A distressed wife urged her taxi driver husband to report two women passengers who subjected him to racist abuse during a journey through Carlisle.
The News & Star reports that a fellow passenger who shared the late night taxi journey with 25-year-old Shanie Phillipson to the street where she lives was the main instigator but the defendant “contributed to” the racial abuse, a court heard.
Phillipson's friend has not yet been identified.
But at the city’s Rickergate court, Phillipson, from Carlisle, admitted using racially aggravated threatening and abusive words and behaviour.
Prosecutor George Shelley outlined the facts.
The taxi driver collected the defendant and a second woman on the evening of August 25 last year but as they got into the car they were carrying open cans of alcohol, which prompted the driver to tell them that this was not allowed.
It was the unidentified woman who was the main protagonist in the bad behaviour that followed, said Mr Shelley.
Phillipson sat behind the driver and made comments suggesting he was a paedophile. When she began eating crisps, and he asked to not do that, she said she was allowed to eat whatever she wanted “in her own country.”
Mr Shelley said: “The role of the other female was far more prominent during the journey but nevertheless Miss Phillipson actively contributed to the racially aggravated element.”
The incident was captured by the taxi’s video camera, and it was after the victim’s wife had viewed this that she told him he had to report it to the police.
Police then circulated the footage, and a local officer identified the defendant.
In a victim impact statement, the taxi driver said what happened left him feeling “extremely stressed”. He dreaded going to work amid fear that something similar or possibly worse would happen.
After the incident, his wife had struggled to sleep because she worried about him.
District Judge John Temperley said the statement showed evidence of the serious distress caused by the defendant and her friend.
Mr Shelley said the driver had stopped the taxi and tried to get the women out but then abandoned the attempt fearing it would cause even more trouble.
The District Judge said he wanted a background report before passing sentence. This should include an assessment of whether the defendant is suitable for a mental health treatment requirement.
Adjourning sentence for three weeks, District Judge Temperley said: “I am concerned about this offence. I have all sentencing options in mind, and I am not ruling out custody.”
Phillipson must return to court on May 7 to be sentenced.
A former London taxi driver examiner has had his claim of unfair dismissal dismissed by officials after he 'doctored' candidates' Knowledge of London (KoL) test scores after they were consistently above the average of his fellow testers' marks.
According to MyLondon, in March 2018, Mr J. Harvey's manager, Katie Chennells, raised with him that the scores he was awarding were 'noticeably higher' than his colleagues'.
A Tribunal states that they were at a yearly average of 85 per cent in 2017, 85 per cent in January 2018 and 80 per cent in February 2018. Ms Chennells then suggested that the claimant could be 'inflating his scores' by repeating the questions he was asking cab driver candidates so that they could 'rehearse his questions and give perfect answers'.
Ms Chennells claimed that Mr Harvey agreed to 'keep an eye on' using repeat questions. In his evidence, the claimant stated that all examiners asked repeat and 'banker' questions.
But, having reviewed 32 appearances that Mr Harvey conducted in October and November 2018, Ms Chennells found that his scores still ranged between 83 and 100 per cent - an average of 91 per cent.
In 2019, documents state that the claimant’s average yearly score was 78 per cent. The department’s average was 51 per cent.
Then, in 2020 Mr Harvey's scores 'crept up slightly' to an average of 82 per cent. This was compared to the department average of 54 per cent.
A year later, the claimant’s average scores reached 92 per cent, contrasted with the department average of 60 per cent.
Papers state that Ms Chennells again asked Mr Harvey to not repeat questions and that he should not prompt candidates to repeat their answers as that indicated their first attempt was wrong.
The Tribunal said that it accepted that examiner rules allow candidates to go back on a route and correct errors without being penalised, but 'it is implied that is because of their own initiative and not the examiners'.
By the end of May 2022, Mr Harvey's scoring average was 90 per cent.
A disciplinary process was begun later that year. The claimant defended himself, arguing that he had been attempting to deliver a 'modern KoL', and that he 'penalises hesitation fairly in relation to which stage each candidate is on'.
Mr Harvey added that he was 'open to reward candidates for more than one valid route from A to B' and suggested that this approach 'isn’t necessarily carried out by all examiners'.
He also underlined that 'no formal training has ever taken place', so he is 'self-taught'. In addition, Mr Harvey stressed that he considers his 'style' of examination to be 'relevant to driving a taxi in 2022', and that 'no regular auditing takes place' and appearances are 'not recorded for quality control and review'.
He 'strongly disagreed' that 'statistics alone' should determine how an exam is delivered and the tribunal heard he'd be willing to 'fall on his sword'.
Mr Harvey resigned in March 2023. Ms Chennells claimed that he was 'not a reliable witness' and was 'prone to exaggeration and re-writing of history to suit his own narrative'.
The claimant argued that KoL examiner guidelines are 'imprecise' and to achieve greater consistency as the respondent wanted, officials should have revised the guidelines and made some changes to the format of the examination itself.
As an examiner Mr Harvey claimed he was 'presentable and amenable', and his demeanour 'enabled candidates to perform well'.
Employment Judge Joanne Galbraith-Marten concluded: "Ms. Chennells tried to tackle the situation by monitoring the claimant’s scores and providing feedback to encourage him to adhere to the Examiner Guidelines more closely but by April 2022, it became apparent the claimant was not prepared to do so."
Papers added that Ms Chennells had 'run out of options' when she initiated the disciplinary procedure, as it 'became apparent the claimant was not going to change and that was deliberate'.
Documents read: "It was only at that point, four years after she originally raised her concerns regarding the claimant’s scores, that the disciplinary process was initiated albeit opaquely by Ms. Chennells during the meeting of May 31, 2022."
Mr Harvey's claim of unfair dismissal was dismissed, as the Tribunal found that he had 'convinced himself' that the only way he could achieve a required average rolling score of between 30 and 70 per cent was by 'doctoring' his results and 'deliberately failing' 30 per cent of candidates.
Source: https://www.mylondon.news/news/transport/taxi-examiner-doctored-knowledge-london-28961799
A cabbie who ran over a drunk woman who was standing in the middle of the road has been banned from driving.
ChronicleLive reports that Mohammad Tofazzul Ali, who has been a hackney carriage driver for more than 20 years and is of exemplary character, was driving in Gateshead when he failed to see the victim in the middle of the road.
A court heard although she had voluntarily entered the carriageway, he was not paying proper attention and left her with multiple fractures.
Ali, 64, from Newcastle, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving and was given a community order and unpaid work, along with a 12-month driving ban, at Newcastle Crown Court.
The court heard it was on July 21 last year that the victim spent the evening socialising, initially in Gateshead, where she drank several double vodkas and mixers and then in Newcastle city centre where she drank another five double vodkas.
Michael Bunch, prosecuting, said: "She states she was drunk. She decided to go home by herself and took a taxi to somewhere in Gateshead and can recollect getting out of the taxi near a roundabout. She has a recollection of getting into a vehicle, getting back out and standing in the middle of the road.
"She then began to think she wanted to be run over. She can give no explanation for this as she had not had any bad experiences during the night. Her next recollection is being in an ambulance being spoken to by a paramedic.
"At 1.30am a witness was travelling in a taxi along Old Durham Road, Gateshead when they became aware of the car directly in front of them swerving. They then saw the complainant standing in the middle of the road. The witness states it was hard to see her until the headlights shone on her.
"The taxi driver braked sharply and came to a halt. The witness asked the taxi driver to allow the complainant to get in the vehicle and they would take her home. The complainant did get into the taxi, she was crying and said, “I wanted you to kill me, I wanted to die, I wanted to die.”
The witness attempted to find out her address, the complainant continued to cry and state that she wanted to die before becoming volatile and getting out of the taxi.
"The complainant then ran towards another car which came to a halt, lay on the bonnet and shouted to the driver to kill her. The witness began to contact the police while her husband left the taxi and stood in the carriageway to make other drivers aware of the presence of the complainant.
"The complainant then approached the vehicle driven by the defendant and a collision occurred which is captured on CCTV."
The woman was taken to hospital in Newcastle and was found to have sustained several fractures to the right side of her pelvis, a fracture to the right side of her jaw, a haematoma to the right side of her head, bruising to her right lung and a laceration to her chin.
She said in a victim impact statement: “As a result of this incident, I was in hospital for just over three weeks and I was off work for approximately 4 months.
"When I returned home from hospital, I was unable to do anything I would usually do myself, and I required a lot of physio to get myself back physically, to somewhere close to how I used to be before the crash.
"I required a wheelchair for a few months. When the incident first happened, I would often get flashbacks of the incident, and I struggled to sleep.”
Judge Robert Adams said it was not clear why the woman had said she wanted to be run over and killed.
Passing sentence, he said: "I accept she was, in part, the author of her own misfortune and injury but you had the opportunity to see her and you didn't."
Rachel Hedworth, defending, said: "He is devastated at the fact he has caused this young woman these injuries. He recognises he should have been paying better attention and he doesn't seek to minimise the effect that accident has had on her."
Miss Hedworth provided several references, said he was an "inspirational father" to his six children and had never been in trouble or had a collision before.
Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-taxi-driver-who-ran-28958790
People are facing problems getting taxis because of “confusing” differences in rules left over after the merger of old councils, drivers have said.
Cumbria has six different licensing systems inherited from the county’s old district councils that were abolished last year.
BBC News reports that one driver said there was a risk to people’s safety because of difficulties getting taxis at night.
Cumberland Council said it was working to “create one system”.
Last year, Cumbria’s county council and six district councils were replaced by two unitary authorities which took over the function of taxi licensing.
George Harkin, a driver from Barrow-in-Furness, said differences in fares and rules in Barrow and nearby Ulverston made it hard for people to get taxis between the two towns.
They used to be in different districts, but are now both in the Westmorland and Furness Council area.
“Barrow taxi drivers are not allowed to park on the Ulverston rank and Ulverston taxi drivers are not allowed to on the Barrow rank,” he said.
Mr Harkin is also a founder of an app-based taxi-booking service called Appy Cabs, but he said it was impractical for Ulverston drivers to use the platform because they charged higher fares than drivers in Barrow.
He said: “There’s always been a problem of safety with people getting home.
"I’ve found people walking up a bypass in the pitch black, trying to get maybe seven miles from Ulverston to Barrow, because they haven’t been able to get a taxi.”
Although the issue predates the move to a unitary council, he said Westmorland and Furness should have created a single taxi policy across the whole area by now.
Westmorland and Furness Council is yet to provide a comment.
Workington taxi driver Ian Tyson said firms in his area have to have their cars tested at a garage four times a year, while those in other parts of Cumberland needed fewer tests.
He said: “It’s thousands of pounds into our costs, what the others don’t have. You can’t compete.”
A spokesperson for Cumberland Council said: “We acknowledge that there are some differences in the approach to licensing within the Cumberland area.
“As a new authority we are working to create one system and this will be shared for consultation over the next few months.”
The picturesque green cabmen’s shelter on Wellington Place in St John’s Wood, London has been listed at Grade II by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.
Known locally as ‘The Chapel’ shelter it is the final example in the capital to be protected by listing.
The wooden huts were built by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund as much-needed rest stops for licensed cab drivers, at a time when cabs were all horse-drawn.
The first cabmen’s shelter in London was built in 1875. Only 13 of these shelters survive in the city today and they are now all protected as listed buildings, recognising their architectural and historic importance.
The small, distinctive buildings continue to serve modern-day taxi drivers and are still overseen by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025.
Only drivers with ‘The Knowledge’ can take a seat inside but many huts offer takeaway refreshments to the public too.
They are one of the few reminders left on London’s streets of the prevalence of the horse-drawn hansom cab trade in the 19th century. At the peak of their popularity there were thousands of hansom cabs in the capital. The last hansom cab driver in London stopped operating in 1947.
The familiar size, shape and colour helped cabbies spot the shelters easily. They are all the same proportions – no bigger than a horse and cart as they were on a public highway.
Designs varied over time but the most recognisable ‘ornamental’ version we see today was the work of architect Maximillian Clarke.
The letters CSF for Cabmen’s Shelter Fund can often be found in the decorative fretwork. There’s even an official cabmen’s shelter paint colour – Dulux Buckingham Paradise 1 Green.
All 13 shelters were restored in a campaign by Heritage of London Trust during the 1980s and 1990s. Heritage of London Trust most recently supported the repair of ‘The Pier’ shelter on Chelsea Embankment by Albert Bridge in 2022.
Luke Jacob, Listing Adviser at Historic England, said: “Full of intrigue, history, tea and bacon sarnies, London’s well-loved cabmen’s shelters are distinctive relics of the horse-drawn age in the capital.
"Originally built from 1875 for the drivers of London’s Hansom cabs, they continue to serve both passers-by and cab drivers on the ranks today. As we approach the 150th anniversary of the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund it is fitting that the final shelter on Wellington Place – lucky number 13 – has received the official recognition it deserves through listing.”
Colin Evans, Trustee of the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, said: “We’re really pleased that the Wellington Place shelter now has protected status, along with all the other remaining shelters. We know how special the shelters are but we need the London taxi trade and public’s support more than ever so that this important part of our heritage and working class history lives on.”
Dr Nicola Stacey, Director of Heritage of London Trust, said: “We’re proud to have helped save the 13 shelters over the last 40 years. These are unique London landmarks as well as an ingenious Victorian solution to the frenetic city streets. Today they’re still a sanctuary for the London cabbie community.”
A brief history of cabmen’s shelters
In Victorian London cabmen were prohibited by law from leaving their cabs unattended in the rank. While on the job there was no protection from the elements, access to hot food or a place to rest. This led many drivers to stop at a pub between fares. They also had to pay someone to look after their cab or risk it being stolen. Stopping for shelter at a pub tempted some cabmen to drink too much, risking their own safety and that of their passengers.
The idea of providing shelters on the ranks was first conceived by Captain George C Armstrong, editor of The Globe newspaper. When Armstrong was unable to get a cab during a storm because the drivers had all sought refuge in local pubs, he decided to band together a group of wealthy and influential philanthropists to provide a solution. He helped establish the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund in London in 1875 with the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, providing warm and dry rest stops at ranks along many major thoroughfares across the city. The charity still operates today.
Between 1875 and 1950 sixty-one shelters are known to have been built across London. The first shelter was moveable and was erected in February 1875 on Acacia Road in St John’s Wood, outside Armstrong’s home.
The shelters had a small kitchen and space for around 10 drivers to sit, enjoy a meal and each other’s company. Gambling, drinking and swearing were strictly forbidden.
13 Historic Cabmen’s Shelters in London:
• Chelsea Embankment SW3 • Embankment Place WC2 • Grosvenor Gardens SW1 • Hanover Square W1 • Kensington Park Road W11 • Kensington Road W8 • Pont Street SW1 • Russell Square WC1 • St. George's Square SW1 • Temple Place WC2 • Thurloe Place SW7 • Warwick Avenue W9 • Wellington Place NW8
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.