In a bid to alleviate traffic congestion in Belfast city centre, particularly during the busy Christmas period, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has announced a temporary measure allowing taxis to use certain bus lanes.

The Temporary Traffic Regulation will allow Class A and Class C taxis to use certain lanes, effective from 6am on Wednesday, 18 December.

Announcing the move on Tuesday, 17 December, Minister O’Dowd said: “I am committed to bringing forward measures which will help alleviate the traffic congestion in the city centre. I had previously announced my intention to introduce a pilot scheme to permit taxis to use city centre bus lanes to help support the industry and ease traffic.

“My officials are continuing to carry out the necessary legislative work and the consultation period for that scheme will commence very early in the new year. In the meantime, I have asked my officials to urgently introduce temporary traffic regulations, as an interim measure, to allow Class A and C taxis to use a number of bus lanes.

"DfI will continue to work closely with partners in the coming days and weeks. We all share a common goal of wanting to keep Belfast moving, while balancing the needs of everyone who needs to use the city’s roads and footpaths.”

Just last month, one of Belfast’s biggest taxi firms, Fonacab, called for bus lanes to be opened up for drivers in a bid to help ease ongoing traffic congestion.

The bus lanes included within the new regulations are:

Inbound towards the City Centre

• Shaftesbury Square

• Great Victoria Street (Shaftesbury Square – Grosvenor Road) 

Outbound Away from City Centre:

• Great Victoria Street (Howard Street – Bruce Street)

• Bruce Street

• Dublin Road

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As part of a wider operation to keep residents safe when out and about, Warrington Local Policing Unit (LPU), supported by the Motorcycle Unit, the Special Constabulary, Immigration Officers and the Warrington, Halton and Wolverhampton taxi licensing teams, launched Operation Confederation across the town to ensure that the taxis ferrying visitors and residents were correctly licensed.

The operation, which was conducted on Friday 15 to Saturday 16 November and Friday 6 December to Saturday 7 December respectively, revolved around officers conducting inspections of both locally licensed taxis/PHVs and those licensed in other council areas that operate in Warrington.

Over the four nights, officers were deployed to the Bank Quay and Central stations, a main hub for taxis/PHVs registered both in and outside of Warrington. Whilst at the ranks, officers from the LPU and the three councils engaged with the drivers and conducted a number of safety checks, including: making sure all vehicle lights were fully operational, drivers were in possession of their IDs and, where appropriate, CCTV cameras were in operation.

During the first weekend, the Motorcycle Unit was utilised to create a checkpoint for stopping vehicles along Winwick Road and Stockton Heath and close to the M6 junction at the top of Manchester Road. These checkpoints were not used during the second weekend due to the impact of Storm Darragh.

In total, over the two weekends officers checked over 130 taxis and PHVs, with most of the licensing breaches being minor, mainly concerning drivers who were not correctly displaying their ID. However, all were able to produce their IDs when asked.

Other highlights from the weekends of operation included:

• Stopping an Uber that was not displaying proper signage, a breach of licence conditions. This driver was also issued with a traffic report as his number plates did not comply with regulations and was reported to the DVLA by due to concerns with his driving licence
• A vehicle was seized after it was spotted driving with a light out and its driver found to be in possession of a provisional licence
• Three vehicles being given defect notifications for issues such as lights out, bald tyres and unsafe vehicle panels

Inspector Christopher Webster, of Warrington LPU's Neighbourhood Team, said: "It was really reassuring to see that so many of the taxis/PHVs that operate in our town were compliant with the appropriate legislation, with the few found to be in breach being swiftly removed from the road.

"Our officers will continue to support the legitimate taxi drivers in Warrington throughout December, with this operation continuing well in to the festive period and new year to ensure those enjoying a night out in Warrington can return home safely."

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Taxi drivers in Sheffield are set to face increased licence fees and charges for the first time since 2016.

The fees increase which was approved by the city council's waste and street scene policy committee will take effect from February 2025.

A report published ahead of the meeting explained that the proposed increase was due to “increased costs to the service”.

In July, the same committee was told that over the past three years, the income from taxi licence fees has averaged £800,000 with an average expenditure of £946,000, resulting in an average overspend of £146,000.

A presenting officer added that for the previous financial year, ending March 31, the overall costs associated with the service were £1,002,540, with an income of £829,977, resulting in a deficit of £172,564.

Among the proposed fee changes were the increase in getting a new driving licence for a year (from £169 to £223), fees of renewal for drivers’ licences (one year – from £97 to £223, three years – from £217 to £268).

Also, hackney carriage and private hire vehicle licences (renewal) would be increased, as well as all of the operators’ costs.

A survey found that “a large proportion of respondents expressed concern about the financial impact of the proposals on individuals and businesses, especially given the current cost-of-living crisis”.

At the end of the meeting, the increased taxi and private hire licence fees and charges for 2024-25, was approved as well as an option for a smaller private hire operator banding (1-10), a two-year driver licence and a two-, three-, and four-year private hire operator licence, be approved.

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A senior military officer has been convicted of assaulting a taxi driver during a terrifying, alcohol-fuelled incident.

Major Lianne Robinson, 38, pleaded guilty to battery after grabbing the driver's neck and issuing death threats.

The incident occurred on June 9th, 2023, after Robinson attended a wedding celebration.

Highly intoxicated, she hailed a taxi near Swynnerton, Staffordshire, and demanded to be taken home to Shifnal.

During the journey, Robinson became increasingly aggressive, verbally abusing the driver and demanding he change course.

She grabbed his neck and told him: "I'm in the Army, I will f***ing kill you," repeatedly telling him to turn around "right now" and called him a "f***ing c***".

The terrified driver had noticed Robinson was wearing formal military 'mess' wear and genuinely feared that she was "capable of killing him", prosecutor Suzanne Francis told the court.

The terrified driver, phoned his office, who called the police, and he drove to the taxi firm's office to wait for officers there.

Robinson was arrested and in interviews said she had no recollection of the incident due to the amount of alcohol she had drunk. She told officers she had been drinking from 2pm the previous afternoon.

Dashcam footage captured the harrowing incident, including Robinson's threats and abusive language.

In court, the driver detailed the significant impact the attack had on his mental health and work life.

He now suffers from anxiety and has reduced his working hours due to fear of similar incidents.

Mitigating for Robinson, Debra White said the defendant was "mortified by her behaviour" on the night and "desperately sorry" for the impact it had on the driver.

She had no previous convictions and had led an "exemplary" career in the Army for many years, Miss White said.

Judge Recorder Richard McConaghy condemned Robinson's behaviour, describing it as "utterly appalling" and "arrogant."

He ordered Robinson, of Calne, Wiltshire, to pay a fine of £1,500 and compensation to the driver of £1,000. She must also pay £250 towards the costs of bringing the case to court.

Before she left the court he told her: "Make sure that you don't behave in this way again."

Robinson's actions will also have serious consequences for her military career, potentially leading to dismissal from the Army.

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Council chiefs are to look to alter rules on taxi age limits for certain vehicles following a petition from drivers around the cost impact of upcoming changes.

Currently Hartlepool Borough Council’s private hire and hackney carriage policy states taxis must be Euro 6 compliant by April 1, 2025.

The council’s policy also states at present a licence will only be granted for a vehicle to operate as a taxi when it is under five years old from date of first registration.

However, a petition from Khalid Hussain, from Khalid Taxis, proposed to change the council’s policy to remove the age limit for Euro 6 vehicles and instead simply state the vehicles must be in “good condition” and meet other checks.

It also looked to delay the date by which vehicles must be Euro 6 compliant.

Mr Hussain stated he has 11 taxis, eight of which are only “Euro 5” standard, and the estimated cost to replace them all in line with the council’s current age rules would exceed £80,000.

The petition was signed by 52 vehicle owners, with Mr Hussain noting “many drivers may struggle financially to make this change”, highlighting the lasting impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The information went before the latest meeting of the council’s licensing committee, where officers had recommended no changes were made.

However, after hearing from Mr Hussain and another taxi driver, councillors decided to alter the policy to allow older Euro 6 vehicles to be licensed by the local authority, subject to them being in good condition.

It was agreed officers would go away and draw up a revised document to reflect this and come back before the panel in March.

In the meantime, councillors decided to alter the policy to allow older Euro 6 vehicles to be licensed by the local authority, subject to them being in good condition.

Implementation of the Euro 6 emission standard was also postponed from April 2023 to April 2025 to take into consideration the financial strains placed upon the trade by Covid-19.

The council currently licenses 229 private hire and hackney carriage vehicles of which 33 are not Euro 6 compliant.

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