HQ, the industry-leading global enterprise solution for corporate mobility, has announced a strategic partnership with Addison Lee, London’s largest premium private hire, courier and black taxi provider.
The partnership expands Addison Lee's ground transportation offering, allowing its clients to seamlessly book reliable, cost-effective and safe rides when traveling abroad through the Addison Lee app.
For 50 years, Addison Lee has provided London’s businesses with reliable, quality transport options across the city. Following its acquisition of Green Tomato Cars in June 2023 and ComCab in July 2021, the firm has scaled to become London’s largest premium ground transport provider – offering corporate client’s iconic black taxis and state-of-the-art EVs, alongside its courier and executive fleet.
By integrating with HQ’s SummitGround platform, Addison Lee seamlessly taps into the HQ Connect network of highly vetted supplier partners in geographies worldwide, providing its clients with a consistent global experience.
This partnership expands Addison Lee's reach, enabling the company to offer global content for its client’s and guaranteeing them safe travel options once they arrive at their destination.
"We're thrilled to partner with Addison Lee, a renowned leader in the UK private hire and taxi industry," said Amiad Solomon, CEO and Co-Founder of HQ.
"This partnership allows us to support millions of rides across the globe, furthering our mission to provide businesses with a powerful, cost-effective, and sustainable global ground transportation solution for all their corporate mobility needs.”
Addison Lee’s CEO, Liam Griffin, commented: “For years London’s businesses have trusted us to provide them with best-in-class, tailored transport solutions, including stress-free, premium journeys to and from the airport.
"With business travel on the rise, our partnership with HQ provides our customers with door-to-door global transport solutions, meaning they can enjoy a quality travel experience both overseas and at home.”
For more information about the HQ and Addison Lee partnership, visit https://hqtravel.com/integrations/
A disability rights campaigner has said she is disappointed with a decision to grant Uber a licence to operate private hire vehicles in York again after a seven-year ban.
BBC News reports that City of York Council's licensing committee voted last week to approve a new application by the online ride-hailing firm to operate there.
But campaigner Flick Williams said Uber had been "quite clear that if they were granted a licence there would be no option to book a wheelchair accessible vehicle".
In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said: "Ensuring the Uber platform is accessible for all riders is a key priority for us."
When Uber's licence was refused in 2017, City of York Council gave two main reasons.
The first was that there was a significant data breach in 2016 which affected 57 million users, and the company had failed to report this to the authorities.
There had also been a rise in complaints about Uber drivers in York, which the council said indicated that there were "management issues".
Despite not having a licence in York since the ban, Uber drivers from other areas have been allowed to operate legally in the city using licences granted elsewhere.
Ms Williams said granting a new licence to Uber "leads directly to a reduction in the number of wheelchair accessible taxis available".
"The council should have refused it. Uber had their licence removed in 2017 and have continued to operate, so granting them a licence now is, in effect, rewarding bad behaviour," she added.
The campaigner described the new licence as "a deeply bad decision for all disabled and older people in the city".
"That's particularly because Uber were quite clear that if they were granted a licence there would be no option to book a wheelchair accessible taxi," she said.
Members of York City Taxi Association held a protest against the application outside the council’s offices ahead of the four-hour meeting last Tuesday.
Arshad Mahmood, the association's chairman, said they were "disappointed" at Uber being given a new licence to run vehicles in the city.
“This decision has definitely overlooked the 44 wheelchair hackney taxis and wheelchair taxi users. We are already low in numbers of the wheelchair taxis," he said.
Responding, Uber said: "We have a specific in-app option called Uber Access which is available in a number of cities across the country. Drivers providing these services are specially trained.
"Our ability to make the Uber Access option available in the app is dependent on the volume of private hire wheelchair accessible vehicles in a given town or city and the number who choose to drive with Uber.
"Should we see sufficient volume of private hire wheelchair accessible vehicles sign up to Uber in the city, we would look to make this additional option available for riders in York."
Tourism is giving the North Wales economy a significant boost as it enters the peak season, yet local businesses are struggling to capitalise on this surge due to inadequate mobile signal capacity.
According to WalesOnline, this issue was highlighted by a taxi driver who sometimes finds himself unable to process payments from customers.
Despite ongoing improvements in mobile coverage across Wales, with 86 Westminster-funded 4G masts currently being installed, signal drop-outs still plague even areas known for strong connectivity.
During the busy summer months, Conwy taxi driver Dave Fare often can't use his SumUp card machine, a crucial tool for his business, accounting for nearly 70% of his transactions.
The influx of tourists puts a strain on the local mobile networks, resulting in unreliable service, according to Dave. "I was told by one provider, O2, that I needed to wait until winter to have reliable service restored," explained the 46 year old father of two.
"Sometimes it's a struggle to get a 4G signal good enough for the payment machine, let alone 5G," lamented Dave, who works as a self-employed driver for Premier Cars Llandudno.
Despite switching network providers multiple times over recent years, he has seen little improvement, particularly during school holidays when the population in the area can swell significantly.
"It's not great when you hand over the machine to a customer and it doesn't work it's embarrassing when they say they get a better reception out in the sticks.
"When this happens, I have one of two options: I can take them to the nearest cashpoint so they can draw out money, but this may be some distance away and is time-consuming. It's also a big inconvenience for customers."
"The other option which I usually take is to trust in human nature. Having dropped them off, I'll send them a payment link when I get a signal. Sadly, not everyone pays. It's not a massive number less than 1% - but it does happen."
Dave remarked that the mobile networks in Llandudno are often overwhelmed during the summer months. With the town home to 20,000 inhabitants, it sees an influx of up to seven million tourists annually, which puts considerable strain on services, particularly in peak season.
He posits that there's more mobile use among the visitors compared to locals. "They're all checking out places to visit, looking at Tripadvisor, searching for bus times and trying to find out what's going on," he observed.
"The networks can't cope. It's been an issue for quite some time now but with more services relying on mobile, it's becoming more of a problem."
An insight into the impact of tourism on North Wales was provided by SumUp's transaction data from last month's half-term break (May 29-31). The figures revealed a significant boost in business, with tourism-related enterprises registering an average 63% rise in takings from the week prior.
Recreation venues emerged as the top winners, experiencing a staggering 161% surge in weekly revenue. Cafes and restaurants also enjoyed a significant uptick with a 76% increase, while music venues and outdoor markets saw gains of 44% and 51%, respectively.
More modest rises were noted for mobile food vans, which went up by 9%, and taxis, with a slight 2% rise.
Taxi operator Dave Fare wasn't surprised by the figures, attributing his steady clientele to the consistent demand throughout the year.
"We always see big increases during half-term and the summer holidays," he commented. "Tourism is the region's lifeblood, take it away and there wouldn't be much industry left."
Fare also mentioned that weather plays a crucial role, though this year has been less than ideal. Nevertheless, he believes Llandudno's resilience and Conwy's variety of weather-independent activities keep the area thriving.
"There will always be challenges but my biggest threat is not the weather or a potential tourist tax but the lack of a good mobile signal during the summer! " he added.
Source: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tourism-surge-wales-strains-mobile-29363580
Bath’s taxi drivers are calling on their local council to take action on out-of-area PHVs undermining their livelihoods.
The Bath Echo reports that drivers who have studied to pass the Bath knowledge test and paid the £582 cost of applying for a taxi licence from Bath & North East Somerset Council have warned that drivers licensed by other councils are taking the work in the city.
One local taxi driver who has been working in Bath for six years said: “Our earnings have been massively affected with Covid and everything.”
He added: “We can’t carry on if we are being completely saturated.”
Over 200 people have signed a petition from the area’s local taxi drivers calling on the local authority to do what it can to put a stop to the practice.
A statement from a group of Bath and North East Somerset-licensed taxi drivers said: “The influx of licensed taxis from Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon, and Wolverhampton into Bath is severely undermining the livelihoods of local drivers.
“These out-of-area taxis are saturating the market, making it increasingly difficult for Bath’s licensed drivers to secure fares and sustain their businesses.
“Local drivers contribute significantly to the community by paying their licensing fees, which support local regulatory and infrastructure needs.
“However, the presence of these external taxis, which do not contribute to Bath’s licensing revenue, creates an unfair competitive environment.
“We urge the council to take immediate action to ban these out-of-area taxis from operating within Bath. By doing so, the council would not only be supporting local drivers but also ensuring that the fees paid by Bath’s licensed taxi operators are reinvested into the local economy, ultimately benefiting the entire community.
“Protecting local drivers is essential for maintaining a fair and balanced marketplace, and we call on the council to enforce stricter regulations to preserve the integrity of Bath’s taxi industry.
“Please support Bath’s private hire and hackney taxi industry by signing our online petition and asking for the support of your local councillor or MP.”
You can view the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/ban-cross-border-hiring-in-all-bath-taxi-licensed-areas
Source: https://www.bathecho.co.uk/news/community/drivers-call-council-ban-out-area-taxis-106905/
Enforcement checks have been carried out by Preston police and licensing officers from Preston CC, South Ribble BC and Wolverhampton Council.
They started the evening at Preston Railway Station before moving on to a check site on London Road, with specialist roads policing officers and SDU officers, and also had roaming patrols across South Ribble.
Throughout the course of the night over 200 taxis and PHVs licensed from councils across the country were stopped and inspected by officers.
Numerous warnings were issued to drivers for having incorrect plates/stickers or not having visible identification and three were suspended outright from operating as a taxi/PHV due to vehicle defects.
Preston police said: "We would like to thank the passengers who we spoke with during these checks, all were appreciative of the multi-agency work to ensure that taxis are safe to be in operation and that the drivers were genuine licence holders.
"To any taxi drivers out there that have ever used the words "you don't license me", don't worry, we may not license you, but we'll happily get the relevant taxi licensing authority involved!
David Lawrie, Director of NPHTA said: "Well done Preston police, and all council officers involved.
"These checks are a part of licensing with "over 200" vehicles checked, which we must assume is a combination of private hire vehicles and taxis.
"With only three suspensions, that is a result of less than 1.5% failure rate. Bearing in mind that they were only issued with a suspension, NOT a defect, or prohibition, this would suggest only minor defects, such as for example, a missing operator sign, or a top light not lighting up.
'With a result like that, it is also only fair to say, well done to the industry, the drivers, and the vehicle owners who were checked - what an excellent result!
"it makes me so proud to be your NPHTA - National Private Hire and Taxi Association director."
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.
Guide Dogs charity has asked licensing authorities in England for their support in sharing guidance on the law on carrying guide or other assistance dogs with all taxi and private hire operators.
Reading Taxi Association (RTA) chairman Asif Rashid has slammed Reading Borough Council's proposed phase-out of older petrol and diesel cabs by 2028, calling it a financial burden for drivers.
Dorset Council is poised to review taxi fares across the region, excluding Weymouth and Portland which have separate regulations.
A North Belfast man, Ruairi Fintan Muldoon (31), has been sentenced to 12 months in prison with an additional 12 months on supervised release for a botched attempt to rob a taxi driver.
Passengers are been invited to take part in a survey aimed at finding out if the taxi trade in West Suffolk is accessible to all.
A Glasgow man, Darren Gray, 31, launched into a verbal tirade and racially abused a taxi driver on Paisley Road West on August 19th, 2022.