to four fewer taxis in the town centre.
“We gave the council’s [West Dunbartonshire Council] roads department a list of roads – as we are in and out of streets all the time – that need to be sorted.
“They always say ‘we’ll get round to it’ but when will that be? Their actions are very, very slow, it’s all just words and false promises.
“Also, if we had signage up here it would let the public know clearly not to park there.”
Drivers added that a reported lack of enforcement when it comes to motorists parking in designated bays is also giving cause for concern.
It is understood that a proposal for the council to take on parking enforcement powers in West Dunbartonshire is currently being developed.
Charles explained that wardens could help tackle the issue as the threat of receiving a fine might prevent people from parking in the rank.
He added: “If it’s affecting your pocket you won’t do it. It’s like the Low Emission Zone [LEZ] in Glasgow as people know that they can go into it now or they’ll be fined.
“It’s just ignorant and it’s an obstruction for us as if we can’t park in the ranks we can’t provide our service.
“It’s bad enough that there’s nothing really in Clydebank for the trade. There are no discos, hardly any restaurants, and if you look back at the last ten years a lot of pubs have shut down."
A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “We will undertake an inspection of this area and refresh the lines as required.”
Source: https://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/23635577.clydebank-taxi-drivers-plea-clearer-road-markings/
A Carlisle mum involved in a row over an open car door which blocked a pavement reacted badly, pushing the taxi driver involved.
The News & Star reports that Charlotte Fell, 33, who also yelled a racial slur at the man, later said she was disgusted with her reaction but on the day in question she had visited her mum’s grave and suffered “something of a breakdown.”
The defendant, from Longsowerby, pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated common assault.
The city’s Rickergate court heard that Fell was walking along the pavement on the street where she lives when she encountered an open taxi door, which was blocking her route along the pavement.
After a verbal exchange with the cabbie, who did not close the door, she “pushed” him, the court heard. She also used a racial slur. The man was not injured.
A probation worker who interviewed Fell said that her version of the incident was that she had “politely” asked the taxi driver two or three times to close the door but he and the second person who was in the car ignored her.
The man had first looked away, then got out of the car and said something to her, though she could not recall what.
“This seems to have been the trigger,” said the probation officer, leading to the push.
Fell had then continued walking along the pavement.
The probation officer said: “She does not know why she reacted as she did and she says she’s disgusted with herself. She said she should not have said what she said and behaved in that way.
“She deeply regrets it.”
Regarding the racially aggravated element of the offence, Fell had family contacts who were of Pakistani origin, and she had no deep-seated racial feelings that needed to be considered, added the officer.
Chris Toms, defending, said: “She was having something of a breakdown that day; she’d visited her mum’s grave for the first time and the state of mind she was in meant she was unable to deal with confrontation.
“To put it colloquially, she lost it.”
Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order, with ten rehabilitation activity days, a £50 fine, £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Source: https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/23649108.carlisle-mum-pushed-cabbie-row-open-car-door/
Desperate taxi drivers are pleading for council bosses to permanently increase fares to ensure the industry “can survive” in Basildon.
According to the Echo, during a meeting on Tuesday night, 11 July, the Basildon Hackney Carriage Association lodged a request with Basildon Council to see the fees increased after the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc on the taxi industry.
The proposed tariff card would see a new start rate of £3.40 - a 20p increase - for vehicles carrying up to four passengers.
The new start rate for vehicles carrying five to eight passengers would rise to £5.10 - a 30p increase.
It is also proposed that evening rates should start at 8pm instead of 9pm.
The meeting heard how the trade has “experienced a number of impacts arising out of the Covid pandemic” and well as a “rise in fuel prices”,
The report added: “This includes longer-term behaviour changes as a result of more people continuing to work from home, and this continues to have an effect.
“The competition for drivers across the transport industry also provided an attractive alternative for licensed drivers with some not returning to the trade.
“It is appropriate that actions that can incentivise drivers to continue to drive hackney carriage vehicles be considered, particularly if these are more likely in relation to late night journeys where passenger safety is even more vulnerable due to the reduced driver numbers.”
The PHTM National Hackney Fares Table shows that the national average two-mile Hackney Fare Tariff One is now £7.15.
Basildon is currently £6.40, and the proposed fare increase would raise the two-mile journey by 60p to £7.00 - just below the national average.
Tony Hedley, councillor responsible for business engagement, skills and procurement oversight, said: “I will be supporting this because I think it is a modest increase and having listened to the representative of the trade, I think he has articulated the conditions that taxi drivers find themselves in.
“The situation is if we don’t provide the service at a reasonable cost, the service will shrink, and everybody will be a loser. I think they are very modest increases.”
Source: https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23650952.basildon-taxi-bosses-call-increase-fares-permanently/
Police have stopped a private hire driver who was driving the wrong way on the M1 close to Junction 8 at Hemel Hempstead.
Newcastle City Council is set to introduce strict new measures to tackle illegal and inconsiderate parking near Newcastle International Airport.
West Mercia Police is appealing for information following a rape that took place in Malvern's Priory Park early on Sunday, August 4th.
Glasgow taxi users could be facing a near-10% fare increase and extended night-time charges.
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.