An Ipswich man has been ordered to pay £372 for damaging a taxi during a racially aggravated incident.
The Ipswich Star reports that Kristian Pullen, 45, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage at Ipswich Magistrates Court on Tuesday 9 April, for assaulting a taxi driver in June last year.
The assault was categorised as racially aggravated as Pullen called the victim a racial slur.
The 45-year-old's defence lawyer Mr Cots claimed that he had mistaken the victim for another driver, whose taxi he had been in previously and said had driven recklessly.
In mitigation, Mr Cots said that the other driver had driven at 60mph in a 30mph zone and ran red lights.
On June 22 2023, while drunk, Pullen approached the victim, called him slurs, kicked on his taxi's doors, scratched the taxi and spat on it.
He believed that he had approached the driver of the taxi he had been in before.
He was ordered to pay a fine of £80 along with a compensation fee of £200 for the emotional distress and damage to the victim.
The court also ordered Pullen to pay £32 in costs and a surcharge of £60 - taking his total to £372.
Source: https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/24240974.kristian-pullen-fined-taxi-criminal-damage-ipswich/
A nationwide programme of pothole repairs and road resurfacing projects, made possible by the first tranche of £8.3 billion in reallocated HS2 funding, has been revealed - with the first set of roads already having been resurfaced to make journeys by road safer, faster and smoother.
Last November, the Government announced unprecedented investment to tackle badly surfaced roads and pothole ridden streets. Councils have already been paid £150 million to get on with the work and deliver improvements, with another £150 million following in this financial year.
As a condition of this funding, and to make sure money is being spent on pothole repairs, local authorities are required to publish a two-year plan detailing exactly which local roads will benefit.
On Wednesday 10th April, the DfT revealed 102 of the 119 authorities that received funding have responded to the Department’s survey request to set out their plans, meaning local people can now check their local council’s websites and scrutinise their plans for themselves.
Among the regions pledging to resurface the highest volume of roads are the West Midlands (600,000 square metres) and East Midlands (350,000 square metres), with plans outlined for problem spots across the country including: the A43 at Towcester, the A164 between Beverley and Hessle, and the A4146 at Leighton Buzzard.
Residents in areas such as Southport and Sunderland have already seen major resurfacing work take place, thanks to the £150 million already invested as part of the road resurfacing funding allocations, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.
An initiative intending to bring increased transparency to how local councils deliver taxpayer-funded improvements, local people can now immediately see the benefits to their area made possible by reallocated HS2 funding, holding their local authority to account for delivering local road improvements.
The DfT has been clear with those local authorities that have failed to publish reports that they could see the withdrawal of future funding to resurface roads. Local people are encouraged to check their authority websites and see which roads are planned to be maintained.
All of the £19.8 billion saved from the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in transport across the North, all of the £9.6 billion saved from the Midlands leg will be reinvested in transport across the Midlands, with the £6.5 billion saved through the new approach at Euston being spread across every other region in the country. Projects and improvements in the South and East of England are made possible by savings from Euston.
Having submitted their first reports last month, councils will now also be required to submit quarterly reports from June, announcing work which has taken place over three months, meaning local people will now regularly be able to scrutinise the progress their local authority is doing to tackle potholes.
The Government’s long-term plan to improve local road networks across the country could save motorists up to £440 on vehicles repairs and is the biggest ever uplift in funding for local road improvements.
The reporting requirement has not only shown the areas which are planned to benefit, but also highlighted how emerging techniques and equipment are being used by local authorities up and down the country to tackle potholes, including the use of durable carbon neutral material in South Yorkshire, industry leading ‘dragon patching’ equipment in Suffolk, innovative ‘pothole pro’ patching in Telford and Wrekin and artificial intelligence being used for highway inspections in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
This Government is backing drivers, and alongside the unprecedented road maintenance funding, it is delivering for motorists through the Plan for Drivers, including ensuring traffic schemes like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and 20mph speed limits have buy-in from local people, cutting congestion and accelerating the rollout of electric vehicle chargepoints.
Motorists will also be able to enjoy smoother journeys following the introduction of new measures to crackdown on disruptive street works, with utility companies that allow works to overrun facing increased fines, which could generate up to £100 million extra to improve local roads.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s very encouraging to see so many local authorities quickly setting out how they’ll use the first tranche of the Government’s reallocated HS2 funding to improve their roads.
“Drivers will be pleased to see potholes fixed and roads resurfaced, especially as our research shows the poor state of local carriageways is their number-one concern.
"We hope councils will also use this extra money to carry out vital surface dressing work which helps prevent cracking in the cold winter months by sealing roads against water ingress. The prime time for this life-extending work is between April and September, so time is of the essence.”
The local authorities who have not responded to the Department's survey request to set out their plans are:
The following local authorities have indicated to the Department that their plans will be published very shortly:
A taxi driver who abducted a teenage girl in his car made a "poor decision", a court has heard.
The Gazette reports that Mohamed Youssef picked the girl, 13, up from a property in Clydebank, and drove to Paisley town centre.
In February, the 35-year-old pleaded guilty to abducting the girl while in employment as a taxi driver.
During the journey on June 23, 2022, he refused to let the girl alight from the vehicle and then drove away with her inside, detaining her against her will.
The exact nature of the incident was not disclosed.
At sentencing on April 2 at Dumbarton Sheriff Court, Youssef's defence solicitor said: "He appreciates it's a serious matter.
"The [social work] report is as positive as it can be in the circumstances.
"He has no previous convictions. He appears to have made a poor decision during the course of this offence.
"He expresses his remorse. He is no longer able to work as a [taxi] driver."
But the court heard Youssef, of Renfrew, was instead working part-time as a delivery driver.
Sheriff David Hall said: "You appear as a man with no previous convictions.
"Your behaviour on the day in question was unacceptable and as you now acknowledge, idiotic to do what you did."
But he said there was an alternative to custody and ordered Youssef to perform 200 hours of unpaid work in the community within 12 months.
Source: https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/24229865.renfrew-taxi-driver-abducted-girl-clydebank/
A new council policy has been introduced to allow taxis and private hire vehicles in Nottingham to be licensed for ten years.
Nottingham City Council's current rule allows private hire vehicles to be licensed up to four years, and six years for hackney carriages.
Both will now be licensed until they reach ten years from the date of first registration.
The authority said the 2017-policy was reviewed in light of different circumstances and changes in the trade.
The city council's Regulatory and Appeals Committee approved the revised Age and Specification policy following a public consultation which came into effect on Monday 1 April.
Public feedback from the consultation supported proposals to extend the age limits of taxis and these were taken into consideration by the committee.
Now private hire vehicles and black cabs will be initially licensed up to ten years, and then continue to be licensed, if required, up to 15 years.
Black cab driver Amjid Hussain said: "We, as the local trade, welcome these licensing changes. They were necessary to bring us in line with the taxi industry up and down the country.
“It would not have been possible without the relevant departments working vigorously to make it happen, so I’d also like to thank the council officers and the councillors involved.”
In addition to the policy, private hire vehciles will now have annual enhanced MOTs up to ten years of age, or 11 years if they are fully electric. They would then be subject to further six-monthly checks.
Black cabs will have the annual enhanced MOT up 11 years of age, with checks twice a year.
The city council says taxis will be subject to spot checks. If found to have flaws that affect public safety, the driver could have their licence suspended, the authority said.
It added the policy was also revised to reflect alterations to national guidance and policy.
Audrey Dinnall, chair of the committee, said: “We’ve listened to taxi drivers in Nottingham and these changes, supported by a public consultation, have been introduced because we understand the pressures felt by the trade in recovering from the pandemic, the national cost-of-living crisis and changes to customer demand.”
Sajid Mohammed, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, safety and inclusion, said: "We're working to support and promote the taxi trade, making it as resilient as possible.
"It's an industry which provides close to 3,000 jobs in our city and it's right that we work with drivers and taxi firms to show that this is a safe and convenient mode of transport to get around Nottingham."
He reassured customers the taxis would be "safe and maintained to the highest standards".
Armed police and a dog unit were called to a Bransholme street after reports of a man attacking a taxi with a shovel and threatening the driver.
According to HullLive, a police dog and its handler then suffered injuries while responding to the alleged incident, Humberside Police have said today.
Officers were called on Friday 5 April, at 11.45am, to Amberley Close, off Dorchester Road, Hull.
A man was arrested at the scene.
Keane Pyzer, 18, has been charged with a number of offences including criminal damage, actual bodily harm, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and the use of threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Mr Pyzer has also been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected service animal, and making off without payment.
He was due to appear before magistrates in Hull, police said.
Source: https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hull-teen-charged-over-taxi-9213041
Ways of increasing the amount of wheelchair-accessible taxis across the city are set to be explored to make it easier for those who need one to get one.
Cumbrian taxi drivers are fighting back against proposed licensing changes they fear will cripple their livelihoods.
Bolton taxi drivers are urged to sign up for free safeguarding and disability awareness training before the deadline on October 31st, 2024.
A Conwy Council meeting on Monday revealed a critical failing that allowed a taxi driver whose license had been revoked to continue transporting children to school.
Worcester City Council is seeking public opinion on a proposal to make safeguarding training mandatory for taxi and private hire drivers.
A proposal to increase driver, vehicle and private hire operator licences was discussed on Friday 19 July 19 at Sheffield City Council’s waste and street scene committee.
Through this collaboration, FREENOW willl provide additional benefits giving drivers up to 25% off pay-as-you-go rates across the entire bp pulse electric charging network and discounted fuel at all UK bp branded sites.
Wakefield Licensing, working alongside West Yorks Police Roads Policing unit, NPT, Off-Road Bike Team, Police Intercept Team, DVLA & DVSA, held a Partnership Day of Action at Thornes Park.
A pilot emissions reduction grant scheme providing financial support for hackney carriage drivers to upgrade to cleaner EURO 6 and fully battery powered vehicles has been launched.
The ride-hailing giant has submitted an application for an operator licence to Darlington Borough Council, with a decision expected in August.
Darlington could soon see Uber cars on its streets after the ride-hailing giant applied for a licence to operate in the town.
Stratford-upon-Avon District Council has revoked the licences of two taxi drivers following a series of speeding offences.
A Northampton taxi driver has been found guilty of trafficking cocaine between his home city and Milford Haven.
The move comes after concerns were raised by the taxi industry about the rising cost of purchasing new vehicles.