Private hire drivers in Reading are celebrating after finally being given access to a busy bus lane after pleading for the right for years.
The Reading Chronicle reports that for years, private hire and taxi drivers have been allowed to use the inbound King’s Road bus lane.
But for the outbound lane on the other side of the road, private hire drivers have been excluded, with access being only for buses, motorbikes, cyclists and taxi drivers.
That is set to change after years of campaigning by drivers in the town.
Private hire drivers attempted to get access to the outbound King’s Road bus lane back in November 2022, but that attempt was shot down.
After that decision, drivers set up the Reading Private Hire Association (RPHA) the following month to advocate for drivers and continue to push for access to the bus lane.
At a recent council meeting, it was decided that private hire drivers should finally be given access.
Kamran Saddiq (pictured), chairman of the RPHA, said: “Our passengers, members of the public, their safety is our utmost concern.
"We are trained professional drivers and are always taking our passengers into consideration when we are travelling on the King’s Road.”
Mr Saddiq complained that out-of-town drivers, with licences from other authorities as far away as Fareham, the New Forest and Portsmouth, are incorrectly using the bus lane, while Reading drivers follow the rules and stick in normal traffic lanes.
He added: “We work for Reading, we represent Reading, I represent Reading, we are proud to be Reading private hire drivers."
Addressing concerns about taxis slowing down buses, Mr Saddiq suggested that ‘authorised vehicles only’ signage should be put up to deter rule breakers.
The same sign was installed at the inbound bus lane in July 2019, which Mr Saddiq argued had curbed unauthorised access.
A formal consultation was held with 849 responses received.
Of those 818 (96 per cent) supported the change, 33 objected, with three responses neither supporting nor rejecting it.
John Ennis lead councillor for transport, called Mr Saddiq’s leadership ‘outstanding’ and said his campaign has been ‘hugely persuasive and responsible’.
Cllr Ennis (Labour, Southcote) then said that private hire drivers should be given access to the outbound lane permanently.
Agreeing, Cllr James Moore (Liberal Democrats, Tilehurst) said: “I’ve always found it ludicrous that one side of the road does one thing and the other side does the other.”
He added that allowing private hire drivers access would reduce fares for customers as well.
The decision to allow those drivers access was agreed unanimously at the traffic management sub-committee on Wednesday, March 6.
New signage to enforce the change will require costs up to £15,000
Source: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24172058.taxi-drivers-reading-win-access-busy-bus-lane/
Taxi drivers are calling for a U-turn on a decision to stop them from using a town centre bus gate.
Gravesham Taxi Association is urging Kent County Council (KCC) to remove a restriction meaning only buses can use a road at the junction of Clive Road, Barrack Row and Garrick Street in Gravesend.
KentOnline reports that the bus gate was installed where the three streets meet in 2018, allowing only buses and cyclists through.
It was resurfaced in blue to make it more obvious and obsolete signs were removed in 2022 as part of a £2.5 million transport improvement project.
In July 2022, KCC was given new powers to enforce moving traffic offences and since then taxi drivers say they have been blighted by the ban.
They say it forces them to carry out dangerous manoeuvres to turn around. It is also adding money to their passengers’ fares.
Denny Stewart, chair of the Gravesham Taxi Association, said: “KCC is digging its heels in about not allowing us through this one gate.
“All we want to do is continue to do our jobs in the most efficient, safe and financially beneficial way we possibly can.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous. We are allowed through the other ones.”
Denny, who has been a taxi driver for more than 25 years, is hoping to convince the council to just allow locally licensed taxis through.
“We are public transport after all,” she added.
“We have been sharing that area with the buses for a long time before they put in that fancy bus hub.”
The route allows buses and cyclists through to Barrack Row, which leads to Darnley Road.
The alternative route for other vehicles from Clive Road is via Stone Street and Rathmore Road.
Only buses and other authorised vehicles, such as taxis, can access Darnley Road by entering the one-way system in Garrick Street, between 10am and 6pm.
A KCC spokesman said: “Government has opened the way for councils to enforce moving traffic offences.
“Like many local authorities, we know these powers would be a useful tool to keeping our roads safe and moving.
“We are currently consulting on the installation of ANPR cameras at the bus gate in Clive Road, Gravesend.
“Residents and groups are encouraged to share their views on our proposal through our public consultation by March 12.
“No final decisions will be made until all feedback is analysed and officers will continuously monitor the impacts and benefits of such enforcement action.”
People have until March 12 to have their say on installing automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as part of the six-week consultation.
Between December and January, more than 600 motorists were turned around by police as they tried to take a shortcut through the one-way system.
The issue was due to be discussed at a meeting of Gravesham council’s joint transportation committee on 6 March.
A crunch meeting to discuss the de-zoning of local hackney cab services has had to be abandoned after consultation documents were found to have been missed out of the report due to be heard.
But no sooner as councillors on the North Northants Council Licensing and Appeals Committee and members of the public gathered to hear findings of the report, the meeting closed.
The Northants Telegraph reports that dozens had gathered to hear the findings of a 12-week consultation on proposals to ‘de-zone’ the area, a move that could see the four legacy boroughs brought under the same rules.
It means cabbies would only need to get one licence to operate, rather than four separate licences, but that they would have to sit a ‘knowledge’ test for the whole of North Northamptonshire.
Cllr Jonathan Ekins (Con, Finedon), committee chairman, said: “Unfortunately it’s come to our attention later this afternoon that a number of consultation responses filed by members of the public and the hackney carriage trade have not been included in the report as published.
“To ensure that proper consideration is given to all responses, I have decided as chair that this meeting cannot go ahead.”
A legal representative said: “It is an unfortunate position the committee finds itself in this evening. The absence of the responses presents a significant risk that any decision made without the opportunity to give them due consideration would likely be subject to challenge.
"The prospects to the success of a challenge would be ‘highly likely’.”
Cllr Ekins described the amount of consultees missed off as a ‘substantial number’ covering a broad range and the meeting would have to be cancelled to allow a new report to be written and so people could be ‘fairly heard’.
He added there had been ‘an error on a spreadsheet’ that had led to the comments being missed.
Results of the consultation had showed 94 per cent of responses were against the proposal.
Cllr Lyn Buckingham (Lab, Lloyds) said: “We need to know why this has happened, it’s really disappointing and unacceptable.”
The new meeting will now be held on Thursday, March 21 at 7pm at Corby Cube.
Hackney carriage fares are set to rise in Luton, despite some councillors warning it could “jeopardise livelihoods”, a meeting heard.
According to Luton Today, a request for fare increases across the town was made by the Luton Hackney Carriage Association and backed by the borough council’s executive.
It follows a public consultation process “to ensure a fair, transparent and reasonable fare structure is in place for hackney carriage vehicles serving the borough of Luton”, according to a report to the committee.
The last fare increase was in 2020, said the report. “There’s been an increase in the cost of living and the impact of the pandemic on the trade since then.
“If the increase in fares is too high, public demand for the service will drop. But there’s a risk of a financial impact on the drivers and owners, if the charges are too low.
“The changes mean for distance rate one, there’s a 10.59 per cent increase in the rates, based on a three-mile journey. For distance rate two, there’s a 4.31 per cent increase in the rates.
“For distance rate three, there’s a 24.79 per cent increase in the rates, while for distance rate four there’s a 37.79 per cent increase in the rates, also based on a three-mile journey.
“For telephone bookings, there’s a 33 per cent increase.
"For fouling of the interior or exterior of the cab, there’s a 43 per cent increase.
"There’s also a new charge for removal jobs in excess of the meter.
“The new fare charges can be applied immediately by the trade,” added the report. “In reality, there’s likely to be time needed for their fare meters to be updated.”
The executive was recommended to ratify a series of proposals from the association, which could be implemented immediately.
Labour Northwell councillor Rob Roche told the executive: “Following a previous report to this committee in January, the decision was to consult on option B.
“That was a request from the Luton Hackney Carriage Association to increase its fares,” he explained.
“The consultation was conducted over 14 days in line with the legislative requirements, given the two-month deadline within which to bring the matter back to the executive.
“Two objections were received from councillors saying the rise was too high considering the cost of living and the competition with the private hire trade.
“This they suggested could jeopardise their livelihoods and price them out of the business. But they didn’t appear to appreciate this proposal was at the request of the trade, rather than the local authority.
“No comments or objections were received from the public or the taxi trade.
"The executive is recommended to ratify these proposed fares and for them to come into effect immediately,” added finance portfolio holder councillor Roche.
“The licensing service will produce a new fare chart and start working with the trade to update the hackney carriage meters, so increased fares can be applied.”
The remainder of the executive agreed the various fare increase recommendations.
Source: https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/transport/hackney-cab-fares-set-to-increase-in-luton-4544431
Police have released CCTV images after a taxi driver at Heathrow Airport has been seriously injured following an 'unprovoked' assault as he waited to collect a passenger.
SurreyLive reports that Met Police detectives investigating the attack are appealing to the public for their help to identify two men.
Images have been released of the men who are wanted in connection with an investigation into an assault on January 10, against a taxi driver at Heathrow Terminal 5.
The assault left the victim with multiple fractures to his face. The two men are believed to have travelled to Heathrow on a bus from Woking and officers believe they may have connections to the town as well as west London and Surrey areas.
The assault took place at between 5:30am and 5:45am on 10 January as the victim was waiting to collect a passenger at the arrivals hall at Heathrow Terminal 5.
While there, he was approached by two men who engaged in an apparently unprovoked verbal altercation with the victim, and then one of men punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.
Police and medical staff were called and attended shortly after, but the two men had made off by that time. As a result of the assault, the victim was left with fractures to his eye and nose.
As part of their investigation, detectives have spoken to a number of witnesses and collected various CCTV images of the men. Through these enquiries, officers have established that the men boarded a RA2 (Rail Air) bus at Woking station earlier that morning, which then travelled to Heathrow.
The first man is described as a white man with tanned skin, approximately 5ft 9ins tall and around 30-years-old. He was wearing black cargo trousers and black quilted puffer jacket.
The second man is described as a black man, around 5ft 11ins tall and was wearing black jeans, a black jacket and Nike trainers.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Ben Benlounes, from the Met's Aviation Policing Command, said: "This was a violent and seemingly unprovoked attack, which has left the victim with very serious injuries to his face.
"We have made a number of enquiries to try to identify the men, and we're now releasing these images to see if anyone can help us with this. It was an awful attack on the victim and we're keen to do everything we can to identify the men involved and bring them to justice.
"If you have any idea about who these people could be, then I urge you to get in touch with us and let us know."
Anyone who has information about the identity of the two men or about the assault have been asked to contact police by calling 101 and quote reference 1000114/24.
Source: https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/men-from-woking-wanted-over-28770063
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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.
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